No Lead Safe for Dodgers

The Dodgers’ eyesight failed in the second inning and their defense failed in the fifth as they were about to blow a 3-0 lead against the National League’s best pitcher.

What next? Would you believe a surprise raid of the pitching mound?

Tom Lasorda ran out for the first time this year, then Tom Candiotti ran out in relief for the first time in nearly two years.

But that low line drive by Ron Gant still went into left field Wednesday, scoring the fourth run of the fifth inning to give the Atlanta Braves an eventual 4-3 victory before 40,957 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

While the Braves’ Tom Glavine became the major leagues’ first 10-game winner, the Dodgers suffered their seventh consecutive loss.

In the last 12 days, Glavine and the Dodgers have the same number of victories--two.

Even the Dodgers admit that things are so bad, they are almost funny.

“We’ve got a day off tomorrow,” losing pitcher Bob Ojeda said. “So we won’t lose.”

Or boot a grounder.

This happened again Wednesday when the Braves’ rally was set up by a grounder from Glavine that went through the legs of second baseman Juan Samuel. That makes eight errors in their last five games.

In equaling their longest losing streak since 1987, the Dodgers have fallen 11 1/2 games behind the first-place Cincinnati Reds. They have never won a division championship after falling more than 6 1/2 games behind.

“Right now, as a team, we stink,” said Ojeda, who was not bothered by the back spasms that cut short his previous start. “We should be embarrassed.”

And to think that the Dodgers’ offense started Wednesday like it finished in Tuesday’s five-run ninth inning.

After a leadoff walk to Brett Butler and Mike Sharperson’s third consecutive double over two days, a grounder by Samuel and a fly ball by Eric Karros put Glavine down, 2-0.

They added another run three batters into the second inning, on a run-scoring single by Jose Offerman.

Then, with runners on first and second, Ojeda was given the bunt sign. But Offerman saw it as the hit-and-run sign.

Ojeda pulled back his bat at an outside pitch, and Offerman was stuck between first and second. Carlos Hernandez was forced to run to third base, where he was thrown out by second baseman Mark Lemke.

It was the only break needed by Glavine (10-3).

“I said to myself, ‘Don’t let it get out of hand,’ ” Glavine said. “I knew the way we were playing, we were more than capable of coming back.”

That comeback happened three innings later, after Brian Hunter led off the fifth with a home run again Ojeda, who had given up two hits to that point.

Two batters later, Glavine’s ball went through Samuel’s legs. Otis Nixon walked, Jeff Blauser singled to center.

Here came Lasorda, replacing pitching coach Ron Perranoski, who was attending a wedding.

“I wasn’t sending anybody else out there,” said Lasorda, who was satisfied that Ojeda could face one more hitter.

But after Terry Pendleton tied the score with a run-scoring single up the middle, Lasorda returned to the mound calling for . . . Candiotti?

“It was kind of fun, I got a little adrenaline pump,” said Candiotti, who had been doing his between-starts throwing in the first inning in case Ojeda’s back problems flared up. “I get to the mound and see Tommy and I say, ‘Hey, looks like two unfamiliar people out here.”

It was his first relief appearance since 1990, and only the ninth of his career. He soon learned why he enjoys starting so much, as the first batter he faced, Gant, hit a 3-and-1 pitch into left field to give the Braves the lead.

It was the fourth time the Dodgers had blown a lead in this losing streak, and dropped their record in one-run games to a league-worst 6-18.

The game ended typically, after Samuel had started the ninth with an infield single. Karros struck out on three pitches, Todd Benzinger hit a grounder and Mitch Webster flied out.

“I struck out on three change-ups, and you want to know the bad thing about it?” Karros asked. “I knew they were going to be changeups. I was hitting changeups. And I still missed all three.”