HOLLANDSWORTH MAKES IT HAPPEN : DODGERS WIN OPENER ON ROOKIE'S THREE-RUN DOUBLE DODGERS 4, HOUSTON 3.

Byline: Tim Brown Daily News Staff Writer

It might have been played indoors, but it was still Opening Day and Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda was taken with the hopefulness of the occasion. Of course, he has 20 to call on.

``That,'' Lasorda said, ``was a good game for us to win.''

After all, the Dodgers defeated the Houston Astros 4-3 on Monday afternoon at the Astrodome. Not only that, Lasorda's left-field platoon worked, his bullpen worked and his new defense worked, all when it counted.

Honestly, though, Lasorda has never run into a game that wasn't good to win. Not in 20 years, he hasn't.

``Huh?,'' he said with a laugh. ``I'll have to think about it.''

He'll get back to it.

In the meantime, the Dodgers began their season with a victory, as most of baseball has predicted will be the outcome of many of Lasorda's afternoons and evenings. This time, it happened primarily because of Todd Hollandsworth, not generally regarded among the Dodgers' daily threats.

Hollandsworth, for now, is a platoon player in left field, a position he shares with Billy Ashley and maybe Roger Cedeno. In fact, his reward for a fifth-inning double that drove in three of the Dodgers' four runs is a big, fat seat on the bench next to Lasorda.

The Astros start left-hander Greg Swindell today and another left-hander, Mike Hampton, on Wednesday. Therefore, Ashley starts in the field and Hollandsworth starts looking for things to do.

It is a straight platoon, Lasorda said, ``for today.''

``As you come out each day,'' Lasorda said, ``you look at the lineup and then you'll know.''

The personality of left field will be duct-taped to the dugout wall.

``It's just to start the game,'' Hollandsworth said after his hit finally leveled Astros' starter Shane Reynolds, who precariously stranded six Dodger baserunners in the previous three innings. ``I come to the yard to play. I don't think I'll be necessarily sitting through two games in a row. I find that hard to believe.''

Against Reynolds, the Dodgers left a runner on first base in the second inning, left the bases loaded in the third and runners at first and second in the fourth. They also left two on in the sixth. But, by then, Hollandsworth had cleared the bases.

In the fifth inning, with two out, Hollandsworth saw seven pitches before he lashed the eighth into right-center field. Eric Karros, who earlier singled home Brett Butler, scored, as did Raul Mondesi and Mike Blowers. The Dodgers led 4-1, and then Hollandsworth was thrown out trying to turn his double into a triple.

From Reynolds, Hollandsworth saw off-speed pitches and hard-breaking pitches, the kind of things rookies get until they prove they can hit them. He missed them, fouled them, then hit one that rolled to the wall.

``It was just a picture-perfect at-bat,'' Butler said.

Karros left the bases loaded before that and Mike Piazza left two men on after that.

``Fortunately, he came through,'' Karros said. ``We left a lot of guys on base today.''

Eleven in all, to go with their 11 strikeouts.

``He was coming after me with split-fingered fastballs,'' Hollandsworth said. ``It felt like I was up there for an hour. I ended up hitting that split-finger into the gap. It was a battle. Definitely. Absolutely. I was just trying to fight off those strikeout pitches he was throwing.

``It's the first game of the year. It's a big W. Obviously, it's going to help my confidence. It is a good start, but it's not the end. It's only the beginning.''

At that, the Dodgers' bats went dormant again, and starter Ramon Martinez tired in the sixth inning. The three-run lead was two when Jeff Bagwell homered to lead off the sixth and then one when Derek Bell tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly.

Martinez finished the sixth inning and was the winner because Darren Hall and Todd Worrell didn't allow an Astros baserunner for the final three innings. Cast aside by the Toronto Blue Jays this offseason, Hall had three strikeouts in two innings, then handed the ball and the save to Worrell.

``I can't believe, he and (Scott) Radinsky, organizations gave up on those guys,'' Karros said afterward. ``That's amazing. You can't tell me they had the kind of pitching to give up on those guys. I don't know, maybe they do.''

Hall was unscored upon in seven spring appearances, then allowed five well-placed runs against the Angels on Saturday night.

``It's just perfect,'' Hall said of his successful Dodger debut. ``(But) I sort of wish it had happened in L.A., redeemed myself for what happened the other night.''

Of his 25 pitches against the Astros, 20 were for strikes. Worrell finished it with a strikeout of Orlando Miller, on three pitches.

``That,'' Worrell said, ``is the way it's supposed to work.''

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Chart

Photo: (1--color) Todd Hollandsworth slides safel y into second under Craig Biggio's tag in the fourth inning at the Astrodome Monday.

(2) Dodger pitcher Hideo Nomo signs autographs in Houston Monday a throng of Japanese photographers make a record of the occasion.

Associated Press

Chart: DOUBLING UP