Dodger Streak Is Nine : Baseball: Hershiser goes out early. Five runs in fourth inning beat Padres, 8-3, and complete perfect home stand.

Throughout spring training and all season long, the Dodgers have repeatedly said they are a different team than last season. The players have made that claim during dismal trips to the East, North and South, where teams were sweeping series right and left.

The only place they played decently was in the West.

So what if their record was the same as last season? So what if the offense wasn’t hitting its weight? So what if the error total was on a pace with last season’s?

It will come, the players said.

And it has.

The Dodgers, who entered the recent home stand with a 14-22 record, won their ninth consecutive game Wednesday night, beating the San Diego Padres, 8-3, to go above the .500 mark for the first time since April 7.

The season started April 5.

The victory puts them seven games behind the first-place San Francisco Giants and within half a game of the third-place Houston Astros. The Dodgers won all nine games of the home stand and set a Los Angeles record with 11 consecutive home victories.

The Dodger franchise record for consecutive victories is 15, set by Brooklyn in 1924. The L.A. record is 13, done twice, the last time 1965.

“We have been playing well, getting breaks and making our own breaks,” said Eric Karros, who endured last season as a rookie.

“We need to ride this out as long as we can. We are making the plays, getting timely hits and everybody is contributing. Last year we relied on Darryl (Strawberry) and Eric (Davis), and when they went out it was tough. This year, there isn’t a weak spot in the lineup.”

Wednesday night the Dodgers had good news and bad news. Orel Hershiser suffered a bruised right elbow in the second inning when Kurt Stillwell’s double ricocheted off the Dodger pitcher’s elbow. Manager Tom Lasorda said he didn’t think it was serious, that there were no broken bones, and Hershiser will be evaluated today.

The good news is that closer Todd Worrell, who hasn’t pitched in the major leagues since April 7 when he suffered a pulled forearm muscle, was activated after the game.

After spending a full season with the Dodgers last season, Steve Wilson was optioned to Albuquerque.

“It is like losing a part of our family,” said Jim Gott, who will relinquish the closer role to Worrell.

Wilson, who earned the victory Wednesday, relieved Hershiser to begin the third inning with a 2-0 lead, but gave up a two-run homer to Derek Bell in the fourth to tie the score, 2-2.

In the bottom of the inning, the Dodgers went on an offensive binge, scoring five runs to move ahead, 7-2.

Lately, it seems no team can keep the Dodgers down. During this home stand, they have come back in the ninth inning, the 10th inning, anytime they have needed to. They swept three games each from the Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres.

This is the team the players said they had all along.

“We come to the ballpark knowing we can win and knowing we can do whatever it takes to win this game,” said Eric Davis. “We play to win. Before we played not to lose.”

One of the biggest differences during this home stand has been the team’s looseness. “Every time we are out there, we know we have a chance to win,” Jody Reed said.

On Wednesday night, Strawberry packed his bags for Albuquerque, where he will undergo a rehabilitation assignment. He is expected back in the lineup in Los Angeles in two weeks.

“If Darryl comes back as pre-surgery Darryl, that is going to be awesome,” Karros said.

In the past, Hershiser leaving the game after two innings would have put an end to the Dodgers quest of keeping their streak alive.

That’s the way it was for most of the first 36 games the Dodger played. But for the last nine games, the Dodgers have played like a different team.

“Before, we just weren’t running on all cylinders,” Manager Tom Lasorda said. “Now we are.”