Dodgers Are Turning Into Masters of None

If the Dodgers haven’t hit rock bottom offensively, they better hope they’re close, because things can’t get much worse than they did Tuesday night.

Reaching new depths for an offense that has been in an excavation mode since opening day, the Dodgers managed a season-low two hits against New York Met pitcher Pedro Astacio in a 3-0 loss before 28,610 in Dodger Stadium.

Astacio, a former Dodger, struck out nine and walked two in improving to 6-2 and lowering his earned-run average to 2.48, putting an exclamation point on his shutout by striking out the side in the ninth inning.

The veteran right-hander had “great stuff,” in the estimation of Dodger cleanup batter Paul Lo Duca, but the Dodgers hardly put up a fight in suffering their major league-leading seventh shutout of the season.

Of the 18 balls the Dodgers put in play, only five or six were hit hard, and one of those resulted in their major league-high 49th double play. The Dodgers have scored three runs or fewer in 22 of 39 games, including 13 of their last 14, and they have only six homers in their last 21 games. They rank 13th in the National League in runs, 15th in home runs, 13th in walks and 14th in stolen bases.

Right fielder Shawn Green, who hasn’t hit a ball out of the infield in two games against the Mets, is batting .245 with three home runs and 21 runs batted in, a 12-homer, 87-RBI pace that is far off his 49-homer, 125-RBI season of 2001.

Injuries and Eric Karros’ career .071 average (one for 14) against Astacio forced Manager Jim Tracy to juggle Tuesday’s lineup, which featured Hiram Bocachica batting second and playing center field in place of Dave Roberts (strained right quadriceps), Lo Duca, the regular catcher, playing left field--his 14th career outfield appearance--in place of Brian Jordan (strained lower back), Dave Hansen batting fifth and playing first in place of Karros, and catcher Chad Kreuter, he of the .143 average, hitting eighth.

The Dodgers responded with their most feeble attack of the season. Bocachica doubled to lead off the fourth and never advanced, as Green popped to the catcher, Lo Duca flied to right and Hansen struck out.

Cesar Izturis singled with one out in the sixth but was thrown out trying to steal second. That was the extent of the Dodger offense.

“Sooner or later we have to break out,” Lo Duca said. “We’ll hit a little streak where we’ll get some broken-bat hits, some hits to fall with guys on base. It’s going to happen. We just need a couple of breaks to go our way.”

Dodger starter Andy Ashby gave up two runs--one earned--and six hits and struck out three in six innings, giving the Dodgers their 27th quality start (six innings or more, three earned runs or fewer) in 39 games, but the right-hander’s fielding error contributed to the Mets’ run in the first inning.

After Timo Perez’s one-out single, Roberto Alomar dribbled a slow roller down the first-base line. Ashby fielded the ball as Alomar ran by, but in his attempt to clear Alomar with his throw, Ashby tossed the ball over Hansen at first and into right field, enabling Perez to score.

The Mets made it 2-0 in the fourth when Alomar led off with a single to right-center and took third on Mo Vaughn’s single to left-center.

Edgardo Alfonzo followed with a slow roller toward first. Ashby couldn’t reach the ball, and Hansen was playing so deep that by the time he got to the ball, he had no play.

Alomar scored on the infield single, and after Jeromy Burnitz flied to right, Ashby hit Vance Wilson with a pitch to load the bases with no outs. But Ashby stopped the rally when he got Rey Ordonez to pop to short and Astacio to fly to center. Roger Cedeno homered off Dodger closer Eric Gagne in the ninth for the Mets’ final run.