Dodger Put End to 3-Game Skid, Set Stage for Reds : Baseball: They trim Cincinnati’s lead to 6 1/2 with 5-0 triumph over the Braves. Hartley pitches a three-hitter.

Among the 36,362 Thursday at Dodger Stadium was one particularly interested observer who had just flown in from San Francisco.

No sooner did he get settled in his seat than the Dodgers’ Eddie Murray hit a fastball from Atlanta pitcher Paul Marak over the right-field fence for a three-run home run in the first inning.

Just a bit later, Kal Daniels leaped over the left-field fence to steal a home run from the Braves’ Andres Thomas.

Then, Daniels hit a home run over the fence in right-center.

After three innings, the Dodgers take a 5-0 lead en route to a 5-0 victory over the Braves.

The Dodgers can only hope that the visitor, Jose Rijo, had a good seat.

Tonight, Rijo will start for the National League West-leading Cincinnati Reds in the series opener against the second-place Dodgers.

The Dodgers prepared themselves for the Reds with a three-hitter by Mike Hartley that ended the team’s three-game losing streak.

Thursday’s victory, coupled with the Reds’ 6-2 loss in San Francisco earlier in the day, moved the Dodgers to within 6 1/2 games of first place.

It was the first time Hartley had pitched a complete-game shutout. It was also the Dodgers’ first shutout since July 21, their first complete game since Aug. 8, and the first time in six days that a starter has gone more than five innings. The offense, with 24 runs in its last five games, is loose again.

But, as Manager Tom Lasorda said before Thursday’s game, they still need a sweep of the Reds.

“If we win two out of three, we just gain a game. We need to gain three games.

“This is one of the only times we have a chance to beat a team in front of us and gain ground without needing help. This is a very, very important series.”

After the Reds’ series, the Dodgers will have 22 games remaining while the Reds have 23 remaining. If the Reds keep playing at their current pace, they would go 12-11 in those 23 games, and that would mean:

If the Dodgers sweep, they will be 3 1/2 games out of first place, and would need to win 15 of their final 22 games to tie the Reds.

--If the Dodgers win two of three, they will still be 5 1/2 games out of first place, and will need to win 17 of their 22 games.

--If the Dodgers lose two of three, they will be 7 1/2 games behind and need to win 19 of their final 22.

--If the Dodgers are swept, they will be 9 1/2 games behind and need to win 21 of their final 22.

The Dodgers broke the Braves’ six-game winning streak Thursday with the kind of force that sweeps series.

Hartley, pitching only 40 balls in nine innings, struck out six and walked none in the best performance of rookie season. And from the start, he did not do it alone.

Lenny Harris, who surprised teammates Wednesday by publicly criticizing veteran teammates and was forced to explain those comments in a Thurday meeting, began the Dodgers’ first inning with a hard single up the middle. One out later he stole second, then Daniels walked, then Murray hit a 1-and-0 pitch over the right field wall for his 22nd homer.

It was the first career homer allowed by rookie Marak, making his second major league start. With a team-leading 83 runs batted in, Murray is on a pace to accumulate his highest RBI total since he drove in 124 runs in 1985.

Two innings later, Daniels led off with his fifth homer in five games--all despite a pulled muscle in his side--to give him 24 homers. That figure is one short of the Dodger career record for left-handed hitters, and two short of his career mark.

The Dodgers finally knocked Marak out of the game when Hubie Brooks drew a one-out walk in the inning. Mike Scioscia greeted reliever Tony Castillo with a single to left that moved Brooks to third, from where he scored on a fly ball to deep right field by Mike Sharperson.

This was all the support needed by Hartley, who had not lasted more than six innings in any of his four previous starts.

His shutout was only endangered by a long drive by Andres Thomas in the third, but Daniels leaped over the left-field wall to pick off the ball in his second such catch this season.

Dodger Notes

Tom Lasorda called an impromptu meeting before the game to defuse comments made by Lenny Harris after Wednesday’s 6-2 loss. Harris, who earlier had met with Lasorda, spoke to his veteran teammates and explained that his remarks were based on his difficulty in accepting losing. “It was frustration,” Harris said later. “It’s over with.” After the Dodgers lost for the third consecutive time Wednesday, Harris had said: “It seems like we are just out there. We have to go out there and play hard and bust our butts . . . and there are some guys not doing that now . . . if they come to the park like this, they might as well not dress. The veterans have to come in here and pick up the young guys. Eddie (Murray) is a leader, he’s trying to keep us in there.”

Ray Searage threw 65 pitches on the side and said he felt good. He might return by the end of the upcoming eight-game trip. . . . Tim Belcher will throw again in the outfield today. Look for him to decide soon whether he will have arthroscopic surgery. . . . Contrary to what some Dodger officials think, Ramon Martinez says his arm is not tired. Martinez has only nine strikeouts over his last three games and only one victory in his last five games. “I feel good--the other night, I felt too good,” he said, referring to his performance in the blown 7-0 lead against Houston. “I get the lead and I feel like they can’t hit me and I don’t concentrate as much. My fastball may be a little different than the start of the season, but also the hitters are looking at me different, they are knowing me more and making it harder for me.”