Dodgers Go Down Swinging in Ninth : Baseball: Rodriguez’s diving catch provides lift, but it doesn’t translate in 7-6 loss to Expos.

The cheers from the crowd of 36,434 at Dodger Stadium Friday night were loudest in the ninth inning, when Henry Rodriguez, playing left field, seemed to run a mile to make a diving catch in short center field of a line drive by Cliff Floyd.

The Dodgers trailed, 7-6, to the Montreal Expos, a score that would stand, with reliever Gary Wayne facing the heart of the order. And after Wayne retired the next two batters in order, the crowd stood again to salute Rodriguez.

In a game where the starters didn’t last past the fourth inning and all the scoring took place before the fifth inning, Rodriguez’s catch was the first highlight in innings. But the Dodgers also had the heart of the order coming up in the bottom of the ninth, and at least they made it interesting.

After reliever Mel Rojas struck out Brett Butler and Mike Piazza, he hit Tim Wallach on the forearm. Mitch Webster ran for Wallach and stole second with Eric Karros at bat. Then Rojas walked Karros. But that would be it for the Dodgers, because Jeff Treadway, batting for Raul Mondesi, struck out, giving Montreal its fourth consecutive victory and Rojas his third save.

“We have a good bunch of guys; they don’t quit,” Manager Tom Lasorda said. “Our bullpen did a good job, but so did theirs. They contained us. We had our chance in the fourth inning with the bases loaded with one out, but we didn’t do it.”

For a knuckleball pitcher, the early innings are crucial, and Tom Candiotti (3-1) seemed to be off to a good start when he retired the first three batters for an easy first inning. But during the next two innings, the Expos got six hits, including a home run by Larry Walker, to go up, 5-1.

For these two teams, though, close games have become the norm. Eight of the 12 games they played last season were decided by two runs or fewer. And at Dodger Stadium, the Expos have been horrible, with less success here in 25 seasons than at any other ballpark. They haven’t had a winning season in Los Angeles since 1987.

But the Expos entered the three-game series having won three consecutive games for the first time this season. They have missed the intensity and speed of Delino DeShields, and Manager Felipe Alou recently arrived at a lineup that he believes might help put speed back on the bases, batting Floyd second behind Mike Lansing and ahead of Marquis Grissom and Walker. The trio led off the third with consecutive hits and scored to put the Expos ahead, 5-1.

The Dodgers, though, also entered the series with a three-game winning streak. In six of their seven victories, they have come from behind to win. So on their bench, being down four runs is not insurmountable.

Against Expo starter Kirk Rueter, the Dodgers rallied for four runs in the bottom of the third and tied the score, 5-5. Butler led off the inning with a walk and Piazza, who was three for five, followed with a line drive to left-center field. After Wallach flied out, Karros drove a shot to right, scoring Butler, and Mondesi’s sacrifice fly scored Piazza.

Rueter had Cory Snyder down 0-2, when Snyder hit the next pitch into the seats in left field for his fourth home run, to score Karros and tie the score.

But Candiotti continued to struggle and gave up two runs in the fourth on a walk and a triple by Mike Gardner, who pinch-hit for Rueter before Roger McDowell took over to finish the inning.

The Dodgers scored in the bottom of the fourth to move within one when pinch-hitter Chris Gwynn walked and later scored on a grounder to right by Piazza. But with the bases loaded, both Karros and Mondesi popped out.

Against a group of three relievers, including winner Jeff Shaw (1-1), the Dodgers managed only one more hit after the fourth inning. The Expos retired 14 batters in a row until the ninth, when Rojas hit Wallach.

The Dodgers countered with four relievers, including Darren Dreifort, who combined to hold the Expos scoreless through five innings.