Dodgers Face Sweeping Changes : Baseball: They lose third consecutive game to Expos and fourth game in a row. The team might undergo a face lift in the next few weeks.

Life on the Dodgers has turned downright ugly, as they so beautifully illustrated after Thursday’s 8-2 loss to the Montreal Expos.

They locked their clubhouse doors for a club-record 19 minutes 10 seconds. Then they unlocked them to make this announcement: Pitcher Mike Munoz was going to the minor leagues; pitcher Mike Maddux was being recalled.

Oh, so that was the problem?

Right. And behind those closed doors, the Dodgers were also voting on playoff shares.

This team’s deficiencies, apparent in their fourth consecutive embarrassing loss, involve more than just a 10th pitcher, and cannot be solved by deadbolts.

The Dodgers, after being swept in a three-game series at Olympic Stadium for the first time in three years, suddenly appear to have more holes than explanations.

Said Mike Scioscia: “We were terrible.”

Said Willie Randolph: “We got our butts kicked. Big time.”

Added Tim Belcher: “It’s like, we aren’t doing anything good.”

While they obviously are not pitching or hitting, mostly they seem to be lacking inspiration. This is where help could soon arrive, as Kirk Gibson said he will attempt to resume batting practice during the home stand that begins next week. Three weeks from that date, he could be ready to join the active roster.

“I like to compete, I’d love to be counted on,” Gibson said when asked if he is prepared to resume his role as one of the team leaders. “I’d love to be that guy.”

The problem is, as the Dodgers fell below .500 for the first time this season at 14-15, they need many of those kinds of guys.

Start with the run production. Thursday, the offense managed only eight hits against Dennis Martinez, who pitched the Expos’ third complete game this season. The Dodgers took a 2-0 lead on Scioscia’s two-run home run in the second inning, but were held to five hits in the final five innings.

In the three-game series, the Dodgers were outscored, 22-6, and outhit, 32-19. And if it hadn’t been for some combination of Eddie Murray, Kal Daniels and Scioscia, there wouldn’t have been an offense.

The top two in the batting order, Juan Samuel and Randolph, had four hits in 22 at-bats (.182) and did not score a run. Neither has scored a run on the six games of this trip.

The pitching wasn’t any better. Thursday, Ramon Martinez was awful for a second consecutive start, giving up six runs in four innings, with as many walks--three--as in his previous three starts combined.

The Expos scored three runs against him in the third inning on two full-count singles, a two-run liner by Tim Raines and an RBI single by Tim Wallach. They scored three more runs in the fourth, the big blow a bloop, two-run double by Dave Martinez.

The Dodger bullpen finished the afternoon by allowing its usual two runs. At least one reliever has allowed at least one run in each of the last six games the bullpen has been used.

Still, Munoz, who pitched a scoreless inning Thursday, was surprised at being sent down.

“It’s the last thing I was thinking of,” said Munoz, who allowed six hits and two runs in 5 1/3 innings this year for a 3.38 earned-run average. “I’m not going to say it’s unfair that people are blaming the bullpen for a lot of this stuff, but a lot of times we’ve been coming into the game when we’re already behind. And we’re using so many guys down there, when really we should be using one guy who can pitch more innings.”

That is precisely why the Dodgers recalled Maddux, who signed this winter after being released by the Philadelphia Phillies. He has started 33 games in two big league seasons, so he can be used as a long reliever. In four appearances for triple-A Albuquerque, including three starts, he was 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA.

But is that the only solution? Even Fred Claire, Dodger vice president, admitted it wasn’t.

“I think we have all the ingredients here, but as anybody who saw this series knows, we don’t have all the answers,” Claire said.

Indeed, Thursday’s transaction could be the first of several in the next month. A sampling:

--The team will attempt to improve its starting pitching, which is feeling the effects of Orel Hershiser’s surgery. Sources said the Dodgers are hoping to claim pitcher Mike Flanagan, recently waived by the Toronto Blue Jays.

--The bullpen will undergo a face lift. Veteran relievers Jay Howell, Jim Gott and Pat Perry should all join the team from the disabled list within three weeks. Those facing demotion are Maddux, Tim Crews and Mike Hartley.

--Samuel could be moved out of the leadoff spot soon, and then he could be a part of a larger move, returning to second base to make room for Gibson in the outfield. This depends on the production of Randolph and Hubie Brooks, and on whether Gibson is physically able to replace Samuel in center field.

--Dave Hansen, one of the Dodgers’ hottest minor league hitters, could return from Albuquerque to play third base. Lenny Harris and Mike Sharperson have combined to go 15 for 69--a .217 average--since replacing Jeff Hamilton on April 16. Hansen, in his first full year of triple-A ball, was hitting .385 after 21 games in Albuquerque, with one home run and 14 runs batted in.

Dodger Notes

A Dodger bright spot Thursday was Brian Traxler’s first major league hit, a pinch double off Dennis Martinez in the fifth inning. . . . The Dodgers made one error, after making five Tuesday night and four Wednesday night. Willie Randolph bobbled a first-inning grounder by Tim Raines, but it did not lead to a run. . . . The Expos stole two bases in three attempts, giving them six steals in eight attempts for the series.