Dodgers Fall Into Last Place : Baseball: L.A.’s offense improves, but the defense collapses as the Phillies win, 7-3.

With the bags under his eyes getting bigger with each loss and all his remedies exhausted, Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda trotted out to the third-base coaching box Saturday night.

For a while, it appeared that his scheme was going to work.

Lasorda’s team came out swinging at Veterans Stadium, putting six hits and two runs on the board against the Philadelphia Phillies after two innings. But by then, the Phillies had scored three runs against a struggling Kevin Gross en route to a 7-3 victory.

What Lasorda hadn’t counted on was a breakdown defensively, which allowed the Phillies to break open a one-run game and drop the Dodgers into sole possession of last place in the National League West, five games behind the Houston Astros and a game behind the expansion Colorado Rockies. Nor had Lasorda counted on Darryl Strawberry’s back reacting stiffly to the artificial turf and the cold wind here. Strawberry did not play.

“We are going through a storm,” Lasorda said.

Lasorda has tried everything to jump-start his offense, but his presence at third base is the only thing his players have responded to. Except for Eric Karros, whose groundout drove in the Dodgers’ first run, the other six regulars each got at least one hit against left-hander Danny Jackson (1-0) and totaled 10 hits in the game. Tim Wallach, who had three hits in his last 40 at-bats, homered to left field to tie the score at 2-2 in the second inning.

But the hits still didn’t come when the Dodgers needed them, with runners in scoring position. Then, with Gross hitting Jackson with a pitch during the second inning to set up the Phillies’ third run and two costly throwing errors during the sixth inning, the crowd of 37,457 probably thought they were watching last season’s Dodgers.

“A couple of the reporters asked me what Tommy can do now to shake this up,” Brett Butler said. “He’s changed the lineup, benched guys, now he is coaching third base. I told them the only thing I see that’s left is for Tommy to put the eight starters’ names in a hat, draw eight guys in the order they will bat, and then have them go out naked and play.”

The Dodgers have lost five consecutive games, dropping to 6-12. “We are not going to hit the panic button,” said Mike Sharperson, who grounded into a double play with the bases loaded during the second inning and made a throwing error. Sharperson started at shortstop in place of Jose Offerman, who was angry that he was benched without Lasorda or the coaches telling him.

“I found out from Sharpy when I was taking ground balls,” said Offerman, who is batting .177 and has made two errors. “I am a regular player. (Lasorda) is the manager and I have respect for him, and he should give me respect as a player.”

With the Dodgers trailing by 4-3, Wes Chamberlain led off the sixth inning with a sharp grounder that Jody Reed did well to stop, but he then threw the ball away. The ball went wide past a lunging Karros and would have bounced off the wall, but a fan leaned over the rail and caught it. First base umpire Harry Wendelstedt awarded Chamberlain second base on the overthrow, angering Lasorda.

“(Wendelstedt) said it was up to his judgment whether the guy (Chamberlain) could have made it or not to second base, and he thought he could have,” Lasorda said, shaking his head. “And (Mike) Piazza was right there backing up the play.”

With Pete Incaviglia at bat, Gross was replaced by Roger McDowell. Incaviglia, who had a lifetime batting average of .500 against Gross before the game, had hit a solo home run during the third inning that landed about 430 feet away in the center-field seats. Chamberlain left the game because of a strained groin, and Jim Eisenreich ran for him.

Then it happened again.

Incaviglia hit a grounder to Sharperson, who threw the ball past Karros, and Eisenreich scored. “That’s what happens,” Lasorda said. “Like with the Phillies, when you are winning, everything goes your way.”

And when you are losing . . .