Still Together, a Nation Apart : Giants: Rookie Torres will pitch today for San Francisco after Beck saves 5-3 victory over Dodgers.

On the eve of his biggest game, San Francisco Manager Dusty Baker planned to go out Saturday night for a little Cuban food. With him would be Salomon Torres, the rookie right-hander whom Baker has entrusted with the job of pitching the Giants today to either a division championship, a playoff game, or, if they lose and the Atlanta Braves win, a trip home to watch postseason action on television.

After 161 games, the Giants remain tied in the National League West with the Atlanta Braves after a 5-3 victory over the Dodgers on Saturday at Dodger Stadium before 44,828 who appeared partial to the Giants. The season comes down to today, or a showdown with Atlanta on Monday night at Candlestick Park if both teams win.

“There is no time for nerves right now,” Baker said.

Just what he was going to say to Torres, Baker was unsure. He knows that Torres isn’t scared, and neither is he. Baker has opted for ability over experience, knowing that he has a staff of relievers ready to come in if necessary.

“I asked Salomon in Atlanta, ‘How would you feel pitching tonight, would you be nervous or scared? ‘ He said ‘No, I like big crowds.’ He’s not scared. I can tell. How does a dog tell if a postman is scared?”

The Giants have been successful all season with players like Torres, those who rise to the occasion. And they were again Saturday, when, behind a hot-hitting Will Clark, Dave Martinez knocked in three runs and reliever Jeff Brantley (5-6) held the Dodgers to three hits in four innings. Brantley relieved Bryan Hickerson, who left the game in the third inning because of an aggravated rib cage.

“The core guys, myself, Matt (Williams), Robby (Thompson), Bob Brenly, those guys I guess you say have carried the torch and passed it down, and Barry (Bonds) has joined that, so you could say he’s an integral member,” said Clark, who was four for five and scored two runs, giving him eight hits in 10 at-bats in the last two games.

“It’s a cast of characters, that’s what it is,” Clark added. “Good ballclubs not only have the nine that run out there, but they also have a good supporting cast. You can’t underestimate the things they have done over the season.”

It’s a cast with closer Rod Beck at the core. Beck, who has pitched in relief in eight of the last nine games, retired the last four batters Saturday to earn his 48th save, his sixth in the last nine games.

“My arm fells great, but my legs are taking a beating,” Beck said. “As long as my arm feels good I’ll be out there the next day and the next.”

The Dodgers at least have made the Giants’ victories dramatic, if not traumatic for Manager Tom Lasorda. With his team trailing, 5-3, and the bases loaded in the eighth inning and two out, Lasorda sent up Dave Hansen to hit for Raul Mondesi. Hansen pulled a high fly off Beck to the corner in right field, just short of the seats.

“The ball is hit and your heart sinks and the team is watching from the edge of the dugout saying, ‘No, no, no,’ ” Baker said. “I had visions of the grand slam (Hansen) hit off (Mike) Jackson earlier in the year. “

Lasorda had visions of it, too. But when Martinez, filling in for Willie McGee, caught the ball, Lasorda whipped off his cap and threw it at the bench.

It wasn’t the first time Dodger emotions flared Saturday. With the score 2-2 in the fifth inning, Jose Offerman took a long time to get the ball out of his glove on a double-play ball that would have ended the inning and stranded Clark at third. Orel Hershiser (12-14), who fielded the comebacker by Martinez, appeared angry and Mike Piazza showed disgust after Clark scored to give the Giants a 3-2 lead.

But Hershiser had made a costly mistake in the second inning, when, with one out and the team behind, 2-1, he missed a squeeze sign that hung up Mondesi off third.

“We just aren’t getting the breaks,” said Lasorda, who was on his way to appear in a comedy program being filmed in Pasadena. “I need a few laughs.”

The Giants need only one more victory, maybe two. After losing eight in a row from Sept. 7-15, they have won 14 of their last 16.

“There is absolutely no way you can take away some of the memories of this year,” Clark said. “Whatever happens tomorrow or the next day, this has been way too good a year for this ballclub. We have been through a lot of things.

“If you would have told me we would have 100-plus wins at the end of the season, I would have said that we were on our way to the World Series. But Atlanta had some different thoughts on that, didn’t they?”