GREEN COLORS DODGERS WIN SLUGGER HITS HR MARK DODGERS 10, ANGELS 5.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

It seemed remarkably possible that two baseball milestones could be achieved in the same game Saturday night, with Odalis Perez on track for a perfect game and Shawn Green crushing home runs in his first two at-bats.

It wasn't meant to be a historic night at Dodger Stadium, but that didn't diminish the strong efforts of Green and Perez, who propelled the Dodgers to a 10-5 victory over the Angels in front of 52,165 to even the three-game interleague series.

Perez (7-3) retired the first 13 batters he faced and won his third consecutive decision, and Green continued a torrid streak at the plate in what has to be considered one of the best four-week stretches in recent Dodgers history. Green hit two of the Dodgers' four home runs Saturday.

``Obviously, it had the makings of something we visited in Milwaukee not too long ago,'' Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said in reference to Green's four-homer game May 23. ``That's one of the prettiest swings there is in the game. When the bat is centered on the ball, the ballpark is not going to hold it in, that's all there is to it.''

In his past 23 games (dating to May 21), Green has 17 home runs and 31 RBI and has raised his batting average from .231 to .284. Green followed his two home run effort Friday with a solo homer in the first inning Saturday and a two-run shot in the second, both against Angels starter Scott Schoeneweis (5-5).

``He's swinging the bat unbelievably,'' Dodgers catcher Paul Lo Duca said. ``I'm getting tired of shaking his hand (after home runs). They're not cheap. He's hitting them to left, to center, to right, everywhere. That makes him tough to pitch to.''

Green tied a record as the 22nd major leaguer to hit home runs in four consecutive at-bats over two games, and was the first to accomplish the feat since Barry Bonds did it in May 2001. It also scared the Angels enough to issue him a five-pitch walk in the fifth. Green struck out with two runners on base in both the sixth and eighth innings.

Lost in the sparkling debut season of Kazuhisa Ishii and the back and elbow troubles of Kevin Brown, Perez quietly has become the Dodgers' most consistent starter.

Perez, considered an afterthought in the trade that sent Gary Sheffield to Atlanta for Brian Jordan in the offseason, continued his breakthrough season with another quality effort against the Angels. He allowed two runs on six hits in seven innings, struck out six and walked none.

``He's such a very capable pitcher,'' Tracy said. ``If you wanted to talk about who ... is the ace of the staff in the absence of your ace, this guy makes a strong case for it.''

Perez was unhittable in the early going, consistently getting ahead of batters and allowing just one ball out of the infield in the first four innings. Perez struck out four consecutive batters in one stretch, and struck out six of the first 12 he faced.

``He had four pitches going tonight,'' Angels shortstop David Eckstein said. ``When a guy is throwing four different pitches, it's hard to get a good read, a good feel in the box. We tried to battle back, but he was dealing.''

Tim Salmon broke up Perez's bid for history with a one-out home run to left field in the fifth. The Angels also made things somewhat difficult for him in the middle innings, even though the Dodgers already had built a 9-2 lead by the time Perez left after the seventh.

The Dodgers scored six runs in the first two innings to chase Schoeneweis. Lo Duca and Green hit consecutive home runs in the first, which meant that the Dodgers' last six hits had been solo home runs, no doubt an obscure baseball record.

``I didn't even get to bat, that's how quick that happened,'' Schoeneweis said.

Lo Duca's homer was just his third in 61 games this season. In his breakout 2001 season, Lo Duca hit 15 home runs in his first 61 games. Cesar Izturis added a career-best four hits and Brian Jordan had a two-run home run in the fifth inning.

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Photo:

Shawn Green is congratulated after he hit his second homer in as many at-bats Saturday, giving him four in his past four at-bats.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer