Targets for Boos Multiply

Manager Jim Tracy sat expressionless in his office Sunday night after witnessing the most recent Dodger embarrassment on offense -- a 2-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks before another hostile Dodger Stadium crowd.

Third base coach Glenn Hoffman became the latest source of the fans’ frustration, being booed by many in a crowd of 41,769 for holding Shawn Green at third on Paul Lo Duca’s double with none out in the fourth as Arizona second baseman Matt Kata dropped the relay throw from right fielder David Dellucci.

And Lo Duca moved to clarify his comments about fans who booed Green in Saturday’s victory over Arizona, saying he does not consider them to be “pathetic.” Just another demoralizing day for the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine.

“I walk in here, and I have to talk to you guys [reporters] every night about the fact of, 3-2, 2-1, 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 [scores] ... it’s tough, it’s painful,” said Tracy, showing the strain of being handcuffed by the National League’s worst offense, which produced only four hits Sunday.

“It’s very painful knowing that every pitch is precious, every at-bat is precious. And the other part that’s very painful is that when you have the opportunity to score runs, time after time, they get away from you. We play these every night. At home or on the road.”

After losing two of three to the second-place Diamondbacks (48-39), the third-place Dodgers (46-40) are 6 1/2 games behind the leading San Francisco Giants in the National League West.

The Dodgers were 1-5 on the homestand and have dropped 11 of 13. Hideo Nomo (9-8) had another strong seven-inning outing -- working at least that deep into a game for the for 17th time in 19 starts -- but the Dodgers wasted his fine work again.

Rookie right-hander Andrew Good (4-2) gave up all of the Dodgers’ hits. The Arizona starter gave up unearned run in the sixth on his throwing error, but cheaply escaped a bases-loaded jam. The Dodgers scored their run on Ron Coomer’s fielder’s choice, but with runners on the corners, Good struck out David Ross to prevent a big inning.

Three Arizona relievers made the Dodgers look bad in front of closer Matt Mantei. Relying on a 96-mph fastball, the right-hander struck out two, including pinch-hitter Chad Hermansen, for his ninth save.

The final score put Hoffman on the spot because of his decision in the fourth.

With the Dodgers trailing, 2-0, and Green on first after a single, Lo Duca doubled down the right-field line. Green, who runs well, raced around second as Arizona right fielder Dellucci fielded the ball in the corner and came up throwing to second baseman Kata.

Kata dropped the ball as Green reached the bag, but Hoffman had already decided to hold Green with none out in the inning. Daryle Ward -- batting .188 after going 0 for 4 with two strikeouts -- struck out, Ross hit into an inning-ending double play after Coomer walked, and the fans let Hoffman know what they thought of his decision.

“I saw him [Dellucci] pick it up cleanly, and when I looked at Greenie, he wasn’t at third,” Hoffman said. “When the throw was coming to the relay guy, he dropped it, and it made it look like he was going to score, but I had already made the decision. I had a split second to make it, and I decided not to get him blown up at the plate with none out in the inning.”

Tracy and Green supported Hoffman.

“He’s been my third base coach for three years, and I completely trust his instincts,” Tracy said. “The man has a split second to make a decision, and he made the right one, because there’s nobody out.”

And then there’s Lo Duca.

Upset Saturday about fans who booed Green in a 2-0 victory over Arizona, Lo Duca wanted it known Sunday he does not consider them to be “pathetic.” With Odalis Perez working on a no-hitter, Green angered fans when he chose not to dive for Shea Hillenbrand’s flare to shallow right to start the eighth, a single that appeared to drop about 10 feet in front of Green and broke up Perez’s no-hit bid.

The crowd roundly booed Green after the play and when he came to bat in the bottom of the eighth.

Lo Duca seemingly shot back at fans, but said his comments were not reported in the right context.

“It was just really misconstrued,” he said. “I was saying that I was upset at that time. I know our fans are the best fans in the league, and they’ve treated me great. I just thought at that point it was pathetic, but not to the point where they’re pathetic.”

Green reiterated he believed the booing was more indicative of the fans’ feelings about the Dodgers’ poor play.

“In my heart, I really think what happened was more a reflection of how we’ve struggled as of late and offensively throughout the season, than it was questioning one specific play,” said Green, a fan favorite for most of his four years in Los Angeles.

“I understand that’s part of the game. I understand when things are good, everyone is cheering, excited and loves you,” said Green, who was greeted with a smattering of boos Sunday. “When things are bad, there aren’t quite as many people patting you on the back.”

The entire team can relate.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

For Starters

Players voted as starters for the All-Star game on July 15 at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago:

NATIONAL LEAGUE STARTERS

*--* Javy Lopez, Atlanta C Todd Helton, Colorado 1B Marcus Giles, Atlanta 2B Scott Rolen, St. Louis 3B Edgar Renteria, St. Louis SS Barry Bonds, San Francisco OF Albert Pujols, St. Louis OF Gary Sheffield, Atlanta OF DODGER RESERVES Paul Lo Duca C Kevin Brown P Eric Gagne P

AMERICAN LEAGUE STARTERS Jorge Posada, N.Y. Yankees C Carlos Delgado, Toronto 1B Alfonso Soriano, N.Y. Yankees 2B Troy Glaus, Angels 3B Alex Rodriguez, Texas SS Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle OF Manny Ramirez, Boston OF Hideki Matsui, N.Y. Yankees OF Edgar Martinez, Seattle DH ANGEL RESERVES Garret Anderson OF Brendan Donnelly P

Complete rosters...D6

*--*