ZEILE STUNS ANGELS; NINTH-INNING HOMER GIVES DODGERS VICTORY : DODGERS 4, ANGELS 3.

Byline: Eric Noland Daily News Staff Writer

When the Angels played there for four years in the early 1960s, they couldn't bring themselves to use the stadium's real name, so they called the place Chavez Ravine.

They were fooling themselves, as the Dodgers demonstrated Tuesday night in the historic first regular-season meeting of the Dodgers and Angels.

It's still, as always, Dodger Stadium. Capital `D.'

This was affirmed in stirring - and somewhat shocking - fashion as the Dodgers' beleaguered offense fought back in the ninth inning against the Angels' best relief pitcher to claim a 4-3 victory before 41,428 fans.

Twenty-nine times previously this season the Dodgers had trailed entering the ninth inning. Twenty-eight of those times they failed to overcome the deficit and expired in defeat. Not this time, though. And what a dramatic way to pull out a victory.

After Wilton Guerrero raced home from second base on a Troy Percival wild pitch to tie the game, Todd Zeile ripped a two-out, solo home run off the Angels closer to secure the victory.

It was only the second save opportunity Percival has blown in seven chances this season. And it was only the third home run he has surrendered in 16 appearances.

The finish was sure to be cathartic for the Dodgers, because they had suffered through some excruciating lapses to that point. Even in the ninth.

Guerrero, whose earlier solo home run off Chuck Finley accounted for the Dodgers' first run, opened the inning with a flared line drive off Percival. The ball hugged the left-field foul line, and Guerrero, standing in the first-base batter's box, watched it. And watched it. And watched it.

Only when third-base umpire Jeff Nelson shot his hand toward fair territory did Guerrero decide it was time to start running. He got no farther than first base on a ball that should have been a stand-up double.

After moving up to second on the pinch-hit sacrifice bunt of Brett Butler, Guerrero watched Roger Cedeno strike out for the inning's second out.

But then Guerrero and the Dodgers caught a break. Percival stumbled while delivering a fastball to Zeile, and the ball bounced in the dirt perhaps four feet to the right of catcher Chad Kreuter. Guerrero dashed around third as the ball bounced off the backstop, and Kreuter's throw to Percival covering the plate was rushed, wild and late.

Zeile, who earlier had produced a solo home run off Mike James, got the count to 1-1 before driving a Percival pitch over the wall in left field for the game-winner.

The win was only the second for the Dodgers in five interleague encounters in the past week.

The Dodgers had prime opportunities to overtake the Angels in the sixth and eighth innings. But, conforming to a familiar pattern, they stranded five runners over those two innings while coming up short.

In the eighth, Angels manager Terry Collins used his bullpen masterfully to frustrate the Dodgers.

Zeile's leadoff homer pulled L.A. to within 3-2. Mike Piazza and Eric Karros followed with singles, but the Dodgers could get no more. Against Pep Harris, Raul Mondesi popped a bunt into the air; Harris dropped it but recovered to force Piazza at third. Mike Holtz then came on, and he caught pinch-hitter Nelson Liriano looking at strike three.

Collins' next summoned Percival, who fed pinch-hitter Karim Garcia a steady diet of mid-90s fastballs before fooling him cruelly on a changeup for a swinging strikeout.

Incredibly, the Dodgers were even more hapless in the sixth. They opened that inning with three consecutive singles against Finley. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, however, the hits were produced by the lumbering trio of Zeile, Piazza and Karros, and the Dodgers could do no better than load the bases.

On Karros' single to right, third-base coach Joey Amalfitano elected to hold Zeile at third - undoubtedly a wise decision given the strength of Tim Salmon's arm in right.

Finley got out of the inning in impressive fashion, striking out Mondesi and Billy Ashley with wide-breaking curves before ending the threat on Greg Gagne's fielder's-choice grounder to short.

The Angels made much more of their opportunities against Dodgers starter Chan Ho Park, notably in the top of the sixth.

After Dave Hollins got a two-out single to right and Salmon followed with a walk, Garret Anderson reached for a fastball at chin level and drove it deep to right-center field. Mondesi, the Dodgers' right fielder, appeared to mis-time his jump at the wall and couldn't come down with the ball, which was scored a two-RBI double.

The Angels got their first run at the expense of Zeile, who followed a brilliant fielding play in the second inning with a bobble of Gary DiSarcina's grounder in the third.

An unearned run eventually came around to score - in the person of Finley, who forced DiSarcina at second with a bunt - when Jim Edmonds went the other way for a run-scoring double down the left-field line.

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--color) Dodgers shortstop Greg Gagne forces Gary DiSarcina at second base on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Chuck Finley, who reached first and eventually scored for Angels.

(2) Angels outfielder Tony Phillips temporarily lost this pop fly but recovered to record a first-inning out during Dodgers' 4-3 win Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.

Terri Thuente / Daily News