Nothing Falling Dodgers’ Way : Baseball: Ball drops between Davis and Butler, setting stage for 3-0 loss to Mets.

This latest mess of a game was 15 minutes old when the New York Mets’ Dave Magadan hit a looping fly ball to the warning track in left-center field.

Chasing it from one side was a man who has won three Gold Gloves.

Chasing it from the other side was a man who did not make an error in 161 games last year, a single-season league record for outfielders.

The ball ended up with mud on it.

Magadan’s gift triple that plopped between Eric Davis and Brett Butler led to a run and the further soiling of the Dodgers’ reputation during their 3-0 loss to the Mets before 25,186 at Shea Stadium.

That makes eight losses in nine games, only 14 runs scored in seven games, 13 consecutive days in last place and some hard looks into some mirrors.

“We’re not playing very well right now. What do you think?” said Davis, who has four hits in his last 40 at-bats.

The Dodgers are playing so poorly, it made sense that their chief spokesman Sunday was a man who walked unsteadily and spoke with a rasp.

“It is kind of upsetting to me that all of this is happening,” said Darryl Strawberry late Sunday afternoon, making his first public appearance of the weekend.

Strawberry missed the series with a back strain and a recently acquired viral infection that has left him eight pounds lighter and unable to put on his uniform.

After spending Saturday in the hotel, he spent Sunday in the trainer’s room, sleeping on a table and sweating. He might not get that close to the field during a three-game series in Montreal that begins tonight.

Not only does he say he is “doubtful” for the series, he may fly home to prepare for this weekend’s series at Dodger Stadium against the Mets.

“I will go to Montreal with the team and see how I feel,” Strawberry said. “But it is doubtful I can play there . . . and I would consider going home.”

Without Strawberry, without Mike Scioscia (strained back), without Juan Samuel, without Kal Daniels . . . the Dodgers started a lineup Sunday that included an infield with fewer runs batted in combined (14) than the Mets’ Eddie Murray (22).

Against four Mets pitchers, led by starter Sid Fernandez, they managed only four singles and a double. They were shut out for only the second time this season, and first time since April 16.

This weekend they batted .187 with three extra base hits. They have had two home runs in their last 285 at-bats.

The Mets were as surprised as anyone. This was the first time they have swept a three-game series from the Dodgers here since May 27-29, 1986.

“And now we have to go to Montreal,” Brett Butler said with a sigh and the unspoken knowledge that the Dodgers have won there once in two years. “I tell you what, if we can come out of this funk up there, that will show me something. That will really get us rolling.”

That the funk would continue through Sunday was obvious after Magadan’s fly ball against starter and loser Tom Candiotti fell between Davis and Butler, the only two All-Stars in the Dodgers’ starting lineup.

“Either one of us could have called for it, but neither of us called for it,” Butler said. “We both could have had it. It should have been an error.”

Davis shouldered even more of the blame, saying: “I should have caught it, but I thought Bugsy (Butler) was closer to me than he was. I have to know where he is. I catch that ball easy.”

Candiotti, who has spent most of his career with the Cleveland Indians, shrugged and refused to show anger.

He easily could have won the game after giving up two runs and five hits in six innings, but he said he is used to disappointment.

“If I was accustomed to always having championship teams behind me, I would be frustrated, but I know this is how it goes sometimes,” said Candiotti, 3-2 with a 4.24 earned-run average.

The Dodgers’ best chance to score ended on a controversial call by third-base umpire Dana DeMuth in the fifth inning. He ruled Dave Anderson out after Anderson’s slide appeared to beat a throw from catcher Hundley on a bunt by Candiotti with runners on first and second and one out.

“The guy blew the call. Everybody knows he blew the call,” said Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda, who argued vehemently.

What the Dodgers cannot argue is that, despite all of their problems, the schedule moves on. They are five games out of first place after Tim Belcher threw a two-hitter for the first-place Cincinnati Reds against the Chicago Cubs.

“Things may have not been in our favor, but it’s up to us to turn those things around,” said Vice President Fred Claire in a stern declaration. “The bottom line is, you have to produce, and we are not producing.”