Smoltz Ends Dodgers’ Home Streak : Baseball: He gives up only five hits, strikes out 12 as the Braves win, 2-0.

The second episode of “How the Dodger Outfield Turns” began Sunday when Eric Davis started in place of Darryl Strawberry in left field, and with good reason.

Davis entered the game with a .550 career batting average and four home runs against right-hander John Smoltz, the starting pitcher for the Atlanta Braves.

So even though the Dodgers say they will not rush Strawberry’s rehabilitated back, Davis would have gotten the call anyway. And Davis had the most success Sunday against Smoltz (5-5). “I knew he would be in the lineup,” Smoltz said, “and I just tried to attack him.”

But Smoltz attacked every Dodger batter, and all Davis was able to accomplish was to single during the first inning and reach third base, the only Dodger runner to get that far. And once Smoltz pitched out of that jam, he was on his way to his first shutout of the season and a 2-0 victory before 48,882 at Dodger Stadium.

“When a pitcher like John has his good stuff, you know it is going to be a low-scoring game,” said Tom Candiotti (3-5), who held the Braves to one run and four hits through eight innings.

“We had a hit-and-run and put a runner on third and John got out of it. Their hit-and-run worked in the fourth inning and they got the sacrifice fly and that was the difference. You have to tip your cap to him, he pitched great.”

It was the Dodgers’ first loss after 13 consecutive home victories, a Los Angeles Dodger record, and the first time they have been shut out since April 23, against Philadelphia. The Dodgers won two of three games to win a series against the Braves for the first time since April 16-19 of last season.

“The biggest byproduct of the team’s home streak is that it has raised our level of confidence,” Jody Reed said.

“We don’t question ourselves anymore. After a loss now, we know we will be back.”

Smoltz’s fastball set up a biting curveball that kept the Dodgers off-balance and off the bases. Until the ninth inning, when Tim Wallach walked and took second, Smoltz hadn’t allowed a runner to reach second base since the third inning, striking out 12 and giving up only five hits.

“When you face a pitcher throwing like that, you just have to tip your cap to him,” said Cory Snyder, who went hitless in four at-bats after batting .500 (17 for 34) with three home runs in his last nine games.

Snyder hit a long drive to left field during the ninth inning that hooked foul at the last moment. Snyder’s drive, which would have tied the score if it had been fair, looked so convincing that the Dodgers ran out of the dugout to get a look at it.

With Strawberry on the bench, there was some speculation that he would pinch-hit for Mitch Webster, who had entered the game during the seventh to run for Eric Karros.

Karros, who suffered aggravation of a sore knee during Saturday’s game, came out as a precautionary measure after he beat out an infield single.

But Manager Tom Lasorda has no intention of putting Strawberry in that situation until Strawberry gets comfortable playing again. The game then ended to boos when Webster’s check swing was ruled Smoltz’s final strikeout of the game.

Back in the Dodgers’ clubhouse, though, there was no gloom.

“The guys are so loose this year, and everybody gets along, this is a lot of fun,” said Lenny Harris, who pinch-hit for Candiotti during the eighth inning and walked.

“Even when we were struggling this season, I knew it couldn’t be like last season, it would be hard to have back-to-back years like that. I knew something was going to happen. And I knew for sure that there was no way this team would finish in last place again.”

Said Snyder: “The first thing we said when we got back in the clubhouse was, OK, we start again (tonight).”