Dodgers Now Have Imperfect 10

Even the storied Los Angeles Dodgers’ tradition, built over 34 years by men such as Koufax and Drysdale, could not withstand a swift kick Sunday by a stranger who will never be confused with either:

Floyd Bluford Henry.

One breath from being demoted to the minor leagues, the Houston rookie sent the Dodgers to their record-tying 10th consecutive loss with nearly eight shutout innings in the Astros’ 2-0 victory before 20,308 at the Astrodome.

Without a run in their last 24 innings, without a victory in nearly two weeks, the Dodgers have tied the 1961 club for the longest losing streak in Los Angeles history.

“I had never seen Butch Henry win anywhere,” Eric Karros said softly. “Not here, not when I faced him at Albuquerque, not when I faced him in Venezuela last year.

“And while I played in Venezuela, our team only won two games.”

Don Drysdale, the Dodgers’ closest link to that 1961 team, watched parts of the game through his hands.

“I remember that when we lost 10 in a row, we were first or second place,” he said. “This team . . . I don’t remember us being this sloppy. I don’t remember seeing as many funny things as I have seen. I don’t remember the baserunning errors, all the mistakes.”

He shook his head.

“Even though we lost those games, the opposition still used to say, ‘Those damn Dodgers, you’ve got to beat them. They will never beat themselves,’ ” Drysdale said. “That is not the case this year.”

And so, as much as the Dodgers were surprised by Henry, who had a 5.61 earned-run average but pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings, they were not surprised.

“Right now,” Karros said, “you could throw anybody out there, and they would have a good chance against us.”

--The Dodgers have been outscored, 42-21, during the streak, meaning they have scored only 2.1 runs per game. This includes one run in their last 37 innings.

--They have led for only 14 of 90 innings.

--They have lost six of the 10 games by one run.

--They have blown leads in five of the 10 games.

--They have committed 11 errors in 10 games.

How long has this streak seemed to last?

When it started, Kal Daniels was still on the team . . . and Juan Samuel was not.

When it started, Brett Butler was 34. Now he is 35.

“I may have just aged one year, but it seems like 10,” he said.

In the Dodger clubhouse, what began on June 10 as frustration has become numbness.

The doors were closed to the media for 18 minutes Sunday, but they were having no meeting.

“This is, at times, pathetic,” said Kevin Gross, the losing pitcher despite giving up two runs in six innings.

And it could get worse, because the Dodgers play in San Diego tonight against Padre pitcher Andy Benes, who has a 1.89 earned-run average against them.

The franchise record is 16 consecutive losses, set from June 28 to July 16, 1944.

“That’s all the young guys on this team need to hear, that we have set a record for being the worst team in the 80,000-year history of baseball,” said pitcher Bob Ojeda, who will start tonight. “The key is how our young players will handle all of this.”

Their veteran manager is handling it in typical fashion. Tom Lasorda moved to the third base coaching box for the first time this season Sunday, and moved Brett Butler out of the leadoff spot for the first time in more than five years. But the Astros needed only Pete Incaviglia’s two-run homer in the sixth inning. Not only did Lasorda not get to wave in a runner, he talked to only one, Jose Offerman, who doubled and stole third base in the third inning.

The streak started, perhaps fittingly enough, with a 2-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Daniels and Butler left the tying runs on base with game-ending strikeouts.

“Sure, other Dodgers teams have made a lot of errors, but with those teams, we always made the plays when we had to,” said infielder Dave Anderson, who was with the team in the 1980s. “Now, we’re doing just enough to lose.”

In their next game, the defense couldn’t handle a bunt play in the eighth inning and they lost, 4-3, at Cincinnati.

Then there was the nationally televised embarrassment, an 11-1 loss in Cincinnati highlighted when Samuel and Offerman collided while trying to catch a pop fly.

The sixth loss was probably the worst, because Karros capped a five-run comeback in the top of the ninth inning with a two-run homer before the Braves scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to win, 9-8.

Then in three games this weekend, in 27 innings, the Dodgers collected one run and 22 hits against one of the league’s worst pitching staffs.

“I think the Dodger tradition has been that you never roll over and die,” Gross said. “Well, we need some of that right now.”

Dodgers’ Slide

Their 10-game losing streak ties the 1961 club for the longest in Los Angeles Dodger history.

Date Opponent Score June 10 Atlanta 2-1 June 12 Cincinnati 4-3 June 13 Cincinnati 11-1 June 14 Cincinnati 5-1 June 15 Atlanta 2-0 June 16 Atlanta 9-8 June 17 Atlanta 4-3 June 19 Houston 2-1 (12) June 20 Houston 1-0 June 21 Houston 2-0