Dodger Streak Crashes to End : Baseball: Defense collapses in 14-3 loss to Padres. Martinez can’t hold an early 3-0 lead in shaky outing.

Just when the Dodgers were starting to worry about what brand of champagne to order, or the clothing they’ll need to pack for the playoffs, the San Diego Padres rudely interrupted their plans.

The Padres, reminding the Dodgers of what is preventing them from running away from the rest of the National League West, trounced them, 14-3, in front of a paid 29,713 at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday.

The Dodgers, who appeared to be on their way to a seventh consecutive victory with a 3-0 lead after three innings, still had to play defense. While the Dodgers’ star-studded lineup may compensate for many of its flaws, nothing could camouflage a night of defensive horrors.

The Dodgers proved why they have the worst-ranked defense in the league, and it remains their greatest fear.

“Our Achilles’ heel all year is that we don’t execute and we don’t play defense,” Dodger closer Todd Worrell said. “We keep finding ways to lose to teams we shouldn’t be losing to.

“I’m as confused by it and frustrated that it continues to happen. I’m not trying to point fingers, but those things have a way of catching up to you.

“It’s frustrating when you have one of the best offenses in the league, and you can’t win because things like this happen.”

The official boxscore will show that the Dodgers committed only two errors Tuesday night, increasing their total to a major league-leading 56, but that’s like saying there are traffic jams on the I-5 and 405. It hardly tells the gruesome story.

That didn’t include the two-run “single” on a fly ball that left fielder Billy Ashley misjudged. Or the “bunt single” that starter Ramon Martinez dropped. Or thetimes the Dodgers threw to the wrong base, or simply failed to cover the base.

“Defense plays a huge and direct impact on this game,” Worrell said.

The Dodgers were out-hit, 18-3, and failed to reach base after the third inning. Padre rookie starter Glenn Dishman (1-1) and the bullpen, including Fernando Valenzuela, retired the last 19 batters, limiting the Dodgers to their fewest hits of the season.

If that wasn’t enough damage, right fielder Raul Mondesi suffered a bruised left knee while chasing Ken Caminiti’s grand slam off reliever Greg Hansell in the sixth inning, and Martinez might have blown his selection to the All-Star Game. Martinez (7-5) was knocked around for 10 hits and a season-high nine runs (seven earned) in only 5 1/3 innings.

It was the first defeat by a Dodger starter other than Pedro Astacio since June 11.

The Dodgers’ slapstick began in the fourth inning when the Padres loaded the bases. Martinez induced what appeared to be a routine fly ball by Roberto Petagine to medium-deep left field for the first out. The crowd started to cheer, but Ashley had no idea where the ball was hit.

Ashley kept drifting toward the infield, and suddenly, threw his hands up into the air. Shortstop Jose Offerman, realizing Ashley’s dismay, pointed toward the ball. It was no help. The ball dropped 25 feet behind Ashley while he still was looking into the sky.

By the time center fielder Roberto Kelly threw the ball back into the infield, Steve Finley and Tony Gwynn scored, and Padre Manager Bruce Bochy was screaming at first base umpire Steve Rippley. In the confusion, Petagine passed Ken Caminiti on the basepaths, and was ruled out. It proved to be only a momentary relief.

“I hate to think a fly ball dropping has an effect like that,” Ashley said. “This team should be better than that.”

The Dodgers’ defense came back with an encore in the fifth. Andujar Cedeno led off with a double to left. Ashley fell on his backside while retrieving the ball, although Cedeno didn’t advance to third.

Dishman, making only his second career start and wondering if this is what the big leagues are all about, then laid down a sacrifice bunt. Martinez had a play at third base but dropped the ball. In his haste, he fired the ball past first baseman Eric Karros, allowing Cedeno to score and Dishman to advance to second.

Bip Roberts, proving that nothing more was needed on this night than putting the ball in play, bunted toward first base. Karros picked up the ball, and flipped it, up and over the head of Martinez covering at first as another run scored.