Dodgers Walk a Tightrope

SAN FRANCISCO â€”  They were the streaks of San Francisco, two balls that rocketed out of SBC Park during the first rapid breaths of Friday night.

Barry Bonds. Home run. Roar. Chant. “Beat L.A.�

Yorvit Torrealba. Home run. Roar. Chant. “Beat L.A.�

Fuzzy things were dancing on the dugout. Fuzzy fans were screaming from the bleachers. It was only the second inning of a weekend showdown, and already the air was filled with an awful scent of garlic fries and Giant envy and a 2-0 Giant lead.

“As a ballplayer, no matter where you play, you usually like it loud,� Alex Cora was saying. “This is the only place where we really like to make them quiet.�

So they did Friday, as improbably as they have done everything this summer, as deftly as a finger to the lips.

Shhhh. Did you hear it?

Shawn Green swinging through a national religious controversy with a two-run home run.

Jose Hernandez swinging off the bench for another home run.

Odalis Perez, making Barry Bonds swing and miss.

Shhhh. Did you hear it?

Eric Gagne throwing up his hands in relief after walking the bases loaded in the ninth inning.

Jayson Werth, pumping his arms in celebration after catching a bases-loaded line drive from Torrealba to end the Dodgers’ 3-2 victory in the first of a three-game title showdown.

Quick quiz: What song do they play at this loud and obnoxious yard immediately after a Giant loss?

Answer: Nothing.

For the Giant fans, the silence wasn’t only deafening, it was demeaning.

It was the sound of their team being slowly pushed back into their windy cave for the winter while the Dodgers inched their way to the spotlight of October.

Two days after stumbling to the brink of collapse, the Dodgers have somehow found the reserve to swagger back to solid ground, taking a 2 1/2 -game lead over the Giants in the West Division with nine games left.

The Giants not only have to win today, but they probably have to win Sunday to have a reasonable chance of making this a race until the teams play at Dodger Stadium next weekend.

It doesn’t help the Giants that the Dodgers will spend early next week with the awful Colorado Rockies while the Giants play in San Diego.

You know, San Diego, the place where the general manager joined many of us in questioning the Dodger heart.

Answers appear forthcoming after their baseball-leading 48th comeback victory, few as complicated as this one.

“We fight,� said Adrian Beltre, and who could now argue? “Every game we fight.�

Trailing 2-0 in this noisy, wind-swept boat dock, the Dodgers came to bat in the fourth against Kirk Rueter after failing to do anything with five baserunners in the first three innings.

Up first, Beltre, in a head-to-head showdown with Bonds for the league MVP award, showing that he can also stand and watch.

On a full count, without swinging at one pitch, Beltre walked.

Up next, Green, playing in the early hours of Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, even though he is Jewish.

In a nationally discussed decision, Green chose to play Friday and sit out only today’s game, angering some in his religion who felt he was making a compromise.

“Obviously it’s been a few crazy days for me,� Green said afterward. “I definitely wanted to win and contribute and it all worked out.�

A hanging curveball being a little less complicated than a religious debate, Green powered one into center field to tie the score.

One batter later, Hernandez, who spells Cora against left-handers, hit Rueter’s first pitch to left-center for a homer, and then it was up to Perez.

Could a guy who had not won a game in more than a month hang on?

Could a pitcher who hasn’t seemed the same since going on the disabled list in July because of a sore shoulder suddenly find himself?

He did, causing many Giants to lose the ball in the process.

After those two second-inning homers, Perez allowed only four more balls to leave the infield, not to mention only one more hit.

The Giants helped in their treatment of J.T. Snow, who has the second highest batting average in baseball since June 25 (.390). He was benched because he usually doesn’t play against left-handers. He didn’t appear until the ninth as a pinch-hitter.

With all due respect, how dumb is that?

Anyway, with no Snow, Perez reigned, no more so than when he struck out Bonds looking in the fourth inning and swinging in the seventh inning.

This is the same Bonds who averages one strikeout every four games, doing it twice in four innings.

It was written here last summer that Perez had questionable commitment because of his refusal to pitch with a broken fingernail. A year later, one can question him no more.

“It was quite a statement to his teammates with his performance tonight,� Tracy said afterward.

Statements everywhere Friday, blue voices in a still orange sea, words the Giants could hear loud and clear.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at [email protected]. For more Plaschke, go to latimes.com/plaschke.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Star-struck (out)

Barry Bonds struck out twice against Odalis Perez on Friday. It was only the fourth time this season that Bonds had struck out that many times in a game. Following are all four instances and what Bonds and the Giants did in the game:

*--* Date Opponent Result Bonds’ line April 7 Houston L, 10-1 0 for 2, walk July 15 Colorado W, 7-5 1 for 3, 3 walks Sept. 18 San Diego L, 5-1 0 for 4, walk Sept. 24 Dodgers L, 3-2 1 for 3, HR, walk

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