A Missed Sign Points Toward a Dodger Loss : Baseball: Murray out at the plate on key play, and Pirates look like champions in 2-1 victory.

The Dodgers had as much luck stopping the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 2-1 defeat Wednesday as Joe Amalfitano had stopping Eddie Murray.

Amalfitano, a Dodger coach, was trying to hold up Murray at third base in the sixth inning after Murray doubled and Kal Daniels lined a two-out single to right field.

Amalfitano raised his arms. He leaped in the air. If tackling were allowed, he would have done that.

But Murray was running hard, and with his head down, and didn’t see Amalfitano until it was too late to stop. Seconds later, an eased-up Murray was easily tagged out by catcher Mike La-Valliere on a throw from Bobby Bonilla.

So much for the tying run. And so much for the Dodgers’ last hopes of winning the first game of their season series against the Pirates, even though they did everything but mug them.

Before 21,898 at Three Rivers Stadium, the Dodgers outhit the Pirates, 9-7. They loaded the bases against Cy Young winner Doug Drabek in one inning, they put runners on first and third in another inning.

The Dodgers’ starting pitcher, Mike Morgan, gave up only two third-inning runs on two singles and a triple. The bullpen pitched two scoreless innings.

But all the Dodgers achieved was a lesson in the differences between a first-place team that won their division last season, and a first-place team that did not.

“These guys play like they know they can win,” Lenny Harris said. “You can just see it in them.”

You could see it in the Dodgers in Kal Daniels, who had a mammoth home run in the fourth inning, his third in the past four games.

You could not see it in Darryl Strawberry, who went hitless in four at-bats, including a strikeout on three pitches with the bases loaded in the third.

“Today was like, we wanted to show them why we were in first place, and they wanted to show us why they were in first place,” Daniels said. “I guess today, they showed us.”

The Pirates were the direct opposite of the Dodgers in that they turned the most difficult plays into the easiest ones.

In the first inning, shortstop Jay Bell robbed Juan Samuel of a base hit over the middle. It was the start of a long night for Samuel, who had his 11-game hitting streak snapped.

In the second inning, second baseman Jose Lind made a diving stop of Daniels’ certain base-hit grounder. In the seventh, Lind did the same thing to Harris, who simply stood at first base and stared at him before returning to the dugout.

“Lind has been just killing me, and he knows it,” Harris exclaimed. “There is no doubt that these guys have a great defensive team.”

Lind was also involved in the biggest defensive play of the night, by stealing a grounder in the hole by pinch-hitter Chris Gwynn with one out and runners on first and third in the seventh inning. Lind turned a probable game-tying single into an inning-ending double play.

“That was definitely a base hit,” Gwynn said. “But he was playing me perfect. I couldn’t believe it.”

Jim Leyland, the Pirates manager, wants everybody to start believing it.

“Bell and Lind are one of the best-kept secrets in baseball,” Leyland said. “I’m just happy I have them.”

Those two even made a play that was so unbelievable, the Dodgers thought it never happened. In the third inning, on a slow grounder by Morgan with Alfredo Griffin on first base, Bell made a snap throw to Lind that arrived at second base just as Griffin did.

Umpire Bruce Froemming called Griffin out. The Dodgers swear he was safe, which would have given the Dodgers runners on first and second and one out. Television replays were inconclusive.

“When I lay down tonight and think about the game, that is the play I will think about,” Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said. “If you have any eyes at all, you can see that play. That was the key play.”

Amalfitano was probably thinking of something else late Wednesday. The veteran coach shouldered the blame for the Dodgers’ most noticeable mistake in the game.

“I should have given Eddie more help,” Amalfitano said. “He picked up my sign late, but I should have given him more help.”

When Murray was asked about the play, then told of Amalfitano’s comments, he said, “You just answered your question.”

On a similar play earlier this season, Amalfitano also gave Murray a stop sign, and Murray stopped.

“The ball got to Bonilla pretty fast, and even though there were two outs, I figured we had to play it safe,” said Amalfitano, who finally dropped his arms when it was obvious Murray wasn’t going to see him until he rounded third. “I always drop my arms when they don’t see me, because I don’t want them to get caught in no-man’s land.

“At that point, I figured, he might as well go for broke.”