Euphoria Fizzles for Dodgers, 3-2 : Baseball: Three-game winning streak ends as the Phillies’ Mulholland beats L.A. again.

The Dodgers allowed the fist-pumping adrenaline of rookie Pedro Astacio’s victory the night before and the modest momentum of a three-game winning streak to slip away Saturday night.

The percussion of a postgame fireworks show exceeded anything they produced during a 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium.

A crowd of 44,418 saw the Dodgers limp past the July 4 milepost with a 34-43 record, last in the National League West, 12 1/2 games behind the first-place Cincinnati Reds.

Taking stock on a date considered to be the traditional halfway point of the long season, Dodger Vice President Fred Claire said:

“The realistic view is that we face an incredible challenge. There are some very good clubs in front of us. We can get back in it, but it’s obvious that we face some tough competition.

“We’re obviously not where we want to be in a number of areas. I don’t like to talk about some of them since it sounds like excuses, and I don’t believe in excuses. We are where we are.”

Claire added, however, that the extended loss of Darryl Strawberry, in addition to the previous absences of Eric Davis and Juan Samuel, has significantly hurt an offense that is last in the league in scoring.

Strawberry might be back in right field Monday night, but the damage can be measured by the standings and an 8-22 record in games decided by one run.

Left-hander Terry Mulholland inflicted the 22nd of those losses as he gave up seven hits in improving to 9-4, 8-1 since May 1. He has also won each of his last four starts against the Dodgers, three with complete games.

His fifth complete game of the season handed Tom Candiotti his seventh loss in 13 decisions. Candiotti has not won any of his last five starts, though he has gone six or more innings in four of them.

Candiotti equaled his season high with nine strikeouts and gave up only six hits in working eight innings Saturday night.

He retired the first 11 in order before Mariano Duncan got a two-out infield single during the fourth. NL batting leader John Kruk then lined his seventh home run, barely inside the right-field foul pole. Kruk, struggling at the plate recently, decided to get a clean start Saturday by shaving his beard.

The Phillies scored during the sixth on Darren Daulton’s groundout after they had loaded the bases on two walks and Duncan’s bunt single.

Both Dodger runs were driven in by Davis, who came in batting a season-low .226 and was out for early batting practice thrown by Manager Tom Lasorda, who advised an opposite-field stroke in an effort to restore Davis’ power.

Davis, who had gone 122 at-bats since hitting his last home run on April 24, a span that included more than three weeks on the disabled list because of a separated shoulder, responded to that lesson as the leadoff batter during the second. He hit his fifth home run of the season, and first at Dodger Stadium, over the 385 mark in right center.

Davis had a bad-hop single over second baseman Mickey Morandini to drive in the second Dodger run of the sixth after making a diving catch of Ricky Jordan’s sinking liner with two on and two out in the top half of the inning.

Davis got up slowly after making the catch, and said later that his previously injured shoulder felt stiff.

“Nothing new,” he said. “I’ve got to keep doing what I’ve got to do.”

The Dodgers got only one hit in the final three innings after Eric Karros grounded into a double play with runners at first and third and one out in the sixth.

The bad-hop single by Davis during that inning came after he had flared a fly to right that seemed to hit on the line, but was ruled foul by umpire Paul Runge. Two runs would have scored had it been called fair, making the score 3-3.

“I heard it was fair, but you win some and lose some,” Davis said. “He called it foul, and that’s that.”

* ANGELS LOSE: The Toronto Blue Jays overcome a 6-1 deficit and win, 8-6. C2.