Last Error Is the Best for Dodgers : Baseball: Griffin boots one in the ninth, setting up game-tying homer, then scores winning run when he fakes Cub right fielder Dawson into a bad throw.

Triumph followed heartbreak in the ninth inning for the Dodgers Saturday in a game they hope sets an example for their season.

Scene one, top of the ninth: Dodger pitcher Ramon Martinez is crouching in front of the mound, staring at the ground, trying not to look at the Chicago Cubs’ Shawon Dunston as he rounds the bases with a game-tying, three-run homer.

Scene two, bottom of the ninth: Alfredo Griffin is dancing across home plate, wildly clapping when an errant throw from right fielder Andre Dawson rolls to the backstop.

Griffin scored, and the Dodgers won, 5-4, in front of 45,791 roaring fans.

Using a lineup missing four regulars, the Dodgers took a 4-1 lead before blowing it, then pulling it out, all in a span of 10 minutes. It was their second emotional victory since Orel Hershiser’s season-ending shoulder surgery Friday morning.

“When Orel first went down, the clubhouse was like a funeral home,” Lenny Harris said. “But now, everybody is running around yelling and screaming again. Our enthusiasm is back.”

Not to mention their ingenuity, which led to the winning run after Dunston had tied the game in the ninth inning following an error on a potential game-ending double play grounder by Griffin.

The ingenuity, as a kind fate would have it, belonged to Griffin. He started the ninth against Cub reliever and loser Mitch Williams with a line drive over third base and into the left-field corner for a double. Rookie Jose Vizcaino, batting for Martinez, was then intentionally walked.

Juan Samuel’s perfect sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third, bringing up Mike Sharperson, who hit a soft fly ball to eight-time Gold Glove winner Dawson.

The ball was too shallow for Griffin to attempt to score. But as soon as Dawson caught it, Griffin faked an attempt, taking a couple of quick steps toward home plate before stopping. A surprised Dawson pumped once, and then hurriedly threw.

Dawson’s throw bounced on the infield grass halfway to home plate and skipped away from catcher Joe Girardi. Griffin scored easily on Dawson’s first error of the season.

“Can you believe that fake?” Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda asked. “I don’t think Dawson thought Alfredo was going, and then it looked like he was going, then he didn’t go, but by then Dawson had already thrown. What a great move by Alfredo.”

Said a relieved Griffin: “It was great for me to come back.”

Martinez, the winning pitcher, never saw the winning run. He was taking a shower. After what had happened to him in the top of the ninth, he couldn’t bear to look.

Martinez allowed one run on six hits in the first eight innings, then found trouble with one out in the ninth by walking Marvell Wynne. It was Martinez’s first walk of the game after 10 strikeouts.

Curtis Wilkerson then hit a grounder to Griffin, but the ball hit a rocky part of the infield before it reached the shortstop and skittered under his glove for an error.

“It was a tough play,” Griffin said. “I tried to catch the ball on the short hop.”

Dunston hit Martinez’s next pitch 380 feet into the left-field stands, just above the Dodger bullpen. It was Dunston’s third homer, and only the second homer allowed by Martinez in 27 1/3 innings.

“I didn’t hit a fastball, because I can’t hit his fastball,” Dunston said afterward. “I told my coaches, I wish he was 31 instead of 21.”

Martinez, who actually is 22, stayed in the game and retired Girardi and pitcher Williams to set up the bottom of the ninth. It was his second consecutive complete game, improving his record to 2-0 although increasing his earned-run average to 2.25.

Since Hershiser underwent surgery, the Dodgers have had two complete games, from Martinez and Fernando Valenzuela. In the five games since reliever Jay Howell underwent knee surgery, the Dodgers have needed the bullpen only twice, and neither game involved a save situation.

Some different Dodgers were in the lineup Saturday--third baseman Mickey Hatcher, second baseman Sharperson, left fielder Jose Gonzalez and catcher Carlos Hernandez. They all started because the Dodgers didn’t have a choice.

Willie Randolph had flu, Kal Daniels was resting his knees, Jeff Hamilton will be out several weeks with his bad shoulder, and Mike Scioscia merely needed a night off.

But all of it made sense as the reserves struck for two runs in the second and third innings against Cub starter Steve Wilson.

Dodger Notes

Jim Gott was pulled from the mound Saturday after throwing half of his scheduled 60 pitches in what could have been his final simulated game before going to Class-A Bakersfield on a rehabilitation assignment. His arm never loosened up and the Dodgers worried that he would hurt himself. It was Gott’s biggest setback thus far, but the Dodgers won’t know if he has actually regressed until he throws in another simulated game next week. He was not going to Bakersfield until after this home stand ends Wednesday, so his schedule has not been altered yet. “This stinks,” said Gott, who has spent more than a year recovering from elbow surgery. “This is the hardest time for this, when I am so close to being ready.” Gott’s final hurdle involves dealing with the scar tissue in the elbow, which is causing tightness and an inability to get full arm strength. After his brief work, Gott met with Dr. Frank Jobe, but said there would be no further elbow X-rays.

Making a strong final rehabilitation push is Pat Perry, the left-handed reliever who has quietly been recovering from winter shoulder surgery. Perry has raised eyebrows with three consecutive strong outings in the bullpen, and could throw his first simulated game by the end of next week. “I don’t think I’ve ever thrown my screwball better,” said Perry, who could give the bullpen a big lift as soon as mid-May. “I think I’m getting close.”

Rick Dempsey should be ready to return to the active list when he is eligible Tuesday. Dempsey, the backup catcher, said his back spasms have disappeared. On Friday, he took his first live batting practice with success.