It’s Splittsburgh Piracy

All it took was two pitches.

Two pitches to turn euphoria into despondency, a 1 1/2-game Dodger lead in the NL West into only a half-game advantage, a satisfying doubleheader sweep into a bitter doubleheader split and a quiet Three Rivers Stadium night into a wild, fireworks-filled celebration for the 14,018 on hand Monday night.

Two pitches from Todd Worrell gave the Pittsburgh Pirates a 4-3 victory in the second game after they had lost the opener, 8-2, in a game in which Ramon Martinez (7-3) won for the first time since June 9.

Worrell entered the ninth inning of the second game with the Dodgers seemingly secure with a 3-1 lead, the Pirates having managed only four hits.

Worrell walked former Dodger Eddie Williams.

He went to a 2 and 1 count on third baseman Joe Randa.

And then:

--Wham! Randa hit a fastball that hung over the plate over the center-field wall, outfielder Otis Nixon leaping and stretching and hoping to pull off the same homer-robbing act he pulled off at Dodger Stadium a few weeks ago.

But not this time.

--Bam! Worrell served up another pitch.

Another fastball.

Another offering that drifted over the middle.

This time the batter was right fielder Mark Smith, and he sent a pitch over the left-field wall, outfielder Brett Butler helplessly watching, knowing it would be a waste of energy to jump.

This was the same Worrell who has 33 saves, one shy of league leader Rod Beck of the San Francisco Giants, the same Worrell who had 17 saves in his previous 23 appearances including his last six, the same Worrell who tied Jim Brewer for the Dodger career lead in saves Saturday.

But it is also the same Worrell who has eight blown saves, who has lost several games on home runs this season.

“You’ve just got to cool down,” Worrell said. “There’s not much else to do. You’ve just got to get your breath and move on. When you have good outings, you ride it as long as you can. When you have rough outings, it’s part of the job. It’s what drives relievers out of the game.”

The Dodgers came into Pittsburgh having won four in a row and five of six on this trip to take one-game lead over the Giants in the NL West.

They extended that to five in a row in the first game behind Martinez, who was making his first official big-league start since tearing the rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder in mid-June.

Martinez had struggled through two-plus innings Wednesday in New York in a game called because of rain.

But it was a different Martinez on Monday night.

He gave up five hits and two runs, only one of them earned, in five innings with five strikeouts before Manager Bill Russell pulled him, figuring 90 pitches was enough of an outing at this point.

“I felt a little uncomfortable in the first two innings,” Martinez said. “I needed time to get my rhythm. But after that, I felt a lot better.”

Martinez was proudest of the fact that, despite the long period away from the Dodger rotation, he walked only one batter.

“My ball was moving so much, I felt so strong, that it was hard to control,” he said. “The ball was running on me big time. Sitting around and not doing anything for two months, it was hard because I was not helping the team. Now, I can help.”

The Dodgers gave Martinez plenty of help with 13 hits, including a two-run homer by Raul Mondesi, his 26th, a two-run single by Eric Karros and RBI singles by Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile.

Mark Guthrie, who has struggled this year, turned in a sharp four innings of relief, retiring all 12 men he faced to collect his first save.

Jason Schmidt (8-7) took the loss for the Pirates, who were coming off a three-game sweep of the Giants.

The Dodgers were in front in the second game on three unearned runs, all of them coming on two Pittsburgh errors in the first four innings.

Dodger starter Tom Candiotti gave up an unearned run in the first, Tony Womack crossing the plate on a sacrifice fly by Al Martin.

But Candiotti had allowed only three hits when Russell pulled him after six, going two innings with Antonio Osuna before calling on Worrell.

“I hadn’t even shaken Randa’s hand,” Pittsburgh Manager Gene Lamont said, “when Smith hit the home run. That’s hard to top.”