Wolf changes his luck after going bust on 21

NEW YORK —  Randy Wolf wouldn’t say that his new uniform number was responsible for his first win in six weeks. But he also wouldn’t say that it wasn’t.

“There’s not a baseball player that’s not superstitious,” Wolf said. “The ones that tell you they aren’t are liars.”

In other words, Will Ohman has no chance of wearing No. 43 again this season.

On the day Wolf discarded No. 21 and replaced it with the number he wore in his first seven major league seasons, he ended a seven-start winless streak by holding the New York Mets to two runs over 6 1/3 innings in an 11-2 victory for the Dodgers at Citi Field.

Wolf (4-3) wasn’t near his best Thursday night -- he had to throw a season-high 118 pitches -- but the Dodgers matched their third-highest run total of the season, as they scored four runs in the first, two in the second and two more in the fourth.

Manny Ramirez drove in the first runs of the first and second innings, as he was two for two with two runs batted in and two walks on the night. Rafael Furcal, who was three for five with a walk, scored three runs.

“I thought, ‘Don’t screw this up,’ ” said Wolf, who had 12 no-decisions in his first 18 starts of the season.

Wolf remains on pace to break Bert Blyleven’s record of 20 no-decisions in a single season, which was set in 1979.

“I don’t want that record,” he said. “I hope Bert Blyleven keeps it.”

A lack of run support and a couple of blown leads were to blame for the no-decisions in recent weeks, as Wolf posted a 3.08 earned-run average over his last five starts. He was 0-1 over that span.

“It’s frustrating because you’re throwing the ball well, but you don’t have much to show for it,” Wolf said.

That changed Thursday.

Wolf said he had always wanted to wear No. 43, which he wore when he played for the Philadelphia Phillies.

When he played for the Dodgers in 2007, he had to wear No. 27 because Yhency Brazoban had No. 43.

Brazoban still had the uniform when he signed with the Dodgers this winter. The Dodgers cut ties with the reliever this spring, but the number was handed to Ohman, who was signed at the end of camp.

But with Ohman at the Dodgers’ spring training complex in Arizona recovering from arm problems that have sidelined him since May 28, Wolf claimed his number.

“That’s being the older Pepperdine guy,” a smirking Wolf said, referring to their alma mater. “I just took it.”

The question now is if Wolf can end another streak: that of never having pitched in a playoff game.

“I’m on the team that could get me to my first playoffs,” he said. “I’ll take that over having a whole bunch of wins.”

While the new uniform improved Wolf’s fortunes, a new spot in the batting order didn’t do anything to improve Orlando Hudson’s.

If anything, it made Hudson’s luck worse.

Dropped from second to seventh, the slumping second baseman hit a three-run double in the first inning off Mets starter Livan Hernandez but had to make an early exit upon being drilled in his left knee by reliever Brian Stokes in the seventh inning.

“It hurt,” Hudson said. “Oh yeah, it hurt. He doesn’t throw soft either.”

However, Hudson said the pitch didn’t hit bone.

“I’m good, bro,” he said. “I’ll be back out there tomorrow.”

Hudson entered the game in a two-for-30 slump. He said that his double, which put the Dodgers ahead, 4-0, didn’t change his opinion about his form.

“I’m still terrible,” said Hudson, who was caught in a rundown between second and third on the play.

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