Can the Dodgers start their turnaround on the road against East’s power teams?

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Could it be?

Probably not, but then if the Dodgers are ever going to turn things around, why not on this seven-game trip?

They play the big boys of the National League East, the division-leading Braves and their ol` buddies, the Phillies.

With 50 games left in the season, the Dodgers continue to be a team in search of itself. They’re four games over .500 and seven games back of the Padres in the N.L. West.

They need to make a move. And now is as good a time as any.

‘We have a lot of work to do,’’ said manager Joe Torre. ‘We’ve dug ourselves a hole we have to work our way out of.’

They start their trip with three games in Philadelphia, which, based on the past two postseasons would make this appear the last place they could dream of a rebirth.

But the Phillies are even more banged up than the Dodgers -- Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Shane Victorino are all out. And though they are scheduled to face Roy Oswalt on Wednesday, they will miss Roy Halladay and the red-hot Cole Hamels.

Despite their wave of injuries, the Phillies have been playing very well of late. They’ve won six of their last seven, and 14 of their last 17.

After Philadelphia, there are four games in Atlanta. The Braves trail the Padres by one game for best record in the N.L.

‘I don’t really care who we play at this point and time,’ Torre said. ‘I have a sense we play tougher teams better anyway.

‘It’s a good test for us. If we’re not up to it, then we don’t deserve it.’

Of course, they just finished a 10-game stretch against the Padres and Giants that loomed as their biggest challenge/opportunity of the season, and they went 3-7.

This may not be their most likely trip to turn things around, but they are quickly running out of opportunities.

-- Steve Dilbeck