Dodgers Are Left in a Terrible State

Well, so much for those good vibes from San Francisco.

The Dodgers left Northern California last weekend feeling good about themselves, but the San Diego Padres provided a big-time reality check in completing a three-game sweep with a 6-3 victory Thursday afternoon that extended their franchise-record winning streak to 13 games.

The Padres didn’t buy all that talk about the Dodgers possibly hitting their stride in winning two of three at 3Com Park against the Giants, who are leading the National League West.

“We came in here and we felt really confident about how we were playing, the best we probably felt in a long time,” shortstop Jose Vizcaino said of the last-place Dodgers. “We thought we would keep playing [well] here and finally start something.

“But they didn’t care about that. They just kept doing what they’ve been doing to everyone. I mean, if you would have told me that we would come here and play like we did, and they would win 13 games in a row . . . man, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

But those are the facts.

The third-place Padres rallied from early deficits in each game to sweep their fourth consecutive series--including their Southland neighbors twice.

The Padres have matched the third-longest winning streak of the decade. They need only two more victories to equal the major leagues’ longest streak of the ‘90s. The Minnesota Twins won 15 in a row en route to the ’91 World Series championship.

A crowd of 38,080 watched the Padres move back to .500 for the first time since they were 6-6 on April 16. The rebuilding Padres aren’t thinking in terms of the postseason at the moment, but they’re certainly encouraged by their position in the standings, and how quickly they arrived at this point.

“I’m so proud of them,” said Manager Bruce Bochy, who led the Padres to the NL pennant last season. “When I think about where we were three weeks ago, and the way we keep plugging along, these guys deserve this streak.

“The way we keep going so hard continually amazes me. It’s really something special.”

The Dodgers (34-42) dropped a season-high eight games under .500. They finished 2-4 on their six-game trip after winning the first two games against the Giants.

The Padres are 8-1 against the Dodgers, winning seven in a row. The Padres have swept the Dodgers twice in a season for only the second time in their 31-year history.

Dodger starter Darren Dreifort (6-7) gave up eight hits and four runs in six innings. After the Dodgers took a 2-0 lead on run-scoring singles by Angel Pena and Devon White, the Padres scored three runs in the fourth against Dreifort to take the lead for good.

San Diego added solo home runs by Quilvio Veras, Ruben Rivera and Wally Joyner.

The Dodgers scored only eight runs on 18 hits in the series.

“This is the most frustrating time ever in my professional career,” said Dodger General Manager Kevin Malone, who did not attend the games at Qualcomm Stadium. “Because of the talent we have on this ballclub, and the fact that we’re not getting it done, this has been very difficult for me.”

So, what’s the plan?

“We have to look at making some changes to get back on the winning track,” Malone said. “That doesn’t [necessarily] mean making trades, I believe we have the talent to get it done, but we have to take a hard look at how we’re going about our business.”

The Dodgers might want to look at the Padres.