8 Becomes Enough for Dodger Victory : Baseball: They get that many runs in the fifth inning and beat the Phillies, 9-4.

Just when it looked as though they would fold another hand, with their pockets empty and expressions blank, the Dodgers pulled out something late Thursday that showed they can still make 46,026 fans scream:

A crazy eight.

Beginning with Mike Scioscia’s fourth triple in five years and ending with a strikeout by Dave Anderson, the Dodgers scored eight runs in the fifth inning to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-4.

There are worse ways to begin your most tortuous stretch of the season--11 games in seven days--than by scoring as many runs in one inning as you have scored in any of your last 31 games .

“Maybe now we can start putting more than two runs on the scoreboard in one game,” Eric Karros said.

Led by his bases-loaded triple and Anderson’s run-scoring pinch-hit double, they scored their highest total in one inning since Sept. 14, 1990, in Cincinnati.

Maybe the Dodgers should have saved those runs for today’s doubleheader, the first of four in six days.

Then again, after watching Stan Javier play the hero for the Phillies during the first four innings, hours after being traded across Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers probably figured they had better act quick.

The runs will not save a season, but they certainly saved face on a night when Pat Combs, who has never beaten the Dodgers in five appearances, held them to one single in the first four innings.

During that time, Kevin Gross was giving up four runs and seven hits in five innings, with six walks.

Javier reached base three times in four innings with two singles and a walk, and he had a run batted in and a stolen base.

Gross was lifted for pinch-hitter Anderson early in the fifth inning, with the Dodgers trailing, 4-0.

By the time the inning ended, he was slapping hands in celebration of his first victory since May 31. He had lost four games in five starts since then, with an earned-run average of 5.76.

“It was pretty wild, watching us score eight runs after I was down four,” Gross said. “It’s not happened to me too much in 10 years. In fact, it’s not happened at all.”

The inning began with a triple into the right-field corner by Scioscia. He was helped because the ball was mishandled on the way to the infield.

“That ball . . . should have been a double,” said Jim Fregosi, Phillie manager.

Scioscia then kept the Phillies’ honest with his feet by moving off third base when Jose Offerman hit a grounder to Dave Hollins. Scioscia dived back, Hollins’ tag was late and Offerman was safe at first.

Up stepped Anderson, who doubled inside the first-base line. Offerman moved to third.

Brett Butler then punched a single to right, scoring Offerman and moving Anderson to third.

Mike Sharperson drove a single up the middle, scoring Anderson and moving Butler to second.

So much for Combs. In came 26-year-old rookie Bob Ayrault, who stayed in trouble after Juan Samuel bunted the runners to second and third and Eric Davis walked to load the bases.

Karros lined a ball inside first base and into the right-field corner, clearing the bases. It was his first major league triple.

“I’m probably going to have a lot more of those,” Karros said, laughing. “No, actually, it’s probably my one and only. But how about Scioscia (two triples this season)? He’s hot. He’s on a pace for, what, four?”

After Todd Benzinger struck out, Scioscia singled in Karros. Offerman then doubled to left to score Scioscia before Anderson struck out, ending the inning.

The inning was not just game-deciding, it was justice.

Nearly two years ago, the Phillies scored nine runs in the ninth inning here in much the same manner to hand the Dodgers a crushing, 12-11 defeat.

* JAVIER TRADED: He goes down the hall, changes and leads off for the Phillies. C6.