Dodgers Think Deep Thoughts in Big Comeback : Baseball: Gwynn, Piazza, Wallach homer with two out in the eighth as L.A. rallies from 10-5 deficit, 12-10.

Tim Wallach dropped his bat and and watched the ball sail through the foggy air at Shea Stadium. He was rounding first as the ball cleared the right-center-field fence, and Wallach, usually calm, pumped a fist into the air.

As soon as Wallach connected, the Dodger bench erupted, and they were already in a craze. Mike Piazza had crushed a three-run homer the opposite way moments before, putting the Dodgers even with the New York Mets at 10-10. Two batters before that, pinch-hitter Chris Gwynn had hit another two-run shot.

In a game laden with poor pitching and more fielding mistakes, Wallach’s home run capped the most dramatic comeback victory most of these players have been involved with for some time. The Dodgers, trailing, 10-5, with two out in the eighth inning, scored six runs on three homers and went on to beat the Mets, 12-10.

“That’s a big win,” said Wallach, who hit two home runs in the game, the second time he has hit two homers in a game in a week. “After last night’s tough loss, to keep coming back like we did today, it’s tough to keep your emotions up. We didn’t do anything for five innings, then we got close and we would score three runs and they would score three, we would score two and they would score two. Some teams just lay down and die when they are behind, but not this team.”

Down in the bullpen before the eighth inning, Darren Dreifort decided to try something to spark his team. With some tobacco, he turned to Todd Worrell and told him he was going to do a “rally-chew.”

“Worrell was going to have one with me, but he doesn’t chew,” Dreifort said.

Had he ever done a rally-chew before?

“Yes, but it’s never worked before,” Dreifort said. “My dad is going to love this.”

While Dreifort chewed, the Dodgers scored six runs against Josias Manzanillo (0-1), who was called up by the Mets on Monday to replace Jonathan Hurst, who gave up too many home runs. But the Dodgers still had two innings to play, and this time Manager Tom Lasorda put in his rookie ace and stayed with him. Dreifort retired the final six Mets to earn his second save.

“We got contributions from a lot of people today, which we need to be successful,” said Piazza, who was four for five with a double, his fourth homer of the season and four runs batted in.

“After I hit the home run, I looked into the dugout when I got around second and saw the reaction of the players,” Piazza said. “We had tied the game and it kind of gives you that adrenaline flow. It’s a pretty good feeling.”

Wallach, waiting in the on-deck circle, said Piazza’s high-five nearly took his thumb off. Brett Butler said Piazza nearly broke his arm. “I don’t remember a comeback victory like this one,” said Butler, who was three for five and scored two runs. “There was one at Philly this season, but nothing like this one.”

There were 29 hits, including four doubles, one triple and seven homers, in a game that looked all but lost for the Dodgers. Ramon Martinez, struggling with his control, gave up three homers before he left the game after five innings with the Mets leading, 5-0. The Dodgers scored three in the sixth on two singles and Wallach’s first home run, but the Mets scored three in the bottom of the inning to go ahead, 8-3.

The Dodgers scored two runs in the seventh and had the bases loaded with one out. But Wallach, who had been watching the fastballs Manzanillo threw to Piazza, was fooled by a slider and struck out. Eric Karros ended the inning, grounding into a forceout.

Dreifort’s performance helped lift the mood of the bullpen, which gave up five runs--four earned--before he entered the game. Roger McDowell struggled in the sixth inning, giving up a run and leaving two runners on base for Omar Daal. As Daal was trotting in from the bullpen, the crowd of 21,734 was treated to rendition of “I Love L.A.”--and that was before Daal balked in a run. It was also before Jim Gott gave up two more runs, but came right after Cory Snyder, starting at second base in place of Delino DeShields, made another costly error.

Manager Dallas Green must have thought the Dodgers were going to hand his team this victory, as they did Friday night. But Manzanillo, who relieved Doug Linton in the seventh inning, changed that. Manzanillo had two out when Gwynn started the homers flying. Closer John Franco, who has pitched in three of the last four games, started warming up immediately, but he wasn’t ready.

“I can run him out there when I am supposed to, but I can’t kill the man,” Green said. “The other guys are paid to get outs, too.”