GOOD TIMING FOR LIMA PITCHER LIFTS DODGERS PAST PADRES DODGERS 6, SAN DIEGO 3.

Byline: Tony Jackson Staff Writer

When he wasn't dodging comebackers, Jose Lima was dodging bullets. When he wasn't busy overcoming his own shortcomings, such as the nine hits he allowed, he was overcoming those of his teammates, such as the two pop flies they allowed to fall untouched and a third that was dropped.

But while the veteran right-hander was anything but dominating for the Dodgers on Tuesday night, he was exactly what they needed him to be in a month when their starting staff had developed an inflated ERA and a maddening inability to pitch deep into ballgames.

More specifically, Lima was just good enough.

The result for the grateful Dodgers was a 6-3 victory over the San Diego Padres before 29,704 at Dodger Stadium. The effect was to run a few more ticks off the clock in the National League West, where the first- place Dodgers are running the baseball equivalent of the four-corners offense with less than three weeks of regular season remaining.

Lima went seven adequate innings, which was welcome news for a beleaguered bullpen, and got the win, which was the first time a Dodgers starter had done that since, well, the last time Lima pitched, on Thursday night against Arizona.

``The main thing for us (starters) lately has been that we're trying to get 27 outs in the first inning instead of taking it one pitch at a time and just making some pitches,'' Lima said. ``In the beginning tonight, I tried to do too much. But Colby (pitching coach Jim Colborn) told me I'm a machine, and to just do the things I have done all year long, not to try to do anything different. After that, I settled down, you saw what happened. I made some quality pitches.''

By the end of the second inning, when Lima had faced the minimum, allowed only one hit, induced one double-play grounder and been staked to a 1-0 lead, there was little evidence he would have to battle to the degree that he did. But in the third, Lima gave up a leadoff single to Ramon Vazquez followed by a two-run homer to Jay Payton, and the lesson in perseverance was officially under way.

When Shawn Green seemed to give up too early on a first-inning foul pop by Mark Loretta that fell on the track in front of the first-base camera well, Lima hadn't flinched, quickly getting Loretta to ground out to Green. But with one out in the fourth, Ryan Klesko hit a high, foul pop over near third. Adrian Beltre flipped his glove at the last moment trying to make a basket catch.

Beltre dropped the ball, and Klesko hit Lima's next pitch into the right-field pavilion, giving the Padres a 3-2 lead.

Ramon Hernandez and Vazquez followed Klesko's homer with back-to-back singles, putting runners on the corners with one out. But again, Lima escaped, getting Payton to ground into a double play.

From there, Lima more or less cruised. This despite the fact he was nailed by line drives from Sean Burroughs in the fifth and Phil Nevin in the sixth. Both times, Lima recovered quickly, ran down the carom and threw the runner out at first. And, another pop fly fell between Beltre and left fielder Jayson Werth on a ball Beltre appeared to call for, resulting in a two-out double for Klesko in the sixth, but Lima got Hernandez to line out to end the inning.

Manager Jim Tracy finally came to get Lima after he gave up a two-out single to Dave Hansen in the seventh. The nine hits notwithstanding, Lima had reached that late juncture of the game on a remarkably economical 82 pitches.

``He did a terrific job,'' Tracy said. ``I really thought his slider was the best I have seen in quite a while, and that made his changeup that much better.''

The Dodgers (84-60) remained 4 1/2 games ahead of second-place San Francisco, which won at Milwaukee but now has one less date on the calendar in which to make up the difference.

Lima (13-5) tied Kazuhisa Ishii for the team lead in victories.

Tony Jackson,[phone]

tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, 2 boxes

Photo:

Dodgers outfielder Jason Werth hits a home run in the third inning of Tuesday night's game against San Diego.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) STORY LINES

(2) GAME RECAP