DODGERS UNFAZED BY ROCKIES WIN : COLORADO 3, DODGERS 1.

Byline: Gary Washburn Daily News Staff Writer

There was no way a little stumble at the midway point was going to affect the Dodgers' self-image. They finished the 89-game trip to the All-Star break one game out of first place.

Despite Sunday's 3-0 loss to Colorado in front of 38,269 at Dodger Stadium, the club still felt pretty darn good about its first half.

Consider the obstacles.

The team lost a manager, its team leader and a month from its No. 1 pitcher. Then there was that slow start when expectations were very clear that the Dodgers were supposed to run away with the Western Division.

A 47-42 record at the break is a source of pride, especially since the team is playing its best baseball of the season.

``For all we've gone through, I think we've done pretty well,'' Dodgers catcher Mike Piazza said. ``We can do better, but we're in a pretty good position now. We're keeping ourselves in this thing.''

The only thing that would have made attitudes better was a four-game sweep of the Rockies. But Sunday, the Dodgers were never close to that.

Colorado's Kevin Ritz (10-5) took advantage of the thick air and pitcher-protecting surroundings of Dodger Stadium and threw fastballs instead of the breakers he hurled in his last start against the Dodgers - a 13-1 win.

He scattered five hits in 7-2/3 innings before giving way to Kurtis Leskanic, who struck out Raul Mondesi with two runners on to end an eighth-inning threat.

``He threw a really good game,'' Dodgers second baseman Delino DeShields said. ``He mixed up his pitches and we couldn't get a bead on it. But hey, you can't win every game.''

But a majority is good enough. That's the attitude the club carries into the break, a layoff that will be crucial in healing some nagging injuries.

Mondesi, who last Sunday made a sparkling sliding catch of a foul ball in Denver, misjudged a foul ball off the bat of Trenidad Hubbard that could have ended the eighth inning. The ball landed just past the grass in foul ground, and about 15 feet from the stands. Mondesi simply stopped running.

The reprieved Hubbard singled on the next pitch from Scott Radinsky to score Eric Young with the third run.

Mondesi blamed his effort on a sore left heel, which he held up after the game to show its beet-red swelling.

``You can't catch every ball,'' Mondesi said. ``Sometimes it's hard to run and it really hurts. I need to rest.''

Dodgers starting pitcher Pedro Astacio (4-7) pitched well enough to win and would have had the Dodgers' offense been in typical form. He threw seven innings and allowed just a third-inning run.

Again, optimism outlasted the disappointment of losing. Interim manager Bill Russell was encouraged that the team's fifth starter could contain the National League's best offense to one run.

``The pitching is always going to be there for us,'' Russell said. ``If our offense can keep things going, then we'll do well.''

The team scored 35 runs in the previous four games against the Rockies, including 20 in the first three wins of the series. The pitching staff ERA of 3.38 is second in the National League.

These have been worthy accomplishments with uncertainty over the return of Brett Butler and Tom Lasorda. Butler is prepping for a Sept. 1 return after recovering from throat cancer while there's still no word on Lasorda's expected return.

``I haven't talked to him in a few days,'' Russell said. ``I don't know when. I'll just keep filling out the lineup card until someone tells me to stop.''

The Dodgers don't see the Rockies again until opening a three-game series Sept. 16 in Denver, beginning a stretch of 13 games against division opponents which could decide the title.

Right now the team has to worry about seven games with the Giants and Padres that follow the break and about maintaining intensity expected of them at the start of the season.

``Maybe by September, we'll be so far ahead of the Rockies that it won't be a crucial series,'' Piazza said. ``This is a like a basketball game, you can stay in it until 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter and that's when you win the game. Right now, we're definitely in the game.''

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4 Photos

Photo: (1--color) Colorado's Eric Young gets by Dodgerscatcher Mike Piazza, top, in the eighth inning to score the Rockies' third run, leaving Piazza, below, looking a bit dejected.

(2--color) The Dodgers needed a stretch from first baseman Eric Karros to put out Colorado's Jeff Reed in the sixth inning.

(3-4) The Dodgers needed a stretch from first baseman Eric Karros, left, to put out Colorado's Jeff Reed in the sixth inning. Below, Dodgers second baseman Delino DeShields has the ball but somehow Colorado's Eric Young gets by for the steal.

John McCoy / Daily News