L.A. Just Dodges a Victory : Baseball: Dodgers waste late-inning chances in a 2-1 loss to Braves. Davis may be back soon.

Not that times are tough, but the most exciting maneuver by a Dodger on Wednesday occurred in the dugout.

By a guy who has not played in nearly three weeks.

In the sixth inning of a 2-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves before 28,241 at Dodger Stadium, Eric Davis bobbed and weaved while doing a 20-yard dash.

OK, so maybe anyone could do the same thing if a bat were flying at his head.

“But did you see the drive I showed?” Davis said after barely avoiding the bat thrown by Jeff Blauser. “If I can move like that, my shoulder must be getting better.”

Davis played catch for the first time Wednesday and his separated shoulder is showing so much improvement Dodger officials said that he might return to the lineup before the end of the upcoming 11-game trip, which begins Friday at Cincinnati.

“If everything goes well, he’s got a chance,” therapist Pat Screnar said.

That was the best possible news for the Dodgers on a day when Brett Butler ended the game by being frozen on a curveball from Steve Avery for a called third strike with runners on first and second.

“We’re just a tad off,” Butler said after the rare called third strike against him. “We’re so close, but . . . “

Since the right-handed-hitting Davis was put on the disabled list after suffering the injury May 22, the Dodgers have rarely been close against left-handed pitching.

Before Davis’ injury, they were 9-6 against left-handed starters, since then they are 2-6.

“I can’t think about something like that,” Butler said. “You start thinking about that, it drives you crazy.”

Not that Wednesday’s loss--their 15th in 21 one-run games--didn’t do enough to drive the Dodgers crazy.

After Mike Sharperson hit a first-inning home run so far into the yellow seats down the left-field line that he stood and watched it, the Dodgers had high hopes.

But then three things happened.

--Avery, 6-1 with a 1.51 earned-run average against the Dodgers in his career, gave up no runs and only four more hits in the next seven innings.

--David Justice, who scored or knocked in six of the Braves’ eight runs in this series, struck twice against loser Kevin Gross. He singled and scored in the fourth and hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

--The Dodger offense failed to capitalize on two late-inning scoring chances.

In the eighth inning, they were stopped by an umpire’s decision. In the ninth, the tying and winning runs were stranded on first and second when Kal Daniels and Butler struck out.

Tom Lasorda could not control the strikeouts, but he was steaming about the call by third base umpire Mike Winters on an attempted steal of third by Tom Goodwin in the eighth.

Replays showed that Goodwin beat the throw from catcher Greg Olson, but Winters called him out. Combined with the swinging strikeout by Todd Benzinger on the pitch, it made for an inning-ending double play.

“The guy missed the call, everybody in the park saw it,” Lasorda said. “He was right there, and he missed it.”

At least Lasorda will be accompanying the team to Cincinnati. Upon leaving the game, Goodwin learned he is being returned to triple-A Albuquerque to make room for Juan Samuel, who will test his broken finger in games beginning Friday.

No one, not even Samuel, is certain what will happen.

“He can help us, but it all depends,” Lasorda said. “I guess we’ll all find out.”

The Dodgers can use his ability to produce runs. On this just-completed home stand, during which the Dodgers went 3-4, the offense averaged 2.8 runs per game.

They batted .232 while getting only 12 extra-base hits.

And they went 1-3 against left-handed starters.

“I think I can create runs when I’m in there, and that’s what we need right now, somebody to create runs,” Davis said. “I know that against left-handers, I can make the guy in front of me see better pitches, and the guy behind me see better pitches.

“Sometimes I think without me in there, the left-hander gets a chance to breathe a little sigh of relief.”

Reliever Mike Stanton provided the exclamation point to the series and the game Wednesday on the final pitch.

With pinch-runner Harris on second and Jose Offerman on first after a walk to Mike Scioscia and an infield single, Butler took a called third strike on the outside corner.

Stanton didn’t throw just any curveball. “It started north, and ended up way down here,” Butler said, pointing to his knees.

The giddiness of their six-game winning streak having subsided, the depleted Dodgers now realize it will be a struggle to keep their season from following the same path.