Dodgers Get Rigged Victory

He is a new Dodger face in a tight pennant race, and on Wednesday night, he earned his place.

Otis Nixon?

Not Wednesday.

It was second baseman Adam Riggs, called up from Albuquerque on the last day of July to fill in for the injured Tripp Cromer, who drove in the go-ahead run in a 3-1 victory over the Montreal Expos at Dodger Stadium before a crowd of 33,818.

“I’m glad this happened now,” said Riggs, who had the first two hits of his big league career. “I just feel unbelievable. My first hit was good, but that was just something that was good for me. That didn’t help the team.

“My next at-bat is what it’s all about. That was probably the best at-bat of my whole life, because I helped these guys out.”

Riggs was not alone in helping the Dodgers pick up a game on the NL West-leading San Francisco Giants, who had lost to the Chicago Cubs earlier in the day. The Dodgers trail the Giants by 1 1/2 games.

Also playing key roles for the Dodgers were:

* Winning pitcher Tom Candiotti (9-4), who might have gotten his final start for the Dodgers except for an upcoming doubleheader in Pittsburgh. Candiotti pitched seven strong innings, giving up one run and three hits while striking out seven.

* Relief pitcher Todd Worrell, who retired the Expos in order in the ninth for his 28th save, getting the final batter, Darrin Fletcher, on a fly to left.

It was Fletcher who hit a game-tying home run against Worrell last week in Montreal only to have catcher Mike Piazza win the game with a 10th-inning homer.

* Todd Zeile and Eric Karros, who accounted for the other two runs, Zeile on a second-inning home run, Karros on an eighth-inning RBI single.

Nixon, obtained in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday, started in center and went one for four, flashing his speed to beat out a chopper in the eighth. He went on to score on Karros’ hit.

Candiotti may have pitched superbly, but his future role on this team will be determined 70 miles northeast of Dodger Stadium tonight in Lancaster. There, right-hander Ramon Martinez will make his fifth, and probably last, rehabilitation start as he recovers from a small tear in the rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder suffered in mid-June.

Martinez will be plugged back into the starting rotation and Candiotti, a 14-year veteran, will be back in the bullpen.

That’s what happens when you’re 39, like Candiotti, and on a team with more good, young arms than spots to place them.

Candiotti, who will be a free agent after this season, is expected to go elsewhere. If he does, Wednesday’s effort will certainly look good on his resume.

“There’s just so much speculation right now,” Candiotti said. “I’m just going to keep starting as long as they give me the ball.

“I’m glad my arm responded so well after two to 2 1/2 months in the pen. I’m just glad I could contribute.”

After committing an error in the second inning Wednesday night, his second in as many nights and team-leading 21st of the year, Zeile made up for it by cracking his 23rd homer in the bottom of the second.

In the meantime, Candiotti was dazzling and befuddling batter after batter with his dancing knuckleball.

Through four innings, he did not give up a hit, striking out four. The only man to reach base was Vladimir Guerrero, who made it to first on Zeile’s error.

It was Guerrero who broke up Candiotti’s brief flirtation with a no-hitter by leading off the fifth with a single to left. But after reaching second, Guerrero was left there when Candiotti struck out opposing pitcher Carlos Perez with two men on base.

Perez (11-8) matched Candiotti through six innings, giving up only three hits, including the Zeile home run. Perez also struck out a career-high 10.

But in the seventh, the Dodgers broke through. Back-to-back singles by Zeile and Greg Gagne set up Riggs, who slapped a single to left to drive home the deciding run.