A recent string of comeback victories had spoiled the Orioles into thinking this was their destiny yesterday, when they put the tying run on third base with no outs in the ninth inning.

Los Angeles Dodgers closer Eric Gagne had other ideas.

Staring at the top of the Orioles' lineup from behind his oversized prescription glasses, Gagne figured he had hardly blinked all season, so why start now?

With little margin for error, Gagne unleashed a series of furious fastballs and diving changeups that left the Orioles tied in knots but not tied on the scoreboard. The Dodgers held on for a 2-1 victory before 38,569 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles wasted a complete-game five-hitter by resurgent starter Sidney Ponson (3-4) and wound up losing the three-game series after winning Friday night's interleague opener.

"I thought we had it; I thought it was a no-brainer," said Gary Matthews, who reached third base against Gagne with a combination of skill and luck but never made it home. "He's one of the best closers in the game, and he did the job."

The Orioles managed just one run in eight innings against Dodgers starter Odalis Perez (6-3). Baltimore native Brian Jordan, who had a run-scoring double in the first, put the Dodgers ahead for good with a sacrifice fly in the third.

But the Orioles had hope until the end. Already this month, they have handed losses to two of the most dominant closers in the American League: the Seattle Mariners' Kazuhiro Sasaki and the New York Yankees' Mariano Rivera. They looked poised for another big ninth inning against Gagne, who leads the majors with 21 saves.

Gagne, 26, had been a struggling starter until spring training, when the Dodgers gave him a chance at closing, and there's been no turning back. Opponents are batting .150 against him now, and he owns a 1.39 ERA.

The Dodgers are undefeated when Gagne takes the mound in a save situation. He has one blown save (May 7 at Atlanta), and the Dodgers came back to win that game in 16 innings.

Perez, who watched the ninth inning unfold from a clubhouse monitor, said he never had a doubt.

"Guys were talking about it and saying, 'They got no chance,' " Perez said. "When he gets mad, he's bad."

Matthews, who entered the game as a pinch hitter, doubled to start the inning, hustling to second as Dodgers center fielder Dave Roberts bobbled the ball. Then came Matthews' lucky play.

With Orioles leadoff batter Melvin Mora at the plate, Matthews strayed too far from second. Dodgers catcher Chad Kreuter fired the ball to second base, and Matthews bolted toward third. He would have been out, but the throw from shortstop Alex Cora was off the mark, and third baseman Adrian Beltre stumbled while unsuccessfully trying to apply the tag.

So Matthews stood safely, 90 feet from a tie game, with the Orioles counting their blessings.

"With the three hitters we had coming to the plate, especially Melvin Mora and Brian Roberts, you felt like we could put it in play," Orioles manager Mike Hargrove said. "But Gagne has got good stuff."

Mora battled Gagne to a 2-2 count, then waved at a low changeup for strike three.

Gagne fell behind in the count to Roberts, 3-0, then threw this sequence for the strikeout: 96-mph fastball, 88-mph changeup, 98-mph fastball. Roberts chased strike three high and out of the zone.

"I'm throwing to strike them out the whole time," Gagne said. "That's all I cared about."

Hargrove said he contemplated a suicide squeeze with the speedy Matthews on third. But the manager abandoned those thoughts when he saw Gagne's fastballs riding up in the strike zone, making them nearly impossible to bunt onto the ground.

"I felt," he said, "like a squeeze was just courting disaster."

Finally, it came down to Chris Singleton, who had already accounted for three of Perez's 10 strikeouts. Singleton fouled off two fastballs, then hit a lazy fly to left field.

Gagne pumped his fist before the ball settled in Marquis Grissom's glove.

"It's tough not getting a run in those situations," Matthews said. "You want to execute when you get the chance. We didn't do it tonight, but we've done it more times than not."