Bad Inning Stops Dodgers : Baseball: Offerman can’t handle grounder that fuels Astros’ six-run burst in the first. L.A. loses, 8-3.

During the last few days the scene has become such a certainty, the Dodgers can almost predict it, even down to the part where they cover their eyes.

In an important situation, the ball is going to their young shortstop.

Then the ball is going into left field.

Monday, it happened for the third consecutive night, when Jose Offerman failed to handle another grounder in an 8-3 loss to the Houston Astros before 8,771 at the Astrodome.

Afterward, the Dodgers verbally stepped around Offerman as if he were a land mine. But he is there, and his inconsistent defense is explosive.

Orel Hershiser was on the verge of working out of a first-inning jam when pitcher Darryl Kile, hitless in 38 previous major league at-bats, rapped a sharp grounder to Offerman’s right.

If Offerman makes the play, Hershiser leaves the inning trailing, 3-0.

But the ball skipped past Offerman’s glove for a base hit and, by the time it finally stopped bouncing, three more runs had scored.

Said Hershiser: “If I get them out there, it’s a lot different game.”

Said Offerman: “He hit the ball hard, I tried to get the ball, there was nothing I could do. It was not easy. I tried to get it. I did all I could do.”

Tom Lasorda, Dodger manager, shrugged. “If Jose said it was a tough play, I have to go along with him,” he said.

Some Dodgers might be wondering how much longer they have to go on with a shortstop who has cost them six runs in three games.

Saturday in San Diego, he botched a double-play grounder that led to two runs. Sunday, he botched a grounder that led to another run.

Monday, his failure helped the Dodgers fall to their fourth consecutive defeat. Last season they lost as many as four consecutive games only twice.

They are 2-5, their worst start since 1987, when they finished 73-89.

Some could blame the hitters, who accounted for only eight hits Monday against Kile. And that equals their highest number of hits in four games.

Darryl Strawberry, for example, has one single in his last 12 at-bats, including two strikeouts and a grounder that failed to advance four runners.

Some could also blame the pitching, particularly a bullpen without Jay Howell that has a 6.64 earned-run average after leading baseball in that category last season.

But most are blaming the defense, which has made at least one error in five of seven games and eight errors total.

“I am not particularly happy with it, no,” Lasorda said of the defense. “We’ve got to play defense as well as we think about offense. That’s an important part of playing baseball. When we are out there, we have to think about defense.”

Hershiser, making his second start of the season, was consistent for his final five innings of work Monday, holding the Astros to one run and three hits with seven strikeouts.

“But that first inning, it was like I would make one good pitch and two bad pitches,” he said.

It took Hershiser 27 pitches to get through the inning, which included an infield single, a walk and two hit batters.

He still thought he had overcome it, though, despite allowing a two-run double to Jeff Bagwell and a run-scoring grounder to Ken Caminiti.

Trailing 3-0 with runners on first and second, he nicked Andujar Cedeno on the front of his uniform, loading the bases.

“It was the kind of thing where he could have gotten out of the way, but he was a good hitter and hung in there,” Hershiser said. “I was just one fine adjustment away, which I proved later when I got it back so fast.”

Up stepped Kile, who hit the grounder that bounced past Offerman. Most of the Dodgers thought they had the third out, but in a second they were running all over the field trying to get that out some other way.

“I am happy, I have to be happy,” Offerman said. “I am doing the best that I can.”

Kile, who soon had fans chanting “Dar-ryl, Dar-ryl,” held the Dodgers until they scored three runs in the seventh on a triple by Offerman and singles by Stan Javier and Todd Benzinger.

But Strawberry grounded to second against reliever Al Osuna to end the inning, and Kile won his first game while settling his ERA against the Dodgers at 3.18.

“There’s not much I could tell you,” Lasorda said. “Number one, it wouldn’t make much sense.”