DODGERS WIN ON KIDS' NIGHT : DODGERS 5 ANGELS 4.

Byline: Matt McHale Daily News Staff Writer

It was the matchup everyone came to see: Mo Vaughn vs. Kevin Brown, the Fortune 500 of the Freeway Series. In rocky season for the Dodgers and Angels, there was finally a little drama.

But just as Vaughn was coming up with two outs and the game on the line in the seventh inning Friday night, Brown was walking off.

Brown, who ran out of gas in his last two starts, gave way to left-hander Pedro Borbon, who retired Vaughn on a weak fly ball to center to end the inning and the Dodgers were headed to a 5-4 victory. The crowd of 49,213 at Dodger Stadium didn't leave, but they may have in spirit.

They did get to cheer for a few unfamiliar faces, the kind of guys who used to play in the old preseason Freeway Series before heading off to the minor leagues.

Chance Sanford, a Triple-A second baseman called up before the game to replace injured Todd Hollandsworth on the roster, singled home two runs in the Dodgers five-run fourth inning against Angels starter Omar Olivares (6-4).

Earlier in the inning, Dodgers catcher Angel Pena drove in his first major-league run. And veteran shortstop Jose Vizcaino came off the DL before the game and capped the scoring with a two-run homer.

Borbon's contribution should not be overlooked. After retiring Vaughn, who had a single in three at-bats against Brown, Borbon came out for the eighth and struck out left-handed hitting Garret Anderson.

Borbon, who allowed a run Wednesday to Pittsburgh after eight consecutive scoreless appearances, has been a bright spot in the Dodgers bullpen. Friday night, the reliever did what the Dodgers have been hoping for all season.

Alan Mills replaced Borbon and got the final two outs of the eight before turning the game over to closer Jeff Shaw, who allowed the tying run to reach third in the ninth but struck Darin Erstad to end the game and earn his 13th save.

For the Dodgers, the victory snapped a three-game losing streak and put them a game over .500 (27-26).

For the Angels, last in the American League West with a 26-28 record, the game was more than a loss in the standings. Olivares, who leads the club in victories, left in the sixth inning after straining his left hamstring running out a ground ball.

The Dodgers didn't expect to be fooled by the crafty Olivares, but they also didn't expect to be trailing 3-1 in the fourth with Brown on the mound.

Brown was finished after 97 pitches, allowing nine hits and four runs (three earned). He struck out four and did not walk a batter.

But the bottom of the fourth was a farm director's dream.

Eric Karros opened with a single to center and took second on a single by Devon White. After a fielder's choice by Adrian Beltre, Pena singled up the middle to score Karros with the Dodgers first run.

Pena, who added a double in the eighth inning off the Angels third pitcher Shigetoshi Hasegawa, entered the game batting just .133. But with Todd Hundley sidelined for the series and probably longer with a sprained left wrist, Pena will get plenty of playing time in the next week.

Pena, was the Dodgers' organizational Player of the Year in 1998, but had grown bored playing this season at Triple-A Albuquerque.

His teammate Sanford did not have Pena's pedigree, but was called up when Mark Grudzielanek went on the DL Friday with a fractured right wrist. He started at second base in place of Eric Young and led off.

Sanford, a six-year free agent out of the Pittsburgh organization, struck out in his first major league at-bat. But that was only the beginning. In a game that featured Brown and Vaughn, he did more than both.

Brown never was really sharp and struggled at the outset, allowing three hits and a run in the first and two more runs in the fourth.

Anderson opened the fourth with a single to center and Troy Glaus drove a 1-2 pitch into the left-field stands for his eighth home run.

Brown never was dominant, allowing a single to Vaughn in the fifth and another run in the sixth. That one wasn't really his fault. Glaus opened the inning by reaching on an infield single to third and took second on a throwing error by third baseman Beltre.

Glaus scored on two infield outs to cut the Dodgers lead to 5-4.

HERO

Dodgers infielder Chance Sanford, called up earlier in the day from Triple-A Albuquerque, started and drove in two runs in his major-league debut.

GOAT

Angels starter Omar Olivares, the team's winningest pitcher, had to leave the game in the sixth inning after pulling a hamstring while running out a ground ball during a rare at-bat.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Jose Vizcaino hit a two-run homer to cap the Dodgers' five-run fourth inning, the same day he was taken off the disabled list.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1--Color) Omar Olivares looks away as Jose Vizcaino rounds the bases after his two-run homer.

(2) The Angels' Andy Sheets, left, and Randy Velarde avoid a collision while trying to field a ball.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press