Dodgers Discover Defense : Baseball: Dazzling fielding plays, solid pitching give them 5-1 victory, NL West lead.

Dodger starter Tom Candiotti was in the playoffs four years ago, but he was simply a rent-a-pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Center fielder Brett Butler played in the 1989 World Series for the San Francisco Giants. It was interrupted by a devastating earthquake. The games became meaningless.

These two teammates, bonded from their humiliating days with the Cleveland Indians, are striving to make this a year they’ll never forget.

Candiotti and Butler led the Dodgers back to first place Monday night, defeating the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-1, in front of a paid 44,410 at Dodger Stadium.

“When I first signed with the Dodgers [in 1992],” Candiotti said, “I thought I was coming to a championship team. So did Brett. The Dodgers were always known for good teams. If they didn’t win it, they’d be right up there.

“But it was a disaster. The first two years were rebuilding years, and then last year when it looked like we had something going, the work stoppage hit.

“Brett and I suffered together for a lot of years in Cleveland, and believe me, winning this year would take care of a lot of frustration.”

The Dodgers (63-58), winning consecutive games for the first time in two weeks, moved half a game ahead of the Colorado Rockies with their victory. With 23 games remaining to hold on to their National League West division lead, they are trying to earn their first postseason berth since 1988.

The Phillies (61-60), who miraculously remain in the wild-card race, fell to 1 1/2 games behind the Rockies. Actually, the Phillies can hardly believe they’re even talking about postseason.

“It feels more like ‘The Price is Right,’ ” Phillie center fielder Andy Van Slyke said. “We have a chance. We know there’s a prize to be won out there. But right now we’re in the audience waiting for our name to be called.”

The Dodgers realize that they’ve squandered four months while trying to put this race away. They have three weeks to validate everyone else’s belief that they’re the finest team in the division, if not one of the most talented in the league.

It may have taken them all this while, but they finally caught on Monday that to win this division, they’re going to have to rely on solid defense or they’re going nowhere.

And to the astonishment of the fans, who didn’t know whether to stand on their feet or stay seated to prevent themselves from fainting, the Dodgers put on a dazzling display of defense.

Candiotti (7-12), who had won only once since July 23, could hardly believe his eyes in the first inning. He looked as if he might be in trouble at the outset when Van Slyke hit a one-out double to left, but crazy things started happening.

Gregg Jefferies hit a line drive toward the right-center gap. Candiotti winced, realizing it was at least a run-scoring double, or even more.

Instead, Butler kept running and running, leaped and, completely outstretched, caught the ball. Jefferies couldn’t believe it. Neither could anyone else.

Charlie Hayes then followed with a flare to shallow left field. Left fielder Roberto Kelly didn’t have a play. But out came shortstop Chad Fonville, running the whole way, to make an over-the-shoulder catch.

“I can’t tell you what a big lift that was,” said Candiotti, who took instructor Mike Scioscia’s advice and mixed in 22 fastballs--nearly three times as many as usual--and yielded five hits and one run in 6 2/3 innings. “It picked me up. It picked the whole team up. We made great plays the whole night.”

The Dodgers, proving it was no one-inning phenomenon, continued their magical defensive tour the entire game.

Third baseman Dave Hansen made a back-handed stab and threw out Mike Lieberthal in the fifth inning. Second baseman Delino DeShields turned a double play that snuffed a Phillie rally in the sixth. Why, there wasn’t an error the entire game.

The Dodgers, who dropped catcher Mike Piazza to fifth in the lineup to obtain more speed at the top of the order, managed only four hits but it hardly mattered. Raul Mondesi hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning for the Dodgers’ lone extra-base hit, but they stole three bases and had a sacrifice bunt and two sacrifice flies.

“There’s no excuses,” Mondesi said. ‘We’ve got speed, defense, pitching . . . everything. I know we can do it.”