Dodger Imitation Is Costly to Mets : Baseball: Boot is on the other foot when L.A. scores four runs on one hit and three errors in eighth inning of 4-3 victory.

The eighth inning of Saturday’s Dodger game provided a seriocomic routine Dodger fans have seen all too often--a fumbling defense giving away a game.

But this time the other team was self-destructing, and the Dodgers took advantage in a 4-3 victory over the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium.

Held to two hits and shut out through seven innings, the Dodgers began their rally innocently enough when Juan Samuel walked to open the eighth. Met Manager Bud Harrelson, trying to protect a 2-0 lead, brought in relief ace John Franco and also inserted Keith Miller at second.

The rest of the inning went like something scripted by Rod Serling--or the Three Stooges.

Stan Javier hit a potential double-play grounder to Miller, who booted it. Eddie Murray hit a run-scoring double. The crowd of 38,657, which had spent much of the afternoon listening to the Lakers on radios, came alive.

Kal Daniels hit a run-scoring grounder to first to make it 2-2. Pinch-hitter Gary Carter walked. Mike Scioscia grounded to third, where Gregg Jefferies caught Murray off the bag and tagged him for the second out. For Jefferies, the excitement was just beginning.

Jose Offerman hit a grounder that Jefferies dribbled across the infield, loading the bases. Pinch-hitter Jeff Hamilton hit a high bouncer down the third base line. Jefferies tried to short-hop it but couldn’t handle the ball and two more runs scored.

Franco (1-2) finally ended his inning from hell, but the Dodgers had four runs on one hit, two walks and three errors. “It was a do-or-die play. Unfortunately, I died,” Jefferies said of Hamilton’s grounder.

“That was ug-ly,” Harrelson said. “We haven’t lost a game like that all year. The sooner we separate ourselves from those the better. And Murray did what he always does--capitalizes on mistakes. He’s a pain in the. . . .”

Beauty being in the eye of the beholder, the Dodgers judged Saturday’s effort a near-masterpiece.

“We got the breaks today. It’s nice to have things go our way for once,” Hamilton said.

The Mets’ five-game winning streak ended, and the Dodgers moved into the lead in the National League West, a half game ahead of Atlanta. The Dodgers have won seven of their last nine games and 10 of the last 13 at home.

If there was a downside for the Dodgers, it was the continued struggle of starting pitcher Tim Belcher, who gave up eight hits and four walks in 6 1/3 innings. A game-opening walk to Vince Coleman preceded an RBI single by Hubie Brooks, and four of the seven leadoff batters Belcher faced reached base. The Mets, who left 10 men on, outhit the Dodgers, 11-5. Included in that was Kevin McReynolds’ third home run, in the fourth inning.

“I had a 1-2-3 inning in the sixth--that’s my first one in a month,” Belcher said. “Quick as I found it in the sixth, I go out and give up a leadoff double to the pitcher (in the seventh). I’m in a funk right now. I don’t feel like today is the end of it, but I feel the end is near. I’ve got to get the first out of the inning. That makes it a heck of a lot easier, and I haven’t been able to do that.”

Three relievers followed, with John Candelaria replacing Belcher in the seventh and getting a double play to end the inning. Tim Crews pitched the eighth inning and got the victory to improve to 2-0. Jay Howell pitched a tense ninth, giving up a run on singles by Coleman and Dave Magadan, but finished it to earn his seventh save.

While the focus in the eighth inning was on the errors, Manager Tom Lasorda pointed to Daniels’ RBI groundout as key. “I told Kal this is a situation where you’ve got to pull the ball,” Lasorda said. “That’s what he did, which allowed one guy to score and another to get to third. He did the job.”

Daniels, whose average has dipped to .224, said directing a pitch “is easier said than done the way Franco’s ball moves, but it’s one of those small things that helps win games that don’t show up in the box score. Baseball’s a funny game. We didn’t really hit the ball hard, but a couple errors here and there and we win a ballgame.”