Karros Has Last Word for Giants : Baseball: After going 0 for 12 in the series, he hits a 12th-inning homer to lift the Dodgers.

Dodger first baseman Eric Karros walked slowly to the plate late Monday afternoon and, to be honest, felt absolutely miserable.

Who could blame him? He had gone hitless in the series, been hit by two pitches, grounded into a double play, struck out twice and, until the 12th inning Monday, failed to hit the ball out of the infield.

“You can understand,” Karros said and shrugged, “why I wasn’t feeling too good.”

It was also why it was easy to understand his standing at the plate, appreciating hitting his homer that beat the Giants, 3-1, before an announced crowd of 23,081 at Candlestick Park.

Karros pumped his fist once, twice, as he jogged around the bases.

“I usually don’t show that much emotion,” Karros said, “but I was pumped. I definitely had the adrenaline going.”

Giant reliever Jose Bautista can blame only himself for making a serious error in judgment that changed Karros’ morale two pitches before the homer.

Bautista, who had kept the Dodgers hitless in 16 consecutive at-bats, preventing them from even getting the ball out of the infield since the eighth inning, watched Mike Piazza end the string with a one-out single to center field in the 12th.

That brought up Karros, and Bautista threw a first-pitch strike. Then he tried to get cute. He threw an inside fastball that nearly hit Karros’ hands, backing him off the plate. The next fastball sailed toward Karros’ chin, knocking him to the ground.

Bautista came right back with a fastball over the plate, evening the count at two and two, and Karros looked finished. He was quietly seething. No one is going to make him look foolish, certainly not with the season he’s having--a .303 average with a team-leading 20 home runs and 65 runs batted in.

“It definitely got me going,” Karros said. “That doesn’t mean you’re going to hit a homer, but. . . .

Karros, hitless in 12 at-bats in this series, figured Bautista would come back with a forkball, his best pitch. It was high over the plate, and Karros swung. He believed he got all of it, but then again, this is Candlestick. So he started watching left fielder Barry Bonds.

Bonds drifted back, looked as though he might have room to make a catch, then slowly turned his back as he watched the ball drift into the bleachers, the 40th home run given up by Giant relievers this season.

The Dodgers (49-45) suddenly had one of their most exhilarating victories of the season within reach.

“I don’t care what Eric was hitting this series,” Piazza said, “there was nobody we’d rather have up there than Eric.”

Karros is hitting 49 points above his lifetime average and needs only three homers and 23 RBIs to achieve personal bests. If this were a full season, Karros would be on pace to hit 34 home runs and drive in 112 runs.

“I will appreciate it once the season is over,” Karros said, “and if we win the division. If we win the division, everything will be a lot of fun.

“If we don’t, what good does it do?”

The Dodgers, who blew a three-run lead in the 15th inning on May 2 against the Giants, still had to guard against overconfidence after Karros’ homer. They had shut down San Francisco for eight innings--including the ninth, when the Giants failed to score with runners on second and third with one out--and handed the ball to Todd Worrell for the 12th.

Everything seemed fine until Worrell walked Robby Thompson with two outs. That brought up Bonds, who had walked four times, three of them intentionally.

“There was no way I was going to let him beat us,” Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said, despite Bonds’ .091 batting average (two for 22) against the Dodgers this season. “He kept looking over the whole game, and I’d say, ‘No you don’t. Forget about it.’

“But with the guy we had out there, I said, ‘Why not?’ ”

Bonds, with the crowd on its feet, hit a grounder toward second baseman Chad Fonville, who booted it and everyone was safe.

“No problem,” Worrell laughed, “I had them right where I wanted.”

Five pitches later, Worrell struck out J.R. Phillips, and the Dodgers had cut the Colorado Rockies’ lead in the National League West to three games. It was Worrell’s 20th save, the most he has had in a season since 1989.