Mondesi Wakes Up Giants in 7-0 Loss : Baseball: Collision gets Dodgers off to bad start; they make four errors in an inning.

Dodger outfielders weren’t pelted by batteries and coins. No fights broke out in the stands. There were few taunts or insults.

Why, considering the gorgeous weather, the tranquil setting and the quaint crowd of 6,413 Monday afternoon, the Dodgers almost forgot they were playing at Candlestick Park during the 7-0 loss.

A serene feeling prevailed at the start--and it lasted right up to the moment Raul Mondesi lowered his head, folded his arms and collided violently with Giant catcher Kirt Manwaring in the first inning.

Yes, in case anyone wondered, that bitter Dodger-Giant rivalry is alive and well, and the Giants, saying the collision incited their hatred, knocked out the Dodgers.

The paid crowd was 10,828, but even counting the 4,415 no-shows, it was the smallest for a Dodger-Giant game since Sept. 22, 1985.

“It was unbelievable there were so few fans,” Dodger first baseman Eric Karros said, “especially because of this rivalry. But I guess that’s to be expected. You’d be foolish to think it should be a packed house.”

Yet, despite the smallest crowd at Candlestick in three years, it took only Mondesi’s hit on Manwaring, whom he used as a blocking sled, to bring everyone back to their senses.

“It was like, ‘Oh yeah, just like ol’ times,’ ” said Giant starter Terry Mulholland, who pitched seven shutout innings in his first game at Candlestick since June 14, 1989. “That was a huge play, and a huge swing in the game.

“It was a challenge. It was almost like they were saying, ‘Let’s see if our guy can kick your guy’s . . . We went into the dugout pretty fired up and we took it from there.”

Dodger second baseman Delino DeShields said: “It was a definite mood swing. We found out in a hurry that Kirt is a pretty tough guy. I mean, I once saw Marquis (Grissom) crash into him, break his collarbone, and he still hung onto the ball.

“What he did today shouldn’t surprise anyone.”

Mondesi was on first base with two outs in the first inning when Karros, batting .565 this season, hit a bloop single into right field. Almost everyone in the stadium expected Mondesi to hold at third.

Instead, Dodger third base coach Joe Amalfitano, trying to catch the Giants asleep, waved Mondesi home. Mondesi rounded third, stutter-stepped and headed for the plate, but the relay throw from shortstop Royce Clayton to Manwaring was perfect.

Manwaring caught the ball and had a full second to brace himself before Mondesi crashed into him. Manwaring toppled over, while Mondesi watched, but the ball remained in the catcher’s mitt.

Manwaring got up, stared at Mondesi, uttered something he doesn’t remember and slowly walked back to the dugout. Mondesi continued glaring at him, and not until first base coach Reggie Smith shooed Mondesi away was peace assured.

“I’ve got to play my game, you know,” said the 5-foot-11, 220-pound Mondesi, calling it his most vicious home-plate collision since he was in double-A ball. “I think (Manwaring) said something like, ‘It’s all right,’ but I don’t listen.

“I play the game hard, whether it’s the Giants or somebody else. I don’t care.”

Said Manwaring, 5-11 and 203 pounds: “It was one of those things that woke everybody up. It got my attention. He had a head start, and he’s a pretty stocky person, but I wasn’t going to let him score.”

It was only one out, but the stage was set. The Giants performed almost flawlessly on defense and produced nine hits, including two-run home runs by Glenallen Hill and J.R. Phillips, but the Dodgers’ play was typified by the fourth inning.

Trailing, 2-0, the Dodgers led off the fourth with singles by Karros and Billy Ashley. It seemed to be the start of something big, but Karros was picked off second base, Henry Rodriguez struck out and, after a walk to Garey Ingram, the threat ended on Carlos Hernandez’s ground-out.

For their encore, the Dodgers took the field in the fourth and committed four errors--the most they’ve made in an inning since the club moved to Los Angeles in 1958. Shortstop Jose Offerman made two errors on one play and Ingram and Hernandez had the others.

Between the errors, Tom Candiotti struck out the side, yielding nothing more damaging than a walk, but the Giants still increased their lead to 3-0.

“They put on a highlight film,” Candiotti said, “and we put on a folly film.”