Little Ball at Little Price

No one expects the Dodgers to erase 10-run deficits, such as the one they faced in the fourth inning against the Giants Wednesday night, but an early three- or four-run deficit might be just as daunting an obstacle for their offense.

In placing speedy Dave Roberts and Cesar Izturis and contact specialist Paul Lo Duca in the first three lineup spots, Manager Jim Tracy has made it clear he is favoring little ball over the long ball this season.

But unless the Dodgers score early, add to their lead throughout the game and get much better starting pitching than they did in the first two games--9-2 and 12-0 losses--they won’t manufacture many wins, and they won’t mount many comebacks.

“We’re not going to be a big home run-hitting team; we’re going to be a scrappy team that has to put the ball in play to score runs,” Lo Duca said. “So we can’t afford to fall behind early. I know it happened in the first two games, but it’s not going to happen all season.”

It seems ironic that a team with a $102-million payroll is relying so much on three top-of-the-order players who will make a combined $812,500 this season, but as Roberts ($217,500) and Izturis ($215,000)--and, to a certain extent, Lo Duca ($380,000)--go, so will go the Dodger offense.

If those three batters don’t get on base at a high rate, the Dodgers’ top two power hitters, Shawn Green and Brian Jordan, won’t have many RBI opportunities.

“It’s definitely odd--the impact guys at the top of the order [usually] seem to make more money--but I do think how Cesar and I go, the offense will go,” Roberts said.

“Not because I think so much about Cesar and I, but it’s like any lineup. If you can get things going at the top of the order, you can get the offense going. No one likes hitting with the bases empty.”

Who says pitchers can’t hit? San Francisco starter Ryan Jensen singled in the third and sixth innings Thursday night, giving Giant pitchers five hits in the series. Livan Hernandez had two singles, two runs and an RBI Tuesday, and Russ Ortiz hit a two-run homer Wednesday night.... Tracy, who used 114 different lineups while trying to compensate for a barrage of injuries in 2001, used the same lineup for the third consecutive game Thursday night. Only twice last season did he use the same lineup for three consecutive games.

*

ON DECK

Opponent--Colorado Rockies, three games.

Site--Dodger Stadium.

Tonight--7 p.m.

TV--Channel 13 tonight and Saturday night.

Radio--KXTA (1150),

KWKW (1330).

Records--Dodgers 0-3,

Rockies 2-1.

2001 Record vs. Rockies--11-8.

TONIGHT

DODGERS’

ANDY ASHBY

(2-0, 3.86 ERA in 2001)

vs.

ROCKIES’

SHAWN CHACON

(6-10, 5.06 ERA)

Update--Ashby, who went 0-3 with a 4.57 ERA in six spring-training games, will be making his first start since last April 12, when he suffered a season-ending elbow injury against Arizona and underwent surgery to repair a torn flexor muscle on June 15. The Rockies, who are in a rebuilding mode, are only the 16th team since expansion began in 1961 to have four players 25 or younger in the four defensive spots up the middle--shortstop Juan Uribe, 22, second baseman Jose Ortiz, 24, center fielder Juan Pierre, 24, and catcher Ben Petrick, 25. Only four of the previous 15 teams had winning records, and only one, the 1967 Boston Red Sox, won a pennant.

Saturday, 7 p.m.--Kazuhisa Ishii (major league debut) vs. Jason Jennings (4-1, 4.58 in 2001).

Sunday, 1 p.m.--Kevin Brown (0-1, 15.75) vs. Mike Hampton (0-1, 14.73).