Milwaukee Turns Into Dodger Wasteland Again

Another impressive pitching performance, another frustrating overall experience for the Dodgers.

The familiar story unfolded again Thursday in the final game of a 2-7 trip that ended as badly as it had begun for the Dodgers in a 3-1 loss to Milwaukee at Miller Park.

The Dodgers wasted seven strong innings from Jeff Weaver a day after squandering Odalis Perez’s good seven-inning outing in a 2-1 loss in 12 innings.

Two unearned runs in the first inning were too much for the Dodgers to overcome with the batting order slumping and Ben Sheets (5-3) dazzling for the Brewers in front of 24,616. Milton Bradley’s seventh home run -- a 420-foot shot to right field in the seventh -- was one of four hits Sheets gave up, and the Dodgers had six total.

“We got another terrific pitching performance from Jeff Weaver,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “When you have a starter that goes out there and pitches seven innings and gives up two [unearned] runs and ends up taking a loss as a result ... sometimes numbers can be very misleading from a won-lost standpoint.”

Weaver’s teammates didn’t provide much help.

Shawn Green’s nightmarish month continued as he made a key error in the first, grounded into an inning-ending double play in the sixth and grounded out in the eighth with two out and runners on first and second.

“It’s been a bad couple of weeks,” Green said.

“Whatever it’s going to take, and I don’t know what the answer is, but we need something.”

The Dodgers (24-21) have dropped 11 of 13, lost all three series on a nine-game, 10-day trip and returned to Los Angeles a game behind San Diego in the National League West.

The Dodgers had either shared or held outright the top spot in the division since April 14, but they’re focused on other problems now.

“We’ve got more than just a couple of guys where the consistency of their at-bats is ... I know they would like them to be a lot better,” said Tracy, whose team averaged 2.9 runs on the trip.

“So to completely overhaul [the batting order] would be a very difficult thing to do, but there are a couple of other things that we obviously can try.”

Tracy benched Green one game on the trip and would not rule out giving the two-time All-Star more time off.

“I don’t know about that right now,” Tracy said. “That’s something that I’ll think about after I get away from here.”

Green went hitless in four at-bats, dropping his average to .161 in May and .215 overall.

“I didn’t feel too good up there today,” Green said. “Right now, John Doe could get me out.”

With one out in the first, Green made his third error at first on Craig Counsell’s grounder. Ben Grieve singled to put runners on first and second, Geoff Jenkins flied out and Lyle Overbay walked to load the bases.

The Brewers (24-21) scored their first two runs when shortstop Cesar Izturis made a wild throw to first on Keith Ginter’s grounder.

Weaver (3-6) gave up three hits and had eight strikeouts. He overcame command problems in the third and fourth (the first two batters reached in each inning), and then retired the last 11 batters he faced, including the side in the fifth, sixth and seventh.

Scott Podsednik provided an insurance run in the eighth against left-hander Tom Martin, hitting his fifth homer. Brewer closer Danny Kolb pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 12th save.

“We obviously have not had a very good road trip,” Tracy said. “However, we’ve been out more than just on this trip.

“We’re going home having won more than we’ve lost for the season on the road (13-11). We just have to keep plugging away and turn this thing around, that’s it.”

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Blue Collared

The Dodgers’ run production over the first 32 games compared to the last 13 games:

First 32 games

*--* Runs Allowed RPG APG Differential Record 159 131 4.9 4.1 +28 22-10

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Last 13 games

*--* Runs Allowed RPG APG Differential Record 33 59 2.5 4.5 -26 2-11

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