Giants Make a Big Splash With Rally : Baseball: Dodgers’ offense is stifled by Swift and Beck, and San Francisco comes from behind in the rain, 2-1.

Puddles started to form on the center-field warning track during the sixth inning, when the rain started coming down hard.

It’s never a picnic to play at Candlestick Park at night anyway, what with the cold winds blowing off the bay. The Dodgers were ahead, 1-0, at that point, with Pedro Astacio on the mound, pitching well, and the Giants’ Darren Lewis on first base with one out.

But to call a game, there has to be more than a soggy infield, muddy outfield and drenched players. And it didn’t stop Lewis from scoring the tying run, Royce Clayton the winning run and Rod Beck from preserving the Giants’ 2-1 victory.

“It was bad, but both teams had to play in it,” Dodger first baseman Eric Karros said. “I don’t think any plays weren’t made because of it.”

Against Giant starter Bill Swift (4-3), the Dodgers managed only four hits, and against Beck, they got nothing. Beck retired the Dodgers in order in the ninth inning for his fourth save.

The loss ruined a solid outing by Astacio (1-3) who held the Giants to seven hits, had one walk and eight strikeouts. But the Giants put together three consecutive hits in the seventh inning, with Kirt Manwaring’s single to right scoring Clayton.

“Both pitchers were tough,” Dodger pitching coach Ron Perranoski said. “Astacio got his breaking ball over and he changed speeds well. And when he got out of kilter, he was able to straighten out again. Where the rain affects pitchers is in their footing, and both of them pitched well.”

It had rained hard in the morning and into the afternoon, stopping about 4 p.m. and causing a delay at the start of the game for 20 minutes as the ground crew got the field ready. But by the seventh, the field was muddy again, and when the crew was summoned by home plate umpire Greg Bonin to bring out some Turface--an absorbent similar to kitty litter--to patch up the batter’s box and pitcher’s mound, first base coach Reggie Smith argued that it should have been brought out before the Dodgers batted in the top of the inning.

“I asked him why he didn’t call for it before we hit in that inning,” said Manager Tom Lasorda, who also argued with Bonin.

Astacio allowed only one runner to reach second base until Lewis stole second in the sixth inning. Lewis then scored on Dave Martinez’s hard-hit grounder to Tim Wallach, which bounced off his glove and into short left field. It was questionably ruled a hit, but either way, the score was tied.

A great throw by Raul Mondesi in the fourth inning helped Astacio. Mark Carreon hit a ball in the right-field corner and had every right to think it was good for a double. But as the season progresses, Dodger opponents are beginning to learn about Mondesi’s arm. The Giants now know. Mondesi fielded the ball on the run, spun and made a perfect throw to Delino DeShields at second base to get the final out of the inning.

Mike Piazza, who extended his hitting streak to eight games with a single, also helped out in the third, when he threw out Lewis trying to steal third. Lewis was the only batter Astacio walked.

Before the game, coach Bill Russell talked with DeShields and told him he had been moved to eighth in the batting order.

DeShields has been struggling offensively since the fourth game of the season and it has become worse since he suffered a concussion two weeks ago. Since returning, he has batted .136. He still doesn’t feel 100%, his head still aches and his left leg is still weak from a 15-year-old injury to his left thigh that acted up about three weeks ago. Lasorda thought taking DeShields out of the leadoff spot would help take the pressure off him for a while, but DeShields was not happy about the move.

“That’s not it, it’s not the pressure, it’s my leg,” DeShields said before the game. “I have never batted eighth. It would be one thing if I have never done anything before, but I have put up numbers. There is nobody better than me at what I do. “

DeShields doubled in the third inning and eventually scored on an infield single by Brett Butler. But that was all the Dodgers could manage against Swift, who went on to retire nine of the next 10 batters and gave up only two hits the rest of the way.