Is This Season End of the Line for Wallach? : Baseball: Lure of a World Series keeps third baseman going. Dodgers lose to Pirates, 7-6.

Dodger third baseman Tim Wallach listens to the whispers. He reads the trade speculation. He knows his time is near.

When you’re about to turn 38 years old, are plagued with a bad back and have missed nearly one-third of the season, it’s no secret to discover folks already are planning your retirement party.

This is why if you survey the Dodger clubhouse, you’ll discover that the Dodgers would love nothing more than to win the National League West for Wallach.

“You see the guy’s hurting,” Dodger pitcher Tom Candiotti said, “and then you watch him dive over railings, leap into the dugout and put his whole body on the line. It shows you the heart and desire that he has to play.”

Of course, no one ever declared this would be easy. The Dodgers were tied, 7-7, with the Pittsburgh Pirates Saturday night through nine innings before a crowd of 44,032 atDodger Stadium as this edition of The Times went to press. Eric Karros’ double in the ninth drove in Jose Offerman with the tying run.

A loss would drop the Dodgers back into second place, one game behind the Colorado Rockies, and only two games in front of the third-place San Diego Padres.

Dodger starter Kevin Tapani, making his Dodger Stadium debut, gave up 12 hits and seven earned runs in only 4 1/3 innings. It was his shortest outing since May 7 when he lasted only 2 2/3 innings against Cleveland while pitching for the Minnesota Twins.

The Dodgers, who may lose Hideo Nomo for a start because of a stiff right elbow, also might be without the services of starting second baseman Chad Fonville. Fonville, who has started the last 22 games, suffered a sprained right ankle while running to first base in the fifth inning. His status is uncertain.

The game not only came on the one-year anniversary of the players’ strike, but completed a rather hectic week for Tapani. He spent this week searching for an apartment to rent this summer, moved his family out from Minneapolis and then discovered the sobering news that his apartment complex was burglarized only a few days ago.

“I’m sure he’s had a million things go through his mind the last few days,” Candiotti said. “It’s tough, because there’s a lot of added pressure on him. You come into a situation where nobody knows you, nobody knows anything about you, and you’re thrust into a pennant race.

“It can be a big burden, but hey, Tap can handle it. He’s pitched in a World Series. He’ll be great for us.”

It’s this lure of a World Series that keeps Wallach playing this game. If the Dodgers weren’t in the playoff hunt, or still had to cope with the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves in this division, Wallach might have called it quits. After all, he has watched peers such as Kirk Gibson, John Kruk and Dave Stewart all retire within the last month.

“The difference, though, is that those guys weren’t in a pennant race,” Wallach said. “Believe me, it can be an awful long season when you’re out of it, especially at this age. That’s the only reason I’m playing, to be in a pennant race. That’s what drives me today. It’s been a long time coming, and I’d like to get back to the playoffs one last time.”

Wallach, who was last in the playoffs during his 1981 rookie season in Montreal, hopes that his back will stay sound all the way through the playoff stretch. He missed the first month of the season with his herniated disk, and Saturday night played his first game since Aug. 1.

“I wouldn’t even want to come back if I was going to hurt the club,” said Wallach, who produced two hits in his first three at-bats Saturday. “I’m going to do what I can do to help the club. I’m not going to worry about my back or anything else.

“If I get hurt again, what can I do?”

The Dodgers must decide within five days after the World Series whether to exercise the $1.5-million option on Wallach’s contract, and if they decline, Wallach probably will retire. He’d like to play one more year if he doesn’t experience recurring back pains, but he doesn’t want to move from his Yorba Linda home, nor does he want to return as a bench player.

Fred Claire, Dodger executive vice president, said, “I told Tim that in my 25 years, he’s on my all-time gamer list, and not too many people are on that list.

“He’s a true professional.”