Reds’ Pitchers Giving Dodgers’ Averages That Shrinking Feeling

There are going to be days like this without Brett Butler. The Dodgers can only hope their entire season is not like this without Butler.

The Dodgers perhaps reached their low point of the season Wednesday, losing, 5-0, to the Cincinnati Reds at Riverfront Stadium, their fourth setback in the last five games.

The Dodgers (16-19), limited to two or fewer runs in 14 games this season, believed they suffered the ultimate indignity. Pete Schourek, who had not pitched in two weeks because of a sore shoulder and carried a 5.04 earned-run average, shut them out for six innings. Reliever Jeff Shaw, a journeyman pitching for his fourth organization in the last five years, threw three hitless innings for only his sixth career save.

And he struck out the side in the ninth to complete the Reds’ first shutout.

“We stink,” Dodger first baseman Eric Karros said. “Look at us. Me, [Raul] Mondesi, and [Mike] Blowers. I don’t recall too many teams winning with three guys struggling to hit .200.

“Raul and Karros are hitting a combined [.396] with 11 homers and 36 RBIs, and that’s by adding the averages.

“That’s pathetic. We stink.”

Considering the Dodgers scored two runs in 21 innings against the Reds, who entered the two-game series with the second-worst pitching staff in the league, has it ever been any worse this season?

“I hope it’s the low point,” Karros said. “I don’t think it can get any worse. I guess [Mike] Piazza could hit .200, that would be a low point. But that’s not going to happen.

“I’ve never seen anything like this. I guarantee Tommy [Lasorda] has never seen anything like it, and he’s been around 46 years.

“Amazing, absolutely amazing.”

Who would have thought the Dodgers would be playing their second month of the season and three everyday players in the heart of their lineup would not be hitting their weight.

Karros, hitless in his last 17 at-bats, is batting .200. He’s listed in the media guide at 222 pounds.

Third baseman Blowers, who has three RBIs in the last three weeks, is batting .200. He weighs 210 pounds.

Mondesi, who has only nine hits since April 22, is batting .196. He weighs 212 pounds.

“It’s so ridiculous,” Karros said, “you get sick to your stomach.”

The Dodgers were so bad offensively that after Red right fielder Eric Anthony’s error in the third inning, the Dodgers never again reached second base. Their entire production from their first four hitters was an infield single by rookie Roger Cedeno.

It has become so bad, Karros said, that the Red players were stopping by first base during the game and offering encouragement.

Chad Fonville, who inherited Butler’s leadoff spot, is in a three-for-29 slump. Worse, they have no other candidate to put at leadoff except for Cedeno, who replaces Butler in center field.

“I just think I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself,” said Fonville, whose average has dropped from .395 to .269 in one week. “Right now, I feel like I need to get on every time I go up there. It doesn’t work that way.

“I told you before, I’m not perfect. People have bad days. And I’m having them now.”

The Dodgers, who wasted starter Chan Ho Park’s decent performance--six innings, three hits, two earned runs--realize they need to get their act in gear before their season slips away. They may have already reached the crossroad.

“We have two choices here,” Karros said. “We can rally around Brett, and draw from it. Or we can sit around and feel sorry for ourselves and think how unfortunate we are and how unfortunate it is for him.

“The reality of the situation is that the game is not going to stop and let us take a break. We have to decide what we want to do.”

Said veteran pitcher Tom Candiotti: “If guys want to sit around and feel sorry for themselves, they shouldn’t be here. You feel for Brett. I think we all do. But you’ve got to go on.

“That’s what Brett would want.

“I know he’d hate to see this.”