Dodgers Bring Back Memories in Opener : Baseball: Mondesi is the star with two home runs, bullpen nearly the goat in 8-7 victory over Marlins.

The Dodgers have been gone for 8 1/2 months, so it seemed only natural Tuesday night in baseball’s season opener for them to offer a refresher course reacquainting themselves with their fans.

Come on, you remember the routine.

Watch center fielder Raul Mondesi hit a career-high two home runs, and drive in four runs. Watch catcher Mike Piazza hit a ball nearly 600 feet in batting practice, and then go two for four in the game. Watch starter Ramon Martinez dominate during his six-inning stint, yielding five hits and two runs.

And then, sit back and watch the beloved bullpen come precariously close to blowing the game, finally hanging onto an 8-7 victory over the Florida Marlins.

“It’s like we never missed a beat,” said Piazza, managing a weak smile. “I don’t know, I guess you can say we’ve had experience in those situations.”

The sellout crowd of 42,125 at Joe Robbie Stadium that welcomed major league baseball’s return with a smattering of boos, was in much better spirits when the ninth inning rolled around.

The Dodgers, leading, 8-3, sent out rookie Antonio Osuna for the ninth. Osuna already had pitched the two previous innings, and remember, faced only 24 batters in six innings all spring. Yet he came out one last time and didn’t survive.

Osuna struck out Andre Dawson leading off the ninth, but then walked three of the next five batters, and yielded a single and wild pitch. Out came Osuna with two outs and an 8-4 lead. In came Todd Worrell, who blew a major-league leading eight saves last season.

Two batters and three RBIs later, Dodger pitching Coach Dave Wallace yanked Worrell. He summoned Rudy Seanez, who faced rookie Charles Johnson with runners on first and second.

Seanez, who never had a save in his career, quickly got ahead in the count, and struck out Johnson looking at a curveball that dropped over the plate.

“I tell you one thing,” Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said, “it kept me praying. That ninth inning scared the hell out of me.”

The Dodgers, who had baseball’s worst bullpen last season but still were in first place when the strike began, shrugged off their ninth-inning anguish. They simply don’t believe their bullpen will be as bad as a year ago.

“This was a big day for baseball,” Dodger third baseman Tim Wallach said. “Hopefully, people will have more respect for the game now than eight months ago. Last year, we all took it for granted. I don’t think that will happen again.”

The crowd also reminded them that not all is forgotten. When the Dodgers and Marlins stood on the two foul lines in their pregame ceremony, the public address announcer asked the players to doff their caps to “express thanks to loyal, knowledgeable and patient baseball fans of South Florida.”

The players smiled, tipped their caps, and the fans responded by booing them loud enough to hear at the Florida Keys, venting every last bit of their frustration over the 234-day baseball strike.

“Wow, I guess you can say everybody was educated on the (strike) issues,” Piazza said. “It was like they were saying, ‘We’re happy you’re back, and we’ll forgive you this time, but you better watch yourselves.’ ”

Said first baseman Eric Karros: “I wanted to boo too. Whoever thought of that promotion should be fired.

“I don’t think you’ll see too many teams copying that idea. I think Mr. (Peter) O’Malley saw it, and if they had the same thing in mind, they’ll kill that idea.”

The Dodgers might also omit any further cost-cutting plans that nearly turned disastrous Tuesday. Instead of arriving Monday night in Miami, the Dodgers decided to save money and ride buses from Vero Beach at 9 Tuesday morning. When they arrived at the team hotel, the rooms weren’t ready, leaving many with no choice but to roam the lobby for several hours.

“What can I say, the whole day was exciting, in a very strange way,” Piazza said. “We haven’t had that feeling in a long while. It was almost like a rebirth.

“Well, back in the saddle, again.”