Dodgers’ Showing Strictly Third-Rate

The Dodgers faced the Philadelphia Phillies for three days in a matchup of surprising division contenders.

The Dodgers came out of the encounter frustrated and in third place in the National League West after the Phillies completed a sweep Sunday afternoon with a 3-2 victory before 21,477 at Veterans Stadium.

Rookie right-hander Brandon Duckworth (2-0) befuddled the Dodgers in an impressive seven-inning, one-run outing, helping the Phillies reclaim sole possession of first place in the NL East over the struggling Atlanta Braves.

Scott Rolen hit his 14th home run to continue his torrid pace for Philadelphia (65-52), and Bobby Abreu and Doug Glanville contributed run-scoring hits as the Phillies swept the Dodgers in a three-game series for the first time since 1995, and the first time at Veterans Stadium since 1993.

“They’re a good ballclub and they’re in a fight just like we are,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “You expect the level of intensity to rise a lot when you get to this point in time in the season.

“I don’t think that we played poorly in this series. The first two games, they beat us with the home run ball. Today, [Duckworth] shut us down through seven innings.”

The Dodgers (65-53) have lost four in a row and dropped to third place in the division for the first time since June 27.

They trail the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks, who swept the Braves in a three-game series, by 11/2 games and the second-place San Francisco Giants by one game.

Players acknowledged the Phillies played with more intensity, stirring concern in the clubhouse.

“The Pittsburgh series started well and we didn’t play well the last game,” left fielder Gary Sheffield said. “We were dragging a little bit and it just snowballed into this series. I was fired up for [the last game against Pittsburgh], and we just let that one get away and we just never recovered.

“You have to go for the jugular in a series like that. We can’t let those guys get any breaks or get anything going. We kind of gave that game to them. We thought we could bounce back from it this series, which we didn’t.”

Shortstop Alex Cora agreed.

“Today, I felt that we didn’t have [intensity] until the end of the game,” Cora said. “But what’s in the past is in the past.”

The Dodgers batted .204 in the series (20 for 99), and .182 (four for 22) with runners in scoring position.

“We’ve just kind of hit a little offensive rut,” right fielder Shawn Green said. “It just wasn’t really that feeling that we were going to be up on somebody this series.

“It just seemed like, all of a sudden, you’d look up, it was the seventh, eighth inning, and we were trailing. I don’t think it was as much an attitude [problem] as it was that these games just kind of slipped away from us. We couldn’t get time to get back into it, or over that hump of getting those couple of runs we needed.”

On Sunday, the Dodgers wasted another solid effort from starter Terry Adams (8-5), who gave up five hits and three runs in six innings.

Five Philadelphia pitchers limited the Dodgers to five hits, and they scored one run with one out and the bases loaded in the eighth.

“We had an opportunity there in the eighth inning with the bases loaded and one out, and unfortunately we could only come up with one run,” Tracy said. “We didn’t hit enough, especially early in the game, but you have to give Brandon Duckworth some credit.”

With the potential tying run at first in the ninth, Chad Kreuter, pinch-hitting for leadoff batter Tom Goodwin, fouled out to end the game against Jose Mesa.

Kreuter entered the at-bat with a .467 career average against Mesa, but the Philadelphia closer easily recorded his 30th save.

“It seems like we might have been a little sluggish these three games,” catcher Paul Lo Duca said. “They took it to us the first two nights, and today was one of those days when both guys pitched well.

“It’s just a tough loss today because we obviously need to pick it up. There’s a difference when you just get beat. They beat us the first couple of nights, but I still think we could have been more intense, especially today.”

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NL West Standings

BT W L GB Arizona 66 51 -- San Francisco 66 52 1/2 Dodgers 65 53 11/2 San Diego 57 60 9 Colorado 49 68 17

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NL Wild-Card Race

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Team Record GB Houston 66-51 -- San Francisco 66-52 1/2 DODGERS 65-53 1 1/2 Atlanta 64-53 2 St. Louis 61-55 4 1/2 Florida 59-58 7

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