DREIFORT FALTERS IN FIFTH : HOUSTON 6, DODGERS 2.

Byline: Marc J. Spears Daily News Staff Writer

El Nino refused to cooperate with Darren Dreifort in any fashion Saturday.

After two off-days delayed the first start of his major-league career, Dreifort's monumental day was in jeopardy because of continuous rain throughout the day.

Although the storm stopped by the start of Saturday night's game against the Houston Astros, Dreifort probably wished the rain returned stronger in the fifth inning to wash out the game before it became official.

The former reliever was shelled for five runs on six hits in the fifth, and the Dodgers went on to lose 6-2 in front of 40,037 at Dodger Stadium.

Dreifort had a young and impressive reputation to live up to when he walked onto the Dodger Stadium mound. The Dodgers' pitching staff entered Saturday with a 1.50 ERA in four games at home this season.

For four innings, the 25-year-old right-hander fit the bill by allowing no runs and just two hits. Then the fifth inning came and survival became a more important issue to Dreifort than living up to something.

After the first two Astros got on in the fifth, Brad Ausmus hit a looper to left field. When Todd Hollandsworth failed to make a diving catch, two runs scored to give the Astros a 2-1 lead.

Two outs later, with a pair of Astros on and Dreifort still on the hill, Jeff Bagwell continued the damage by blasting the first pitch over the fence in dead-center for a three-run home run that put Houston up 5-1.

When the inside fastball left Bagwell's bat, Dreifort gave a look of anguish and never looked back as the ball flew into the night.

After allowing another hit, this time to ex-Angel Jack Howell, Dreifort (0-1) finally got out of the inning on Dave Clark's ground out. Afterward, Dreifort was sent to the showers. He finished with four strikeouts and allowed five runs on eight hits in five innings. He will also go back to the bullpen, because the Dodgers have two upcoming open dates.

``I just got some pitches up. It was a (messed up) inning,'' said Dreifort, who said he felt good in the fifth. ``I didn't get the ball where I needed to, especially on Bagwell.''

Said Bagwell, ``Dreifort has some good stuff, but he needs to practice a little bit more.''

On a good note for Los Angeles, promising power-hitting rookie Paul Konerko finally made some noise, offensively. After entering the game with a .185 batting average (5 for 27) and no RBI, the 1997 Minor League Player of the Year got his first career RBI on a sacrifice fly in the second that scored Todd Zeile and put the Dodgers up 1-0.

``I just haven't been putting good swings on it,'' Konerko said. ``I've always been a slow starter, but it's magnified bigger on this level.''

Down 6-1 in the eighth, the Dodgers rallied to score a run on a Mike Piazza RBI single that scored Wilton Guerrero. Los Angeles had men on first and third with one out, but Zeile and Raul Mondesi finished the inning by striking out and popping out. Houston left-hander Mike Hampton (2-0) earned the win, struck out six and allowed just two runs on seven hits in 7-1/3 innings.

``We couldn't get any offense going,'' Dodgers manager Bill Russell said. ``(Houston's) left-hander pitched well.''

In the afternoon, the Dodgers seemed destined for their first rainout since 1988, when showers canceled three consecutive games against the San Diego Padres (April 19-21). Also in jeopardy was a club-record dry spell of 773 straight contests, but the rain stopped around 6 p.m.

One reporter noted to Piazza that the Dodgers won their last World Series in 1988, the year of their last rainout. Piazza first gave a whatever grin before replying, ``We are going to need a lot more (than rain) for that to happen again.''

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Photo

PHOTO Dodgers catcher Mike Piazza appeals to the first-base umpire after a Jack Howell swing.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press