L.A.’s new look

SAN FRANCISCO — The Los Angeles Dodgers hardly let Barry Bonds’ home runs ruin their fun — or their fast start.

Fresh off three straight one-run wins and a rare sweep in San Francisco, the Dodgers left town with the best record in the majors.

At 9-3, Los Angeles hasn’t been this good this early in 21 years.

“This is great for our confidence,” said Eric Gagne, who closed out all three wins despite allowing home runs Friday and Saturday.

“When you start fast right out of the gate, that’s what it’s all about. It shows everybody that we’re a good, balanced team. We believe we’re going to win instead of just hoping to win.”

Boy, how things have changed.

The Dodgers came to San Francisco last April and were swept in three one-run games on their way to finishing 151/2 games behind the Giants in the NL West.

When spring training began this year, it didn’t look as if things would be much different for the Dodgers, who haven’t made it to the playoffs since 1996 and haven’t won a postseason game since winning the World Series in 1988. Only four other teams have gone longer without a postseason win.

The team’s biggest move was trading ace Kevin Brown to the New York Yankees for struggling Jeff Weaver. The only boost to the lineup was adding Juan Encarnacion — not exactly the tonic to improve the worst offense in the majors.

Baseball’s one-time model franchise appeared mired in mediocrity once again.

While the pitching has predictably slipped a bit with the loss of Brown and reliever Paul Quantrill, the offense has more than made up the slack. The Dodgers are fourth in the NL in average and scoring 4.9 runs a game compared to 3.5 last season.

“I know the Dodgers are better,” Giants manager Felipe Alou said. “I don’t say better than we are, but better than the Dodgers were last year. … They’re a better offensive team by far.”

One of the big differences came in a move made on the eve of the season opener. New general manager Paul DePodesta acquired Milton Bradley from Cleveland after the center fielder wore out his welcome with Indians manager Eric Wedge.

Bradley has improved the Dodgers’ outfield defense by allowing speedy Dave Roberts to shift to left field and has added another dangerous hitter to a lineup that sorely lacked them last year. He’s already tied for fourth in the league with 13 RBI.

“The thing he doesn’t get credit for is how well he knows what a strike is and a ball is,” manager Jim Tracy said. “He has a good idea of the strike zone from both sides of the plate.”

The Dodgers have also gotten a big boost from a player whose name has often been bantered around in trade speculation.

Adrian Beltre, a notorious slow starter, is hitting .362 with four homers and 12 RBI after going 3-for-5 with a three-run homer in Sunday’s 7-6 win over the Giants.

A career .249 hitter before the All-Star break, Beltre is finally showing the ability that led him to be tagged as a future superstar when he hit 15 homers as a 20-year-old in 1999.

“Adrian Beltre has given us some big at-bats in the month of April where as in the past he has been searching for it early,” Tracy said. “I think that’s a sign of growth. When Adrian makes the pitcher throw strikes to him he’s a dangerous hitter. I really think he’s coming of age. If he keeps doing this, he has a chance to be a star in this league.”

Beltre says he’s mostly the same player he was a year ago when he hit .216 in the opening month, although he does admit to being a bit more patient at the plate. The biggest difference, he says, is in the attitude of the team.

“We’re having fun and pulling for each other,” he said. “When we need a good at-bat, we’re getting it.”

The Dodgers are quick to admit 12 games is only a small slice of an entire season. But on April 19 last year, they already trailed the Giants by 81/2 games.

This year, they’ve gotten off to a good start in the division, especially against teams they struggled against in 2003. They went 2-8 in San Francisco last year and hadn’t swept a series here since April 2000. They were 3-7 in San Diego, where they won two of three before playing the Giants.

“To come out and take five out of six against those teams is a huge confidence builder,” said catcher Paul Lo Duca, who leads the majors with a .512 average. “There’s a confidence in this clubhouse now. Hopefully it can carry over.”