GOOD THINGS COME TO THREE FOR DODGERS DODGERS 4, FLORIDA 3.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

Darren Dreifort hadn't won in a month. Terry Adams' ERA blasted off about the same time a Los Angeles mogul shelled out $20 million to see Earth in his rearview mirror.

In addition, Alex Cora couldn't get a hit and, though he's a defensive shortstop, was hit-or-miss catching the ball.

That changed with the Dodgers' 4-3 victory over the Florida Marlins at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, when the trio each played big roles in leading the Dodgers to their third consecutive win.

Shawn Green paced the Dodgers' offense with a three-run homer in the four-run third inning. It was Green's seventh homer but first since April 25.

Dreifort allowed three runs (two earned) in six innings. He threw 106 pitches, gave up seven hits, walked three and struck out five, but his key was staying away from the big inning.

``I felt my breaking pitch was suspect,'' Dreifort said. ``I don't think I was fooling anybody. We had enough runs to offset the bad pitches I was making.''

Dreifort allowed less than four runs for the second time in seven starts. Opponents have scored four runs or more in an inning four times against him.

``In the fourth or fifth inning, sometimes he'd leave the ball in the middle of the plate, but I told him when he's in those situations, 'I don't want you to be too fine.' '' Dodgers catcher Angel Pena said. ``I wanted him to keep it going like he does in the first or second inning. Just keep doing the same thing.''

Another good sign for the Dodgers was the two scoreless innings pitched by Adams, who was hit hard in his last outing. Adams was charged with seven runs and didn't record an out in Saturday's 20-1 abomination at Chicago's Wrigley Field. Prior to that, he yielded three runs in two innings against Cincinnati.

On Thursday, Adams was aided by a quickly turned double play with runners on the corners and one out in the eighth. Pinch hitter Kevin Millar hit a slow roller to Cora, who flipped to Mark Grudzielanek to start the double play.

Closer Jeff Shaw pitched the ninth for his National League-leading 12th save. It was also the 18th one-run game played by the first-place Dodgers (20-15), who are 9-9 in those contests.

``What you do on a field now is pretty much blood, written in blood, and you can't take it back,'' said Adams, who has a 5.14 ERA. ``It's a lot of hard work for a reliever to get his numbers in a good position where he wants them, and when you go out and have a game like that (against Chicago), you always think back (about) how long it's going to take you, how many games with scoreless innings you're going to have to pitch to get your numbers down so you're respected by the baseball peers.''

Cora had a peaks-and-valleys night. He ended an 0-for-18 slump with three hits, made a nice defensive play on a ball deflected by Dreifort and started the key double play. But he made his team-high ninth error that led to the Marlins' third run.

Still, it was a better night for Cora, who didn't start Wednesday because manager Jim Tracy wanted to give him a rest to get his mind away from his struggles.

``(Tracy) knows I'm a better defensive player than I'm showing right now,'' Cora said. ``I guess everybody in this room (the clubhouse) knows it, especially me, and that's the most important thing. If the people behind you back you up, it feels good, and I know the pitchers, they trust me.''

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Darren Dreifort earned his second win of the season Friday, allowing three runs in six innings against Florida.

Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press