Dodgers Lack Basic Rights

The sacrifice bunt is one of the most fundamental plays in baseball.

Teams that execute the unselfish play are positioned to score runs. Those that successfully defend against it routinely erase threats.

The struggling Dodgers did neither in key situations during a two-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals and they sacrificed first place in the National League West in the process.

A 9-2 loss Tuesday before 37,988 at Dodger Stadium dropped the Dodgers a half-game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks, who defeated the San Francisco Giants.

The Dodgers managed only five hits against five Cardinal pitchers and committed two errors while losing for the eighth time in 11 games. They are 1-5 since the All-Star break and open a two-game series tonight against the last-place San Diego Padres before meeting the fast-closing, third-place Giants in a three-game series.

“If you’re going to have a stumbling block, which every club goes through during the course of a season, better it be now for us than in the latter part of September when this would be a very critical issue,” Dodger Manager Jim Tracy said. “I don’t see it as being one right now.”

The Dodgers, however, clearly are not executing with the efficiency that propelled them to the top of the NL West standings and produced one of the best records in the majors in the first half.

Their most glaring miscue for the second game in a row centered on a bunt play.

On Monday night, the Dodgers missed a potential chance to tie the score in the ninth inning after the first two batters reached base. Leadoff man Dave Roberts popped up a sacrifice-bunt attempt to third, and the Cardinals then got Paul Lo Duca to hit into a game-ending double play for a 4-2 victory.

On Tuesday, with the score tied, 2-2, and two runners on in the seventh inning, Dodger pitcher Hideo Nomo made a throwing error to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Mike Matheny. The Cardinals turned it into a two-run play and three-run inning.

“Right now, some of the little things that we’ve taken a lot of pride in, that we have made very, very important--we’re not doing them so well,” Tracy said.

Like Tracy, Dodger players unanimously maintain that they are neither worried nor pressing. But the players acknowledge that they have gotten away from the formula that made them so successful in the first half.

“We’re not good enough to go out there and just wait for the three-run home run,” Roberts said. “We have to play the game fundamentally right, the way it’s supposed to be played with good pitching, defense, situational hitting and things like that.

“If you look back at the games to start the second half, we have come up short and the results are apparent.”

Shortstop Edgar Renteria was four for four with a double, scored three runs and drove in three runs for the Cardinals. The NL Central leaders had 11 hits and extended their winning streak to four with their ninth victory in their last 12 games.

Andy Benes, making his fourth start of the season after missing 76 games because of an arthritic right knee, gave up a solo homer to Adrian Beltre in the second inning and a run-scoring double to Beltre in the fourth, but he allowed only one other hit and struck out six in four innings. Mike Matthews, Luther Hackman (2-3), Steve Kline and Mike Crudale limited the Dodgers to two hits the rest of the way.

“It goes without saying that we are in a little bit of an offensive rut collectively,” said Tracy, whose team stranded nine runners Monday and seven Tuesday.

Nomo (9-6), who was 7-0 with a 2.60 earned-run average in his previous 11 starts, put the Dodgers in a hole Tuesday despite pitching well.

He gave up seven hits, struck out eight and did not walk a batter in 6 2/3 innings, but his seventh-inning error was the difference.

Nomo gave up singles to Renteria and Eli Marrero before Matheny bunted toward the mound. Nomo charged, fielded the ball and threw to third base, but the ball sailed wide to Beltre’s left. Renteria cruised home with the go-ahead run and Marrero never broke stride to put the Cardinals ahead, 4-2. Two outs later, Matheny scored on Placido Polanco’s double.

Nomo said he did not hurry the throw and the ball did not slip out of his hand.

“It was as you saw it,” Nomo said.

Tracy said he is looking for his team to right itself by returning to the basics.

“I just want to see us get back to playing the game correctly,” he said. “Once we get back to that, which I know we will, everything will fall into place.”

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

*--* After All-Star Break How Dodger regular starting lineup has done at the plate: DAVE ROBERTS 3-14 (.214) 2 runs PAUL LO DUCA 4-23 (.174) 2 RBIs SHAWN GREEN 7-22 (.318) 1 HR, 1 RBI ERIC KARROS 4-19 (.211) 0 RBIs BRIAN JORDAN 3-21 (.143) 1 RBI ADRIAN BELTRE 5-20 (.250) 3 HRs, 7 RBIs MARK GRUDZIELANEK 7-22 (.318) 1 RBI CESAR IZTURIS 4-15 (.267) 1 run TOTAL 37-156 (.237) 4 HRs, 12 RBIs

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*--* THE WEST The race has become even tighter since the break: W-L GB Arizona 55-38 -- Dodgers 55-39 1/2 San Francisco 53-40 2

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*--* THE WORST Worst records in National League since All-Star break: W-L Florida 0-5 Dodgers 1-5 Milwaukee 1-5

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