Davis, Candiotti Prod Dodgers to Win, 6-2

Eric Davis and Tom Candiotti had been playing regular-season games with their new teammates for a week, and already the Dodgers’ somnolence was killing them.

So Tuesday night, they made an unholy racket.

Davis hit a three-run home run into the upper reaches of the Astrodome and Candiotti pitched a six-hitter and collected his first hit to give the Dodgers a 6-2 victory before 13,773.

“We should be playing better than we’re playing,” Davis said. “We’ve got to kick ourselves in the butt.”

His teammates, in breaking a four-game losing streak, can consider themselves kicked.

Even Jose Offerman, after three of the toughest days of his young career, was a hero. He collected three hits for the first time since his major league debut three years ago and made three assists.

“We’ve been through some tough times,” Candiotti said. “We needed this one.”

They needed it so much, Candiotti laughed on the mound while walking to greet catcher Mike Sciosia after striking out Casey Candaele with a knuckleball for the final out of the game.

“I was laughing because he caught the pitch,” Candiotti said. “It was the best knuckleball I threw all night.”

Candiotti was in a good mood for much of the night, and with good reason. After the third inning, he had something stranger to the Dodgers than the knuckleball is to other National League teams.

He had some runs.

In the third inning of a scoreless game, Davis hit the Dodgers’ first homer of the season that counted for more than two runs, driving a pitch from rookie Butch Henry into the Astrodome’s fourth deck, 420 feet from home plate.

How high was it hit?

“I never saw it,” Davis said.

The home run, Davis’ team-leading third, followed a walk by Brett Butler and a bunt single by Mike Sharperson.

Perhaps more important, it followed a second inning in which the Dodgers loaded the bases but got no runs after Darryl Strawberry failed to score from second base on a two-out single by Offerman.

“When guys are struggling, I try to be more aggressive at the plate in run-producing situations,” Davis said. “I expand my strike zone.”

Perhaps it should be obvious that the Dodgers have been struggling all season, then, because the aggressive Davis is hitting .357 with a team-leading six runs batted in and also nine strikeouts.

During the three Dodger victories, he has five hits in 11 at-bats for a .455 average.

Manager Tom Lasorda is beginning to count on Davis in the clutch. Lasorda said he was even thinking about a homer Tuesday when Davis hit a 1-and-1 pitch.

“That’s just what I was looking for,” said Lasorda, who had pushed for the Dodgers to acquire Davis from the Cincinnati Reds last winter. “This is what I’ve been telling everybody. This guy is awesome.”

What happened after Davis’ hit was just as impressive.

Candiotti, with a slow curveball that was better than his knuckler, struck out seven and remained strong, despite throwing 137 pitches.

Well, relatively strong.

Ron Perranoski, Dodger pitching coach, came to the mound in the ninth inning with one out and runners on first and second after a single and a walk.

With Dodgers’ nemesis Rafael Ramirez batting, Perranoski asked Candiotti how he was feeling.

“I told him, ‘Don’t take me out now. I want to face this guy. I can get this guy,’ ” Candiotti said.

He remained in the game to retire Ramirez on a popout to Offerman and strike out Candaele to end the game.

But Candiotti admitted that he didn’t “know who that batter (Ramirez) was.

“I don’t know a lot of these guys,” said Candiotti, in his first National League season after spending seven years in American League. He smiled. “But after a few years, you learn how to lie to the pitching coach.”

He still hasn’t learned to hide his boyish enthusiasm, which he showed again in the eighth inning after collecting a run-scoring single to right field against reliever Rob Murphy.

Standing on first base, one could read his lips saying, “So I have to run the bases now?”

“It was great getting to run to first base and not have to go back to the dugout,” Candiotti said.