ISHII FLIPS SWITCH AFTER ROCKY SPRING PITCHER RECEIVES PLENTY OF SUPPORT DODGERS 5, COLORADO 1.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

Given the way Kazuhisa Ishii pitched in spring training, Dodger manager Jim Tracy wouldn't have been blamed if a couple relievers had been warming up before Friday night's first pitch.

Ishii, who looked mostly dreadful this spring as coaches attempted to tweak his pitching motion, somehow flipped the switch in his 2004 debut and pitched six strong innings to lift the Dodgers to a 5-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies in front of 54,599 at Dodger Stadium.

Things were so bad for Ishii this spring that ever-optimistic Tracy issued thinly-veiled challenges to Ishii to improve during his third season in the major leagues.

Nothing seemed to work for Ishii in the spring, as his ERA soared to near 15.00. Ishii was far from brilliant against the Rockies and still struggled with his control at times, a problem throughout his previous two years with the Dodgers, but Colorado couldn't break through.

Ishii (1-0) pitched six innings, something he did only once in his final six starts of 2003, and the only mark against him came in the sixth on Charles Johnson's two-out solo home run. Ishii scattered three other hits, walked four and struck out four.

Pitching coach Jim Colborn worked extensively with Ishii this spring, believing that fixing flaws in the pitcher's delivery would help his balance on the mound and thus help him throw strikes.

The results were debatable at best Friday, as Ishii fell behind in the count often and looked very much like the inconsistent pitcher of 2003, but he held on, and the Dodgers' hitters provided ample offense.

Paul Lo Duca continued his hot start to the season with two singles, Adrian Beltre hit a two-run home run in the fourth, Alex Cora hit a two-run triple in the sixth, and Dave Roberts set a personal best with four stolen bases as the Dodgers led all the way and won their third consecutive game.

Roberts walked in the first, fifth and sixth innings and singled in the third - stealing second each time with Cesar Izturis at the plate. He became the first Dodger to steal four bases in a game since Rudy Law in 1980.

Lo Duca entered Friday's game with a .615 batting average, and he has clearly taken to hitting fifth in the batting order, as opposed to the No. 2 spot that he had mixed results with last season.

``He likes where he's at in the order,'' Tracy said, ``with the opportunity to come up with men on base instead of being a stage-setter as a No. 2 hole hitter. He's very comfortable with where he's at.''

Lo Duca has had at least one hit in each of the Dodgers' first four games, and Friday he came up big twice. In the first inning, Roberts led off with a walk and Shawn Green walked with two outs. Lo Duca lined a ball over the head of Colorado first baseman Todd Helton to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.

That's where the game stood until the fourth inning, when Lo Duca led off with a sharp single to left. He was erased when Juan Encarnacion grounded into a fielder's choice, but Beltre followed with the home run to left-center, his second homer in the past three games.

In the sixth, Encarnacion and Beltre walked with one out and Cora tripled to right-center to give the Dodgers a 5-1 lead. All those runs came off Colorado's Scott Elarton (0-1), who allowed only five hits but walked five and was pulled after Cora's triple.

The Dodgers had a chance to blow the game open after Cora's triple, as reliever Javier Lopez walked Roberts and Izturis with two outs, but Milton Bradley flied out to left to end the threat.

Ishii threw 95 pitches in six innings and was relieved by former starter Wilson Alvarez, who struck out the side in the seventh.

Rich Hammond, [phone]

rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com

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(color) Adrian Beltre (29) is congratulated by teammates Alex Cora (13) and Juan Encarnacion after Beltre hit a two-run homer.

Chris Urso/Associated Press

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