Dodgers Win Race, Angels in One : Baseball: Mondesi comes back from knee injury to hit key homer, Nomo strikes out 11 as L.A. wins the West, 7-2.

The Dodgers were called underachievers. Folks questioned their heart. Players wondered about their own desire.

Yet all of the ridicule and criticism were buried Saturday night beneath the mass of Dodger humanity that piled onto the field celebrating the 1995 National League West division title.

The Dodgers clinched their eighth division title with a 7-2 victory over the San Diego Padres, earning their first playoff berth since winning the 1988 World Series.

A sellout crowd of 39,853 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, most of whom were Dodger fans, celebrated by erupting in cheers the moment second baseman Delino DeShields caught the final out.

Catcher Mike Piazza leaped into closer Todd Worrell’s arms and the celebration began. Third baseman Tim Wallach, forgetting all about the severed ligament in his left knee, thrust his arms into the air and leaped into the pile. Manager Tom Lasorda hugged his coaches and then put a bear-hug around first baseman Eric Karros, whom he calls the league’s most valuable player.

The players were handed championship hats, shirts and bottles of champagne when they entered the clubhouse. Those tears that poured out of their eyes weren’t caused by the sting of champagne.

“People questioned our heart all year, but we showed this team has got heart,” said Wallach, who was last in the playoffs in 1981 with the Montreal Expos. “I’m so happy, it’s unbelievable. I can’t even describe it. It’s absolutely, positively, better than I imagined.”

Center fielder Brett Butler, who was traded back to the Dodgers on Aug. 18, rushed to Fred Claire, executive vice president, and hugged him in the clubhouse.

“I thanked Fred for bringing me back over here,” Butler said. “This is something I’ll remember the rest of my life.”

The Dodgers will now play the Cincinnati Reds in a best-of-five division series beginning Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. Lasorda immediately announced that Ramon Martinez will face Pete Schourek in Game 1.

“You’re going to see a different team now,” said DeShields, drenched with champagne. “We went through a lot this year, and now the hard part is over. We can beat anybody, anywhere.”

Said left fielder Roberto Kelly: “I’ve waited a long time for this. I don’t think too many teams want to play us. We can compete with anybody out there. Man, we’re just getting hot at the right time.”

The Dodgers were intoxicated with euphoria. For the moment, they felt invincible, and who could blame them?

You want heart?

There was right fielder Raul Mondesi, who awoke Saturday morning barely able to walk. He was found to have torn knee cartilage from Friday’s game. Mondesi not only decided to delay surgery, but refused to come out of the lineup.

Yes, and there was Mondesi being the hero, hitting a two-run homer in the seventh inning off reliever Doug Bochtler that broke a 1-1 tie.

“I had to play,” Mondesi said. “We had to get to the playoffs. I said, ‘Put me in because I want to win the game.’ ”

You want desire?

There was Hideo Nomo, whose fastball had vanished in recent weeks while the Dodgers openly wondered if he was hurt, telling Lasorda he was just fine. He went out and pitched his finest game in six weeks--yielding six hits and two runs (one earned) in eight innings while striking out 11.

Perhaps it was only appropriate that Nomo (13-6) pitched this game.

“He’s done so much, he’s meant so much,” Claire said. “You think about all that he’s been through, and all of the things he’s had to do. He’s had to do it over and over and over again.

“It’s a moment in time to enjoy whether it’s Hideo Nomo, Kirk Gibson, Tracy Woodson or Franklin Stubbs.”

You want perseverance?

Shortstop Chad Fonville, who never had played above Class A until this season, was hailed as the one responsible for lifting the Dodgers’ spirits throughout the pennant stretch.

Said Fonville: “I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe it. It’s the greatest night of my life.”

“It’s a beautiful thing,” Piazza said, “a beautiful thing.”