Shaky Defense Is Costly for Dodgers : Baseball: Harris misplays two grounders for winning run in Reds’ 4-3 victory.

When Darryl Strawberry came to the plate with runners on first and second base and two out in the sixth inning of a tie game with the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday, the crowd roared as if expecting the earth to shake.

Moments later, it did.

With Strawberry preparing to face reliever Scott Bankhead, an earthquake registering 6.1 on the Richter scale rumbled underneath Dodger Stadium, bringing fans to their feet and Dodger relievers out of their covered bullpen area.

The tremors stopped. Then Strawberry put everyone back into their seats by taking a called third strike that stranded two runners in a 4-3 defeat before 34,924.

The Dodgers lost the game one inning later when their defense, after playing three consecutive errorless games for the first time this season, committed two in a span of five hitters. Both were by Lenny Harris.

But not everyone noticed.

While the players in the dugout and the fields did not feel the earthquake at 9:51 p.m., the ones who were shaken will not forget.

“We’re sitting in the bullpen and everything started shaking,” pitcher Jim Gott said. “Tim Crews and I looked at each other and we were speechless. It was either a bunch of kids jumping on our bullpen, or it was an earthquake.

“We ran outside and we knew. There was an eerie silence in the stadium. Maybe people didn’t feel it, but all of a sudden they sure were quiet.”

Those in the Dodger clubhouse knew something was wrong when the hangers in the lockers began clanging together.

“It was like the wind was coming through,” said Pete Sandoval, a clubhouse attendant. “The hangers starting shaking and then Kevin Gross said, ‘Hey, it’s an earthquake.’ ”

When the clubhouse attendants learned that the earthquake had hit Fullerton, where Manager Tom Lasorda lives, they ran into the dugout to tell him.

“I went back and called Jo (wife) and everything was fine,” Lasorda said. “Those of us on the bench didn’t feel a thing.”

Even Brett Butler, who was running sprints in Candlestick Park when the earthquake struck during the 1989 World Series, felt nothing.

“And I am real sensitive about that stuff now,” he said.

Lou Piniella, Red manager, acted surprised when told about the earthquake.

“We didn’t feel an earthquake. We were winning a ballgame,” Piniella said. “That’s all I care about.”

Piniella was pleased not just that his makeshift team had taken two out of three games from the Dodgers, but with how they did it.

After taking advantage of Harris’ errors, his first of the season in 16 games, the Reds made three great defensive plays to close down the middle of the Dodger order.

Gary Green, a reserve shortstop, made a fine backhand stop of a grounder by Mitch Webster. Reggie Sanders, a rookie center fielder, made a diving catch on Strawberry’s shallow fly ball.

Then Jacob Brumfield, another rookie, threw out Eric Davis, attempting to take second base on his two-out single to left.

“We didn’t play bad. The Reds just wore us out,” Butler said.

Ramon Martinez, who has nearly twice as many walks and wild pitches (14) as strikeouts (eight), struggled with his control again. He walked three and threw two wild pitches.

The offense left 11 on base, including seven stranded runners in the first four innings.

While the Dodgers finish the home stand with a 4-3 record, they still lost a series to a Reds team without Barry Larkin, Chris Sabo, Hal Morris, Jose Rijo and Glenn Braggs.

These Reds were Freddie Benavides, Dave Martinez and Green.

Against reliever Steve Wilson in the seventh inning, with the score tied, 3-3, Green hit a one-out grounder past Harris into left field for an error. One out later, Billy Hatcher singled to right.

After Dave Martinez walked to lead the bases, Wilson induced Paul O’Neill into what could have been an inning-ending grounder. But the ball bounced around Harris’ glove and his feet.

All runners were safe and Hatcher had scored to give the Reds the 4-3 lead.

“Just a bad night. A bad hop, nothing you can do,” Harris said. “It’s not going to bother me. I was snakebit tonight.”

The Reds had taken a 3-1 lead in the sixth inning against Martinez.

But the Dodgers tied it with two hits in their half of the sixth, one by Butler to drive in a run and make it 3-2. Jose Offerman scored the tying run on an infield out, the second of the inning and the one that set up Strawberry’s strikeout to end the threat.