Dodgers Lose Players but Not the Game : Baseball: Candelaria’s key strikeout in 3-1 victory eases pain of injuries to Scioscia, Strawberry, ejection of Webster.

The Dodgers had lost their catcher, right fielder, best reserve player, and were one swing from losing their lead with the league’s top hitter at bat.

Huddled in their dugout, they looked at each other and nodded. Only one person could get them out of this mess, the same person who is known around the clubhouse for his rocking chair, his coffee, his cigarettes and his nerve.

“I guess this is what I get paid for,” John Candelaria said.

And every penny well spent, as the Dodgers realized again Wednesday when Candelaria struck out John Kruk with two out and the bases loaded in the seventh inning to help preserve a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies before 21,679 at Veterans Stadium.

In six career at-bats against Candelaria, Kruk is hitless with five strikeouts.

“Guys on this team are now calling me Gramps,” Candelaria said, grimacing. “I tell them, when you get 18 years in the league, you be sure and give me a phone call.”

Because of that call to the bullpen, the Dodgers ended a losing streak at five games while recording their first victory in 11 days.

Ramon Martinez (1-1) recorded his first victory in more than seven months while getting a season-high nine strikeouts.

And all without Mike Scioscia and Darryl Strawberry, who were sidelined because of sore backs, and Mitch Webster, who was ejected from the game by umpire Ed Rapuano for arguing calls from the dugout.

“It wasn’t like we won this game . . . we survived it,” said Roger McDowell, who struck out three in 1 2/3 innings for his third save.

Scioscia and Strawberry, whose hard grounder gave the Dodgers the eventual winning run in the fifth inning, hope they survived it.

Scioscia strained his back during batting practice, and Strawberry strained his back while running around third base after hitting a double in the third inning.

They were probably victims of the combination of 50-degree temperatures and a recent five-day layoff. But they both consider themselves lucky because the Dodgers have a day off today before resuming play Friday in New York against the Mets.

“They can rest all day, then we can examine them again then and see how their backs have improved after 24 hours,” therapist Pat Screnar said Wednesday. “Right now it is really hard to predict how they will be on Friday.”

Webster will be available Friday, although he will probably try to be a little quieter. He was thrown out of Wednesday’s game in the third inning after arguing strike calls with Rapuano from the bench on behalf of Dave Hansen, who had struck out looking against loser Danny Cox.

“Dave has had some rough at-bats, because he’s a young kid he hasn’t gotten many close calls, and I just wanted to say something,” Webster said. “I guess it wasn’t very smart.”

But afterward Hansen was quick to thank him, and the Dodgers seemed to benefit from the display of teamwork.

After Martinez had given himself a run in the second inning by beating out a high chopper with the bases loaded, the offense added two more in the fifth after Brett Butler singled and stole his third base of the season.

Lenny Harris bunted Butler to third, then Strawberry hit a hard grounder to first base that scored Butler, with Strawberry ending up on second base after Cox dropped the throw at first from Kruk.

From there, Eric Davis improved his average with runners in scoring position to .348 with a run-scoring single to center.

This left it up to Martinez, throwing his hardest pitches of the season while allowing one run in 6 1/3 innings.

Before Martinez left in the seventh, pinch-hitter Wally Backman had a run-scoring double and Lenny Dykstra was on first after a walk.

After reliever Kevin Gross walked Dave Hollins to load the bases with two out, Candelaria was summoned to face Kruk, who is hitting .379 and was thinking curveballs.

“And I guess I threw him mostly fastballs,” said Candelaria, who struck him out swinging on five pitches. “I read the papers, I know what Kruk has been doing. But I’ll never change my style. I’ll throw it up there. Here it is. Hit it.”

Or don’t.