MARQUIS FILLS IN NOBLY GRISSOM HOMERS TWICE AS SUB FOR SHEFFIELD DODGERS 7, HOUSTON 2.

Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer

Gary Sheffield assured that Marquis Grissom is a capable replacement while Sheffield is sidelined with an injured finger.

Grissom proved Sheffield right by hitting two home runs and driving in five runs in the Dodgers' 7-2 victory over Houston on Saturday in front of 38,735 at Dodger Stadium.

He hit a three-run shot in the third inning and a two-run blast in the eighth to provide more than enough support for a solid outing by rookie pitcher Luke Prokopec.

``If we can get Marquis hot, he can hit just as many home runs as I can,'' Sheffield said before the game. ``To do that over the long run, I don't know. ... But he's the same type of player as me.''

Grissom also started in place of Sheffield on Friday and went 2 for 3. In his past nine games before Saturday, Grissom batted .500 with two home runs and five RBI. He now has 10 home runs on the season, ranking him on the team behind only Sheffield and Shawn Green, who each have 11 homers.

``I don't think I'm a fourth outfielder,'' Grissom said. ``I go out there with something to prove. ... I just try to hit the ball hard. I'm not thinking home run, I'm not thinking base hit, I'm just trying to hit the ball hard.''

As is frequently the case for Sheffield, Grissom was left driving in most of the runs.

The Dodgers had no trouble reaching base against Houston starter Shane Reynolds (4-4) but were frequently stranded in scoring position.

Paul Lo Duca, Mark Grudzielanek and Green each singled to load the bases with one out in the first, but the ball did not leave the infield as the next two batters were retired to end the inning.

Prokopec singled to start a two-out rally in the second, but he and Lo Duca, who followed with a double, were left on base.

Seven Dodgers reached base before Grissom's two-out home run in the third inning provided a 3-0 advantage.

The Astros immediately began to chip away at the lead. Craig Biggio opened the fourth inning with a single and scored three batters later on a sacrifice fly by Moises Alou. Biggio's hit was just Houston's second of the game. He was one of only two Astros to advance past second base.

The Dodgers responded by scoring a run in the bottom of the inning when Grudzielanek singled in Tom Goodwin from second. Adrian Beltre added another run for the Dodgers in the eighth inning with his second home run.

Prokopec (6-1) held Houston to six hits in 8 2/3 innings. The right-hander struck out three and retired the side in order five times.

He also found another way to resemble one of the sport's best when he hit a bird while warming up in the middle of the game, just a day after talking about the bird that was killed by a pitch from Arizona's three-time Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson this year.

Prokopec said such a thing would never happen again, but then again, few would have predicted the rest of what Prokopec has achieved this season. The outing was his fifth in eight starts without allowing a walk.

Prokopec was aided by defensive plays such as Goodwin's leaping grab at the center-field fence to deny Alou a leadoff home run in the seventh inning. Later Grissom ran into the wall to catch a ball hit by Vinny Castilla and end the seventh.

There was also Green's outstretched running catch of a fifth-inning drive by Castilla and Beltre's sixth-inning throw from deep down the third-base line to get Biggio at first.

``It's very gratifying for me to see that,'' Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said. ``As I've said all along, there's a lot of good players on this team.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Houston's Craig Biggio gloves a ball hit by the Dodgers' Alex Cora in the third inning Saturday night. Cora was thrown out on the play.

(2) Marquis Grissom is congratulated by Dodgers teammates after hitting a three-run homer in the third inning as Houston's Tony Eusebio, center, stands by.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press