Dodgers Helped by Queens Logic : Baseball: The Mets walk Strawberry to face Webster, who fuels 9-2 victory.

During any other season, it would sound crazy. But during a summer when nothing makes sense, it has become one of the Dodgers’ many unnatural laws.

You don’t walk Darryl Strawberry to pitch to Mitch Webster.

Even Strawberry’s former employers now believe. The New York Mets watched Webster follow Strawberry with a two-run, tiebreaking triple during the eighth inning Monday.

The hit led to a 9-2 victory, helping the Dodgers avoid not merely another loss, but another total embarrassment, before 30,151 at Shea Stadium.

Scoring as many runs as they have scored in any of their last 117 games dating to last season, the Dodgers got their first victory at Shea this season.

“It’s nice to finally do that to somebody else,” said Brett Butler, who had a three-run triple during the ninth inning.

Especially if that somebody else never knew what hit them.

Even though Strawberry has not hit a home run since May 12 while Webster has had two homers since then, the Mets were influenced by history.

With Jose Offerman on second base and one out during the eighth inning and the score 2-2, they did not hesitate to walk the Dodgers’ .237 hitter.

“Strawberry is still a money player,” said Jeff Torborg, Met manager.

Webster swung at the second pitch from Jeff Innis, and was so excited that by the time he reached third base, he did a little hop.

“I don’t know, I still think you’ve got to play the percentages and walk Darryl,” said a smiling Webster, who has 22 runs batted in, two fewer than Strawberry. “But I tell you what. Those are situations I like.”

Another Dodger unnatural law held true Monday. It is the one that reads, nothing happening off of the field will ever be as ugly as that night’s game.

On his way to Shea Stadium in a taxi, pitcher Kevin Gross was involved in a three-car collision that caused him to hit his head on the taxi’s roof.

No one was hurt, but Gross’ already upset stomach was not helped. He became ill before the game and after the third inning.

And then he had to witness the real accident.

In a span of 15 pitches during the fifth inning, Gross and reliever Jim Gott threw nine balls and three wild pitches, two Mets scoring without a batter even needing to make contact.

This gave the Mets a 2-1 lead, which Mike Sharperson erased with a sixth-inning double that accounted for one of his three RBIs.

But before the Dodgers could come back, it got worse again.

Eric Karros, who was involved in a first-inning collision at first base with Howard Johnson, left the game during the sixth because of a bruised right calf.

After an examination, Dodger trainers said he could sit out as many as five games.

Only one Met had reached third base against Gross in four shutout innings. He then struck out Dick Schofield and starting pitcher Wally Whitehurst grounded out to start the fifth.

But Sharperson dropped that grounder near third base for his eighth error. And Gross began struggling.

With Whitehurst on first base, Gross walked Daryl Boston on five pitches. Then, with Dave Magadan batting, he threw a wild pitch, the runners advancing to second and third.

Magadan walked to load the bases, bringing up Johnson and bringing in Jim Gott, much to the dismay of Gross.

“I didn’t take him out because he was pitching poor, I took him out because he was obviously weak,” Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said.

Said Gross: “I wasn’t too thrilled . . . but we won, so everything is fine.”

Gott supported Gross’ case on the mound by bouncing balls past Mike Scioscia.

The first pitch to Johnson bounced wild, Whitehurst scoring. Four pitches later, another wild pitch allowed Boston to score.

“With a great catcher like Scioscia, you’ve got to throw those pitches in the dirt--the hitter sure thought they were good enough to swing at,” Gott said.