GIANTS GET JUMP IN SAN FRANCISCO DODGERS BEATEN AS EARLY GAP WIDENS SAN FRAN. 2, DODGERS 1.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

SAN FRANCISCO - The season is fewer than two weeks old, so the National League West race is far from over. Check back in another two weeks, though.

San Francisco continued its torrid start thanks to a solo homer from former Dodger Marquis Grissom and eight strong innings from rookie right-hander Kurt Ainsworth, and the Giants opened a four-game series Thursday with a 2-1 victory against the Dodgers at Pac Bell Park.

Backed by numerous superb plays in the field, the defending NL champion Giants (9-1) have one loss and already have built a 4 1/2-game lead over the third-place Dodgers. It is something of which the Dodgers are acutely aware.

``They're obviously off to a great start, but I think more than us winning games, giving them some losses to bring them back to the pack is important,'' Dodgers right fielder Shawn Green said. ``It's still early, but at the same time, if a good team gets hot early on, like Seattle did a couple of years ago, then it could make it really tough to catch them because they're a good team.''

Ainsworth (2-0) was sensational, allowing one run and striking out five. But it was another of the game's elements that was eerily familiar.

A year ago, the Dodgers paid Tom Goodwin $3.5 million and watched him deliver a pair of clutch game-winning hits in the playoff drive. Grissom, who signed a two-year free agent deal in the offseason, is being paid $1 million in deferred salary by the Dodgers this season and in 2004.

After J.T. Snow had an RBI single in the second inning, Grissom's first homer as a Giant, a first-pitch fastball off Hideo Nomo, extended the lead to 2-0 in the fourth with one out.

``I had a whole year off, so I'm well rested,'' said Grissom, a reserve in his two years in Los Angeles. ``I wasn't trying to hit a home run. I was trying to get a base hit. I knew (Nomo) was going to try and get ahead because there was nobody on base. If somebody was on base, he would have thrown a split-finger or something.''

Again, a stagnant Dodgers offense destroyed a strong pitching performance. Nomo's bid for his 100th career victory was foiled despite his seven strong innings in which he allowed two runs.

The Dodgers scored their run on reliever Tim Worrell's two-out wild pitch in the ninth inning, but Fred McGriff struck out to end it. Catcher Paul Lo Duca had three of the Dodgers' six hits, and the lineup has scored 39 runs (tied for 11th in NL) in 11 games.

The Giants' victory also gave San Francisco manager Felipe Alou his 700th career win, 691 of which came with Montreal.

Dodgers manager Jim Tracy, who served as Alou's bench coach in Montreal for four years, was asked about matching wits with his mentor.

``I think it's a case of two guys who have a pretty good handle on their X's and O's and doing a pretty good job of doing what is necessary to put their team in position to win a game,'' Tracy said.

The only positive for the Dodgers was that closer Eric Gagne wasn't used for a fifth consecutive day, though Tracy said Gagne was available. Gagne pitched two innings Sunday and one inning the next three days. He threw a total of 55 pitches.

``I keep a very close eye on the cumulative effect,'' Tracy said. ``The cumulative effect is a guy that takes 26 or 30 pitches to put a game down. Or to stretch him our for three innings and he throws 55, 60 pitches. How many times you guys see that happen?

``We don't make too many mistakes here with our pitchers.''

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(color) The Dodgers' Hideo Nomo did not get his 100th career victory Thursday night in San Francisco.

Ben Margot/Associated Press