Painful Win for Dodgers : Baseball: They rally to beat Cubs, 5-4, but victory is bittersweet after learning of death of Campanella.

Saturday should have been a night of celebration for the Dodgers, who rallied from a four-run deficit to beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-4, ending a four-game losing streak before a crowd of 38,679 at Dodger Stadium.

But in the midst of an eighth-inning rally, as the greatest Dodger catcher of the present, Mike Piazza, lashed a single to right to represent what would later become the game-winning run, came the announcement that the greatest Dodger catcher of them all, Roy Campanella, had died at his home in Woodland Hills of a heart attack at age 71.

Campanella died in his wheelchair at 7:15 p.m.

Winning, the life-blood of Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda, never seemed so trivial.

“It’s a sad, sad moment right now,” Lasorda said afterward as he pondered the passing of one of baseball’s greats. “He’s been an inspiration to millions. He’s been a friend, a teammate and I’m going to miss him very much. Now he won’t be suffering anymore. I loved Roy Campanella. I loved him like a brother.”

Dodger pitcher Orel Hershiser summed it up this way: “I’m glad he’s out of his wheelchair, but we’re all going to miss him.”

Most of the heroes of Saturday’s victory have not lived a day that Campanella has not been in a wheelchair. But Dodger lore is passed on to generations by the storytellers, many of whom remain in the employ.

“You’d have to be around him to understand what kind of guy he really was,” said Dodger broadcaster Don Drysdale, a former teammate of Campanella’s.

“When I first got to the team, I was standing in right field with (Carl) Furillo and Campy, and I asked him what it was going to take to pitch in the big leagues. He said, ‘Just keep doing what you’re doing, and let Ol’ Campy take care of you.’ ”

And Campy did. Drysdale, like Campanella, became a Hall of Famer.

Drysdale, his eyes welling, said it was a miracle that Campanella survived this long after the January, 1958, automobile accident that left him paralyzed and needing a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

“You have to realize how strong a man he was just to survive,” Drysdale said. “Everything he had to endure since the automobile accident. It was absolutely amazing. The doctors in New York, we went to see him in the hospital, and they said anyone who was not that strong wouldn’t have made it.”

At the time of Campanella’s accident, Drysdale and pitcher Sandy Koufax were serving time in the military at Ft. Dix, N.J.

Drysdale will never forget that day.

Now, he will never forget Saturday.

Although Campanella died only 15 minutes after Saturday’s first pitch, most Dodgers were unaware of his death as they played.

Jay Lucas, the team’s publicity director, informed Lasorda with a dugout call in the bottom of the seventh, just as the Dodgers were tying the game with their fourth run of the inning.

The crowd was not informed of the news.

Still, it was all the Dodgers could do to rally and beat the Cubs. They did it with dramatic flair, capped by Eric Davis’ three-run home run off Cub starter Frank Castillo and Brett Butler’s run-scoring single.

The Cubs threatened to take the lead in the eighth when Sammy Sosa reached with a two-out single.

But Saturday was about catchers.

Piazza, calling for a pitchout, nailed Sosa as he attempted to steal second.

First to bat in the bottom of the eighth, Piazza singled to right. Eric Karros followed with a base hit to center. After Cory Snyder sacrificed the runners to second and third, Davis was walked intentionally, setting the stage for Mitch Webster.

But he popped to short with the go-ahead run at third.

Lenny Harris, though, delivered with what proved to be the game-winning single to left off Chuck McElroy.

The Dodgers hoped reliever Jim Gott could save the game, something he has failed to do of late. Gott has been stung twice this week with late-inning home runs that led to Dodger losses.

But Saturday was different, in a lot of ways.

Gott retired the Cubs in order in the ninth, though it took a sensational game-ending play by Harris to do it. As it was, Gott recorded his 12th save.

Roger McDowell (4-0) got the victory with a scoreless inning of relief.

Bob Scanlan, (1-4) took the loss. Piazza, a rookie catcher who must have made Campanella proud with his sensational play this season, now carries the torch.

“He has been very inspirational,” Piazza said. “I know he’s walking now. I think we can dedicate this win tonight to him. He helped me out a lot.”

The Boys of Summer play on, minus one of their biggest kids.