NOW, L.A.’S THEIR PLACE : In Surprise Turnabout, Cincinnati’s Jones, Stillwell Shine in Their Backyard

The Cincinnati Reds got a shot in the arm Thursday while the Dodgers were given a swift kick, both courtesy of a couple of Southern California products. Call it a local anesthetic.

For the Dodgers, it’ll only hurt when they think about it. Tracy Jones, the 26-year-old outfielder from Leuzinger High School in Lawndale and Loyola Marymount, and Kurt Stillwell, the 22-year-old infielder from Thousand Oaks High, roommates and best friends on the Reds, did in the home team.

It came in the eighth inning of a game the Dodgers were leading, 2-0. Kal Daniels hit a home run to draw the Reds within one, and Jones and Stillwell then went to work.

With Buddy Bell on third and Dave Collins on first, Jones, the third Cincinnati pinch-hitter of the inning, came up against Dodger starter Orel Hershiser and singled up the middle for two runs to put the Reds ahead. Stillwell, the next batter, tripled to right to score Jones and finish Hershiser.

Yet another pinch-hitter, Dave Concepcion, followed with an RBI infield single, and the Reds had a 5-2 victory at Dodger Stadium. In addition to keeping them tied with the San Francisco Giants for the lead in the National League West, it was also the 14th time they have come from behind in their last 16 wins.

“I can’t ever imagine in my managerial career guys getting four pinch-hits in an inning,” Cincinnati Manager Pete Rose said. “ . . . We just seemed to have the right guys up there every time.

“We lost to (Tim) Leary and beat Fernando (Valenzuela) and Hershiser. Don’t try to understand this team, please. You’ll be taking Alka-Seltzer every day.”

Jones can relate on a more personal level. Going 0 for 5 in Monday’s game had his stomach turning, what with 50 family and friends at Dodger Stadium to see it.

“All of the sudden, no ones goes to the next games,” he said. “Front-runners, I guess.”

Thursday, about 20 people came out to watch him play the hero.

“It is a good feeling,” said Jones, who has a career .216 average against the Dodgers. “Whenever I come here, I never hit well. I knew I was due for a hit and I wanted an opportunity to hit against Hershiser at that point.”

That still didn’t prepare him for the first pitch, though.

“I wasn’t really looking for a fastball at my chin,” he said.

But that’s just what Jones got, staggering back to avoid being hit. He responded a couple of pitches later with the two-run single for a 3-2 Cincinnati lead. It was his sixth game-winning RBI of the season.

Stillwell’s hit was for window dressing, or so he said.

“I was just putting the icing on it,” he said. “His (Jones’) was the clutch hit. But it’s nice to show people that I belong in the majors, that I can play here.

“I don’t know if we’ll make that big of deal about it tonight. You’ve got to turn the page and look to tomorrow. But it is always nice to win here.”

Stillwell, who went 1 for 4 with a walk and a run scored, has a career .246 average against Los Angeles. He and Jones know all to well that they should savor a good showing against the Dodgers. It doesn’t happen very often.

“That’s all we do, talk baseball,” said Jones, who has been mostly platooned with Daniels in left field this year. “He (Stillwell) hates to play here. This is his worst place and my second-worst, next to New York. I can’t buy a hit there.

“It’s not the pressure. It’s the extra attention people give you when you come home. People want this and people want that. I had a guy call me today and ask for tickets, and I haven’t even seen him in 20 years.”

To a certain extent, his mother and father are guilty of that, too. According to Jones, they wouldn’t talk to him after the 0-for-5 Monday.

“Maybe now everything will be OK again,” he said, smiling.

Typical front-runners.