Dodgers Pin Loss on Distraction : Baseball: They don’t get hit until fifth inning. Worrell blows save as Mets win, 4-3.

Mike Busch barely was permitted to sit on the bench Tuesday night, much less step on the field, but he was the one held accountable for the Dodgers’ 4-3 defeat to the New York Mets.

Busch, the strike-replacement third baseman who was called up to the Dodgers much to the anger and resentment of his teammates, knows it will be a role that could become dreadfully familiar during the pennant stretch.

He will be the team scapegoat.

“There was obviously a lot of frustration out there today,” said Dodger closer Todd Worrell, who blew his second consecutive save in front of a paid 38,765 at Dodger Stadium. “I just don’t understand why we’re in this predicament, especially this time of year.

“We don’t make the decisions, but this greatly affected the players. . . . I have definite strong feelings toward scab players, but the overriding issue is the pennant race.

“To me, that’s the priority, but I just find it very unfair to the players who have been here all year. It’s enough to win without adding another distraction.”

Worrell insisted the distraction surrounding Busch had no effect on his performance once he was on the mound, but he along with the rest of his teammates believe it will be a detriment to the team. If nothing else, their 40-minute team meeting that canceled all but one round of batting practice might be blamed for not producing their first hit until the fifth inning.

Worrell came into the game in the ninth inning with a 3-2 lead and was within one out of securing the victory. Instead, Jeff Kent hit a two-out solo homer to tie the game. Worrell then walked Rico Brogna and yielded a single to center by Ryan Thompson.

Butch Huskey, who didn’t hit the ball out of the infield during the game, hit a comebacker to the mound. The ball squirted off Worrell’s glove, and third baseman Rick Parker’s bare-handed throw missed getting Huskey at first.

The defeat wasted the Dodgers’ three-run rally in the eighth, and prevented them from increasing their one-game lead over the slumping Colorado Rockies. It also left the looming question whether the Dodgers are better off without Busch.

“You can be upset with the decision,” first baseman Eric Karros said, “but our job is to go out there and win ballgames. Everybody in here has a paycheck, and everybody has a job to do.

“The bottom line is he’s up here. One player on this team isn’t going to dictate whether we make the playoffs or don’t make the playoffs. You can’t use that as an excuse. . . . He had nothing to do with us losing tonight. If anybody says it does, they’re an idiot.”

While most of Busch’s teammates hurriedly dressed and showered after their defeat, Busch sat in front of his locker in no hurry to move. He made it clear that while it may be ugly at times, and it certainly will be painful, no one is going to force him to quit.

‘It was all right,” said Busch, who either sat by himself or stood alone the entire game. “It was a professional atmosphere. I got up and high-fived guys when they scored.”

Was it disturbing that no one would sit alongside him?

“That’s to be expected,” Busch said. “I found that out today.”