HOME-RUN HEAVEN : DODGERS, ROCKIES COMBINE FOR 9 IN L.A. WIN DODGERS 13, COLORADO 10.

Byline: Tim Brown Daily News Staff Writer

Bill Russell, from behind tired eyes, forced out a little grin and said, ``Thirteen's the magic number. Whoever gets it first.''

The question, however, was, would it last, here, at Coors Field, the purple pitcher-eater?

In the third game of what has become an incredible offensive series, the Dodgers scored the first 13 runs, then pitched to two batters in the ninth inning with the potential tying runs standing in the on-deck circle. The Colorado Rockies succumbed, finally, but not before they wrung every bit of normalcy out of it.

The Dodgers defeated the Rockies 13-10 on Saturday night. The Dodgers hit six home runs, three by Mike Piazza, including his fifth career grand slam, and two teams separated by half-a-game in the National League West combined for nine. There were 3,627 feet of home runs hit.

The Rockies won the first two games, by scores of 13-1 and 13-4. And then the Dodgers led 13-0 in this one, after their half of the eighth inning. The Rockies scored eight in the eighth inning and then two in the ninth.

``Coors Field for ya,'' Dodgers rookie Todd Hollandsworth said.

And that, really, told the story. Russell, acting manager in Tom Lasorda's place, won for the first time after four defeats. Afterward, no one pumped his fist and no one shouted. The Dodgers simply shook the hand of Todd Worrell, who ended it finally with a strikeout of Jayhawk Owens, and then wondered where the bus was. The final six outs cost 10 runs, just as the Dodgers' first 24 outs cost the Rockies 13.

``It feels good,'' Russell said of his long-in-coming victory. ``I thought it would be a little easier.''

Eric Karros, who hit his 16th home run in the midst of the Dodgers' five-run fifth, was reminded of Russell's achievement.

``Sheesh, I feel sorry for him,'' he said. ``Tommy will be out of the hospital and he'll be in it.''

The Rockies, though, merely continued on with what they had done all series. The Dodgers managed to play along for a change. They combined for 36 hits and 69 total bases. The Dodgers established season highs for runs, hits (20), extra-base hits (8) and a few others. They were dragged along by Piazza, who hit home runs 19 through 21 and drove in runs 50 through 55.

Greg Gagne hit his fifth. Billy Ashley, who arrived in an 0-for-22 mess, hit his fourth. They scored single runs in the third and fourth innings, five in the fifth and sixth in the eighth. That made 13, to the Rockies' zero, a lead built as much on several spectacular defensive plays and seven shutout innings by starter Ismael Valdes (8-5) as it was the offense.

Russell cleared his bench. Rockies reliever Lance Painter threw a pitch at Karros' knees in the eighth, and he was ejected. So was Rockies manager Don Baylor. Come on. It's 13-0.

``It seems to be the story of our season,'' Piazza said later. ``We don't have too much time to enjoy anything.''

In the bottom of the eighth, with the pixels in the Dodgers' 13 just warming on the scoreboard, the Rockies pasted eight runs on a combination of a weakened Valdes and three Dodgers relievers. Twelve Rockies batted, and the inning didn't end until a double play, right fielder Raul Mondesi to Karros to third baseman Mike Blowers, to catch Eric Young in a huge baserunning blunder.

It was 13-8, faster than you can say, ``Hey, your team ERA just went up a third of a run.''

After an out in the bottom of the ninth, the Rockies scored twice more on Vinny Castilla's 16th home run. That brought Worrell, a tough sort with enough veteran in him to finish it. After a ground-ball double, he struck out the last two hitters.

``They can't all be like this,'' Russell said with a sigh.

They can here.

``It's a good place to hit,'' said Piazza after the first three-homer game of his career and the club's first six-homer game since the Dodgers hit seven in a 1979 game.

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Photo, Chart

Photo: (color) Even with three homers and six RBI, M ike Piazza wasn't the only one who got into the swing of things Saturday.

Associated Press

Chart: GO THE DISTANCE