Dodgers Lose, 9-5, to Phillies : Baseball: Errors, mental lapses help create eight-run deficit. Piazza ends home run drought.

Lenny Dykstra hurried to his locker after the Philadelphia Phillies’ 9-5 victory over the Dodgers and told reporters they had to hurry because, well, he was in a hurry.

Then he opened the session by saying that for him, Monday night was merely another day at the office.

His monologue went like this:

“I got on base (three times) . . . scored a few runs (three). I didn’t do anything special (two for four).

“You need to talk to somebody who did something special. Let’s see, who did something special? The guy letting off the fireworks outside, that’s special. But for me, it was just another day.”

For the Dodgers, it was another loss to the National League-leading Phillies, their sixth in seven games this season and seventh in a row at Veterans Stadium. The last time the Dodgers won a series here was in 1990.

But despite the productivity of Dykstra, John Kruk (three for four with two runs scored and three runs batted in), or starting pitcher Tommy Greene (10-2), the Dodgers did their part to help give this game away.

Orel Hershiser left the game after giving up eight hits and six runs--only one earned--in five innings. The Dodgers were charged with two errors--one by Hershiser and the other by Jose Offerman, which collectively cost them five runs. But there were other mistakes that weren’t charged, but clearly didn’t go unrecognized.

“It was the ugliest game we have played in a long time,” Hershiser (6-8) said.

” . . .This is a good offensive ballclub and they get a break here and there and they take advantage of it.”

Hershiser made a couple of mistakes at the plate and a big mistake in the field in the third inning, when he fielded Milt Thompson’s high bouncer back to the mound and threw it into center field rather than to Offerman at second base. The Phillies capitalized for two unearned runs.

“That was a break for them,” Hershiser said. “After Tommy Greene had a rough outing his last time out, it gave him confidence coming out to the mound.”

Mike Piazza hit his 16th home run of the season in the fifth to pull the Dodgers within 2-1, but in the bottom of the inning an error by Offerman cost the Dodgers three runs.

After the Phillies had scored a run on two singles and a walk, Cory Snyder made a shoestring catch of Darren Daulton’s line drive to right field. He made a perfect throw to Offerman to double off Kruk, but the ball hit Offerman’s glove and bounced by. Wes Chamberlain followed with a two-run double off the right-field wall and Kim Batiste added a one-run double for a 6-1 lead.

The Phillies added three runs against Rick Trlicek, who relieved Hershiser to start the sixth inning. The Dodgers scored three runs in the seventh inning and another in the ninth, but Snyder stranded runners on first and third when he flew out to right.

“You just can’t give a team like that extra outs, there are too many weapons in their lineup,” Dodger third baseman Tim Wallach said.

One of those weapons was Greene, who held the Dodgers to six hits and four runs through 6 1/3 innings. But an assist should go to Daulton, who gave the struggling Greene a pep talk this week.

“He was a little off-focus,” Daulton said. “He is a young pitcher, and he jumped out 8-0 and any time that happens there is all the press and talk about the All-Star game, it can hinder you. He was coming off a bad outing and I just basically told him that there are 24 guys who are behind him when he’s out there. I don’t know if it did anything, but I can tell you this, Tommy Greene was on his game tonight, that is for sure.”

If anybody could relate to Greene’s experience, it is Piazza, who has also felt the media crunch in the past couple of weeks. His home run was his first since June 21.

“I came in the dugout after and said I didn’t remember what that feeling is like, it’s been a while,” Piazza said.

A break went the Dodgers’ way in the second inning when Lenny Harris made a diving stop of a grounder up the middle by Kim Batiste and flipped the ball to Offerman for a forced out at second. Offerman dropped the ball, but second base umpire Wally Bell believed Offerman had possession of the ball and called Mickey Morandini out.