Marlins Caught by Fever : Baseball: Dodgers win, 4-2, in 10 as Nomo marketing machine rolls into Miami.

They were breathlessly awaiting Hideo Nomo on Thursday, hyping his arrival as if this city were host to another Super Bowl.

There were large, colorful advertisements in all of the local newspapers, pitting Nomo against all-star MVP Jeff Conine as if it were a heavyweight title bout. Nomo was the topic of the day on all the talk shows. There was even a gimmick to dial a hotline number and learn how to boo, cheer or request autographs in Japanese.

If the Dodgers can sell Hideo Nomo jerseys for $175, the Florida Marlins figure they might as well join the marketing blitz.

Yet, when it was all over, the Marlins merely became the latest to succumb to Nomo, losing, 4-2, in 10 innings in front of a paid crowd of 34,724 at Joe Robbie Stadium.

The Marlins could take solace that they held Nomo to a no-decision, and that their starter, Bobby Witt, actually outpitched Nomo, but the fact remains they couldn’t beat him.

“It’s getting fun to watch,” said Todd Worrell, who pitched a scoreless 10th inning for his 14th save. “You see all this hype and build-up, and teams wanting so bad to knock him off, but they can’t do it.

“He showed how good of a pitcher he was tonight. He didn’t have his good stuff, but where a lot of starters would be gone by the fifth, he kept us in the ballgame the whole way.

“That’s what’s so impressive about the guy.”

Nomo left the game for a pinch-hitter in the ninth after yielding four hits and two runs with nine strikeouts, and watched first baseman Eric Karros win the game with a one-out single in the 10th, scoring Jose Offerman from second base. Roberto Kelly hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly for the two-run cushion.

When the Dodgers (38-39) went into the clubhouse after ending the Marlins’ four-game winning streak, guess who was standing at the doorway shaking everyone’s hand?

“Can you believe that guy,” Dodger pitching Coach Dave Wallace said. “Just when you don’t think you can be more impressed by Nomo, he goes out and does something like that.”

Nomo’s performances now are becoming almost routine. In nine consecutive starts, he has pitched at least seven innings, yielded two or fewer runs and six or fewer hits.

“We don’t expect him to be Superman,” Dodger catcher Mike Piazza said, “but he’s definitely set a standard for himself and he’s living up to it. He just gives you that confidence you’re going to win every time he takes the mound.”

Nomo, 7-1 with a 1.93 earned-run average, proved to his teammates that there can be occasional imperfections. He actually surrendered a lead for the first time in his major league career, gave up his first home run in seven starts, and for only the second time gave up a hit on an 0-and-2 count.

Yet, after yielding a leadoff homer to Kurt Abbott in the fifth inning, ending a streak of 54 innings without a homer, Nomo never lost his composure. In fact, he pitched even better, yielding only one hit the rest of the night.

“That homer was absolutely my fault,” Nomo said. “If I don’t give up a run, we don’t have to go into extra innings. That was regrettable. My task is to shut them out.”

What did he think about the sarcastic chant of ‘No-Mo, No-Mo,’ that reverberated throughout the stadium?

“What does that mean?” he asked. “I assume they’re cheering for me.”

Soon, you will be able to buy Nomo dolls, Nomo leather jackets and a Nomo telephone card.

And, oh yes, he just filmed an NBA commercial saying, “I love this game.”

“What can you say?” Dodger teammate Ismael Valdes said. “Nomo’s a very famous man.”