Lasorda at a Loss After Cubs Win, Sweep Dodgers

He thought about coaching third base, but instead closed the doors to the clubhouse Sunday morning for a meeting with his players, hoping that the level of his voice combined with his motivational words would help end a five-game losing streak.

But after another loss, this one a 2-1 defeat in 13 innings against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium, Manager Tom Lasorda said all the Dodgers can do is battle back. And when the team plays in New York on Tuesday night, he says he probably will coach third base.

“We are playing good fundamental baseball, but our big problem is base hits with men in scoring position,” Lasorda said. “We will get things right somewhere along the way.”

The homestand was long enough for the Dodgers, who failed indiscriminately in the batter’s box, on the mound and in the field for 10 games, managing only two victories against three teams.

Before Sunday’s finale, they had scored 31 runs in nine games, which doesn’t sound too bad until you realize that 14 of the runs came in two games.

So there wasn’t anybody who wanted to play 13 more innings, much less lose, both of which happened when Sammy Sosa homered over the center-field fence against reliever Felix Rodriguez (0-1), giving the Cub franchise its 9,000th victory. Sosa had terrorized the Dodgers during the series, batting .615, with eight hits in 13 at-bats.

“I think we have played some pretty boring baseball the last six games,” said Eric Karros, who had one of the Dodgers’ five hits Sunday. “I haven’t seen anything aggressive. I can’t think of anything exciting.”

There were two fine pitching performances from the starters, but neither one of them was around at the end. Steve Trachsel held the Dodgers to one hit until he tired at the beginning of the seventh. He walked two batters before giving up a run-scoring double to Tim Wallach, his first hit of the season, which tied the score.

Dodger right-hander Ismael Valdes gave up three hits and a run in the first inning, then held the Cubs to four hits through the next eight innings. He had a few shaky moments early, but made the key pitches when he had to and retired his last 10 batters in a row. Rudy Seanez and Todd Worrell held the Cubs to one hit over four innings.

Mike Walker (1-1) pitched two innings for the victory, and Randy Myers pitched the 13th inning for his eighth save.

But when it was over, it seemed to come back to the first inning, when Delino DeShields dropped a potential double-play ball that would have ended the inning, but instead scored Brian McRae.

“It figures it would come back to that play,” DeShields said. “That’s the way it’s going for me and that’s the way it’s going for the team, and I’m not going to get down. This team can still do it; we still have a good club.

“We went through the same slump last year and we bounced out of it. Hopefully, we can do the same this year.’

After that, Valdes seemed to make the key pitches when he had to, twice stranding runners on third base. Having Wallach back at third base proved merciful too. He saved a run in the third inning with a diving stop of a drive down the line by Steve Buechele, recovering to make the throw in time to first base. There were runners on first and second with one out, and they advanced on the play, but were stranded.

But even when things could have gone right for the Dodgers, they didn’t. Raul Mondesi led off the ninth inning with a bullet down the third-base line that ricocheted off the glove of Buechele and rolled over to the fence and behind a tarp. Mondesi would have been on third base easily, but it was ruled a double. After Karros was intentionally walked, the Dodgers went down in order, stranding Mondesi.

The crowd of 40,065 grew restless during the sixth inning, when the Dodgers couldn’t move a runner over from first base with no outs. After DeShields walked, the crowd booed Valdes when he couldn’t get a bunt down to move DeShields over. Offerman was booed when he popped out. DeShields was booed when he was caught trying to steal second. With the offense floundering, thoughts turned to Mike Piazza, whose absence from the lineup has proved critical.

“If guys are waiting around for him to come back, that’s wrong, because everybody has to carry their own load and take it upon themselves,” Karros said. “Every team goes through it at some point in the season. We have to do something.”