Wetteland Takes Big Fall, 8-4 : Dodgers: Hershiser’s replacement is chased by the Giants in the fourth inning.

Dodger blue? It was more like surgical blues Monday night as the Dodgers were beaten by the Giants, 8-4, before 25,152 at Dodger Stadium.

This was the night John Wetteland was supposed to assume the mantle left by Orel Hershiser, who went under the knife last week.

Wetteland, taking Hershiser’s spot in the rotation, didn’t get an out in the fourth inning.

In all, the Giants battered six Dodger pitchers for two home runs, two triples and two doubles. Wetteland fell to 1-2.

The Giants, also looking for pitching, got a strong seven-inning performance from rookie John Burkett in his first start.

Wetteland did a decent impersonation of Hershiser for three innings, mowing down the Giants on one hit while striking out four.

But in the fourth inning the heart of the Giants lineup caught up with him. Wetteland faced five batters without recording an out.

Will Clark opened with a home run into the right-field pavilion. Kevin Mitchell beat out a nubber to third, followed by a hard single by Kevin Bass, Matt Williams’ two-run double down the left field line and Terry Kennedy’s opposite-field double just inside third base for four runs without an out.

Mike Munoz came in to strand two batters without further damage.

Burkett ran into trouble in the second, when Mike Scioscia, Mike Sharperson and Alfredo Griffin hit consecutive one-out singles for one run and Wetteland squeezed in another for a 2-0 lead.

But the Dodgers didn’t threaten the rookie again until the fifth, when Lenny Harris singled and stole second but was eventually stranded at third.

Meanwhile, another rookie pitcher, Mike Hartley, came on for the Dodgers in the fifth and struck out the heart of the order--Clark, Mitchell and Bass.

He then rang up Williams and Kennedy in the sixth inning, the most consecutive strikeouts for a Dodger reliever since Ron Perranoski set the club record with six straight in 1966. Hartley got out of the inning without incident despite a two-out triple by Jose Uribe, and cruised through the seventh as well, striking out Clark again to cap his impressive performance.

Tim Crews, who replaced Hart- ley in the eighth, saw his first pitch crushed by Mitchell into the left-field pavilion. Bass followed with a triple down the first base line and Williams poked a single through the drawn-in infield, building the lead to 6-2 and kayoing Crews. Ray Searage relieved without further damage in the inning.

Jeff Brantley replaced Burkett in the eighth for the Giants and was immediately in trouble, walking Kal Daniels and giving up a single to Eddie Murray. But he worked his way out without allowing Daniels to advance past second.

Dodger Notes

Orel Hershisher, who had shoulder surgery Friday, is expected to be released from Centinela Hospital Medical Center today. Reliever Jim Gott, recovering from surgery, will throw in the bullpen today and if all goes well, will began a minor league rehabilitation stint this week. The right-hander said Monday his soreness after throwing over the weekend was routine and a medical examination showed “everything is structurally fine.” He added, “The arm feels great. I’m able to get a lot of velocity now.”

The Dodgers sent infielder Jose Vizciano to Albuquerque to get down to the 25-man roster limit. . . . Monday night’s game was the second of three makeup dates with the Giants for games postponed by the lockout. The third game will be played here Aug. 1. . . . The Dodgers, who hoped to make a move in the 13-game home stand, their longest of the year, are only 5-6.