DODGERS : Test Lies Ahead after a Rocky Outing for Hansell

The fans left Holman Stadium in droves Sunday, some scrambling to stand in line for autographs, others heading for their cars.

In a town that swells in population from 17,000 to 40,000 during spring, there is no need to leave early to beat traffic. But there was no need to stay to watch the Dodgers suffer their third consecutive Grapefruit League loss, because it was a blowout after the fifth inning, when the Houston Astros scored six runs and went on to win, 9-4.

The good news is that the Dodgers didn’t make any errors after making five in their first three games.

Eric Davis hit a towering two-run homer in the first inning to give Kevin Gross a 2-0 lead. It was hit hard enough for Jason Grimsley, who replaced Astro starter Mark Grant, to throw at Davis’ chin in the third.

Grimsley earned the victory.

Gross pitched three scoreless innings and had three strikeouts.

“I’m a completely different kind of pitcher than I was five years ago,” Gross said. “I can put the ball where I want it, and my breaking ball is as good as ever.”

The bad news was that Greg Hansell, 21, followed Gross and was touched for seven runs and 10 hits in 1 2/3 innings. He gave up six runs after two were out in the fifth.

“You have got to give the guy a chance,” Manager Tom Lasorda said. “How would you like it if you were on the 40-man roster and you came to spring training and you never got the chance?

“It’s too bad. I hate to see it happen to a young player like that. The best pitchers have gotten rocked at one time or another, and now we will see what the kid is made of. . . . Hansell’s got good stuff. He just didn’t have it today.”

Hansell, who struggled in triple-A Albuquerque last season but did well at double-A San Antonio, seems to have become a favorite of Lasorda’s. Some in the organization said they wondered about Lasorda’s decision to pitch him this early in the spring.

“If I am playing for the sole purpose of winning, I’m not going to play Hansell,” Lasorda said. “I want to win every time I go out there, but in the exhibition season I’ve got to look at different players.

“The problem is, if you win too many games in spring training, people can think you are a better team than you actually are. And if you lose too many, they panic. So you need to win enough so they don’t panic. But who ever remembers who won the Grapefruit League last year?”

Gross said he sees great improvement in the team from last season. The players’ attitudes are great, he said, and the team is close, perhaps a result of struggling through last season.

“Before the game, Davis told me that the team was going to throw a lot of players out for me this season,” Gross said. “Then I came into the clubhouse after I pitched and I hear on the radio that Davis made a throw to the plate and gets (Houston outfielder Steve) Finley.”

Finley tried to score from second base in the fourth inning on a line drive to left field. Davis charged the ball and threw to catcher Mike Piazza, who made a leaping catch and blocked Finley up the third base line.

Gross also pointed to Tim Wallach’s experience at third base. During the game, Wallach told Gross that Finley, who bats left-handed, was turning so late on the ball that he couldn’t bunt it toward third base.

“He told me to be ready if he bunts, and then, in the dugout, he told Eric Karros the same thing,” Gross said. “That’s what we need.”