Sound of Silence Is Golden : Baseball: Braves’ cries, Dodgers’ whispers help Daniels score as Los Angeles pulls within 4 1/2 games of the Reds again, 6-2.

Amid Eddie Murray’s sudden challenge for the batting championship, and after another loud fall by the Cincinnati Reds, the Dodgers cinched a 6-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves Tuesday with the unexpected.

A whisper.

In the fifth inning, with the Dodgers leading, 3-0, Kal Daniels reached third base after the Braves had botched a potential inning-ending double play.

Jeff Blauser, the Braves’ shortstop who had applied a late tag on Murray at second base, was holding the ball with his back to home plate as he fretted over the umpire’s call.

Joe Amalfitano, the Dodgers’ third base coach, quietly stepped toward Daniels, leaned over and whispered.

“I told him, ‘Move up the line, move up the line,’ ” Amalfitano said. “I know the third baseman couldn’t hear us, and I hoped nobody else heard us.”

With only 3,891 at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, nobody did. Daniels creeped toward home plate until, suddenly, he broke into a sprint. Frantic teammates screamed at Blauser, who spun toward home plate, but it was too late.

Daniels crossed the plate before Blauser’s hurried throw, scoring the first of three Dodger runs in the inning.

The Dodgers moved within 4 1/2 games of the first-place Reds for the second time in four days.

“Those kind of plays make your day,” said Amalfitano, who this season has also helped engineer the Dodgers’ first two steals of home since 1984. “I think we’ve been getting runs like that more this year than in recent years, because of the manager’s aggressiveness and because we have the guys to do it.

Said Daniels: “That was great. We (play) a team that has nothing to play for, they become lackadaisical, not into the game, and we sneak one on them. That was really fun.”

He paused, and shrugged.

“But we’ve still got a long way to go.”

Behind rookie Jim Neidlinger’s fifth consecutive victory in eight starts, the Dodgers picked up a game for the third time in five days when the Reds lost to the San Francisco Giants, 5-3. But to tie the Reds, the Dodgers still must win 12 of their remaining 14 games if the Reds go 8-7.

When the Dodgers return home tonight for the opener of a two-game series against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium, fans will see more than merely the final remnants of a pennant race. They will also see the beginnings of Dodger involvement in a batting race that could result in the team’s first batting championship in 27 years, since Tommy Davis hit .326 in 1963.

By getting three more hits in five at-bats, Murray improved his average to .325, moving him ahead of the New York Mets’ Dave Magadan (.324) and into third place in the National League batting race. He trails both Philadelphia’s Lenny Dykstra (.331) and former St. Louis Cardinal Willie McGee (.335), although McGee is probably the only one who will matter. Because McGee was traded to the Oakland Athletics, his average will not change.

Assuming he has four at-bats per game, Murray must bat .446 in the team’s final 14 games to tie McGee. But on this eight-game trip, Murray hit .520, with 13 hits in 25 at-bats. In September, he is hitting .441, with 26 hits in 59 at-bats.

“I think he can do it,” said Daniels, who entered this season as a career .302 hitter. “He comes out and gets a couple of hits a game for the rest of the year. . . . Heck, he’s doing that now. I’ve been telling him all year that I didn’t think Dykstra was going to win it.”

Daniels said he finally spoke to Murray about the batting race Tuesday.

“I said, ‘Hey, you’re in the batting race!’ ” Daniels said. “He didn’t say anything, so I said, ‘Hey, did you hear me?’ He still didn’t say anything. I have never heard him say a word about the winning the title.”

Murray, who entered the season as a career .291 hitter, never has hit better than .316.

“There are still a lot of games to be played, a lot of things can happen,” Murray said. “I never think about any of that stuff while there are still games to be played.”

Murray has had to contend with a sore wrist, which he packs in ice after games. Murray missed a game because of the soreness last week.

“It’s been hurting for a while,” Murray said.

With the recent slump by Hubie Brooks, who has four hits in his last 32 at-bats while batting behind Murray, the first baseman also has five walks in his last 15 plate appearances.

“You have to deal with walks all season, they come for different reasons, so I wouldn’t make too much of them,” Murray said.

Dodger Notes

Kal Daniels’ two-run double in the first inning helped him end his season against the Braves with 10 hits in 21 at-bats at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium for a .476 average with a homer and five RBIs. When asked if he wished he could play here, 90 minutes from his hometown of Warner Robins, Ga., Daniels said, “I plan on playing here one day, no doubt about it. Every kid has a dream to play near his hometown.”

Kirk Gibson was benched for a fifth consecutive game, and for the first time against a right-handed pitcher, Paul Marak. Gibson’s replacement, Stan Javier, batted .370 on this trip and helped the Dodgers to four victories in his five starts. Gibson has one hit in his last 29 at-bats. . . . Jim Neidlinger gave up one run and four hits in seven innings to improve to 5-1 while lowering his earned-run average to 2.70. He walked none, struck out one, and worked fast. “That is my game--go out there, pitch the ball, get it back and pitch again,” he said. . . . Both of Marak’s losses have come against the Dodgers.

Lenny Harris, who had missed four starts because of left-handed pitching, hit Marak’s first pitch into left field for a single and had three hits in five at-bats with a .308 average. Despite his platoon status, Harris is batting .459 in his last nine starts. “I take my batting practice, I stay sharp, I stay ready,” Harris said. “I’ve always been a second-half player, and I’m just glad I get a chance to prove it.” . . . Pat Perry warmed up in the bullpen for a second consecutive game even though he had no hope of pitching. “I’m just trying to stay in shape,” said Perry, who has not pitched since coming off the disabled list Sept. 1. Perry said that the problem with his routine is that as soon as he begins warming up, the regular bullpen members often have to warm up, forcing his removal from the bullpen mound.