Karros’ Home Run in Ninth Beats Reds : Dodgers: His two-run shot against Dibble produces a 3-2 victory. Pedro Martinez wins No. 9.

The Great Race for third place opened Friday night at Dodger Stadium without drum rolls or fanfare.

The Dodgers entered the weekend series 16 games out of first, closely followed by the Cincinnati Reds at 17 games back.

The Dodgers and Reds had thought themselves contenders in the National League West. Both were wrong.

Still, the second-division clubs put on a first-rate show that wasn’t decided until Eric Karros hit a one-out, two-run homer against reliever Rod Dibble in the bottom of the ninth to rally the Dodgers to a 3-2 victory before 38,363.

All five runs in the game were decided by home runs. It was Karros’ 13th home run of the seasons and it came on a 1-and-0 pitch with Jose Offerman at second.

Offerman had led off the inning with a walk and stole second.

Chris Sabo had given the Reds a 2-1 lead in the top of ninth with a solo home run against Dodger reliever Pedro Martinez.

Martinez (9-2) ended up with the victory in relief of his older brother, Ramon.

Dibble (1-1) took the loss.

Both starters, Ramon Martinez of the Dodgers and the Reds’ Tom Browning, pitched well enough to win, but neither figured in the outcome.

Browning did not give up a run in 5 2/3 innings before leaving because of a bruised middle finger on his throwing hand.

Browning left with a 1-0 lead and stood to be the winner until Dodger catcher Mike Piazza led off the bottom of the eighth with his 22nd home run, against Bobby Ayala, to make the score at 1-1.

The Reds had staked Browning to a slim lead in the second on Reggie Sanders’ solo home run, his 16th, against Ramon Martinez.

It was the only run Martinez yielded in eight innings. He gave up seven hits and struck out six.

Browning gave up seven hits and struck out one before he left.

The Dodgers had several chances against the Reds.

Brett Butler reached safely to lead off the seventh after he was struck by an Ayala pitch. Offerman sacrificed him to second, but Eric Davis struck out and Karros grounded out to end the inning.

The Dodgers put runners on first and second with none out in the third, but came away empty after Browning stabbed a Davis line drive up the middle and doubled up Butler at second base. Karros flied out to end the inning.

In the fourth, the Dodgers had two on and two out, but Ramon Martinez grounded into a force play.

Davis reached second in the fifth on Greg Tubbs’ fielding error in center, but Karros flied out to center to end the threat.

The Dodger highlight to that point came in the fifth, when Piazza made a sprawling catch of a Juan Samuel’s popup in foul territory down the first base line.

Browning departed with two on and two out in the sixth.

Ayala came on in relief and retired the Ramon Martinez to end the inning.

To get to Martinez, Browning issued an intentional walk to Jody Reed, the only walk of any kind Browning had given up in 29 2/3 innings.