Dodgers Are Deficient With Test Score of 5-1

The problem with taking tests is that the results might not be as encouraging as hoped.

The Dodgers graded poorly again Saturday night in a 5-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in front of a sellout crowd of 45,692 at Busch Stadium.

Eager to be tested against the team with the major league’s best record, the Dodgers have dropped the first two games of the three-game series, scoring only one run in 18 innings and experiencing breakdowns on offense and defense Saturday.

A night after Matt Morris befuddled the Dodgers in a two-hit shutout, starter Jason Marquis delivered seven scoreless innings in the Cardinals’ eighth consecutive victory and his 11th. Leading, 5-0, in the seventh, Marquis (14-4) escaped a one-out, bases-loaded jam, striking out pinch-hitters Robin Ventura and Milton Bradley.

The Cardinals (91-44) had their two hits against Kazuhisa Ishii (13-7), but one was Jim Edmonds’ 40th home run and 300th of his career, a two-run shot to right-center field in the second inning after Scott Rolen walked to start the inning. St. Louis scored two of its three runs in the sixth on center fielder Steve Finley’s error, and the Dodgers wasted 10 hits.

Adrian Beltre reached another milestone in his breakthrough season, going three for four with his 100th run batted in. Beltre joined Pedro Guerrero and Ron Cey as the only third basemen in franchise history to reach the 100-RBI plateau.

“It’s a good accomplishment, but it came on a bad day,” said Beltre, batting a team-high .339. “It didn’t mean a lot because we lost the game.”

And there was other bad news for the Dodgers (78-57) as second-place San Francisco pulled within 4 1/2 games of the National League West leaders. The Dodgers also dropped to 6-6 on a four-city, 13-game, 14-day journey that ends today.

The Dodgers hope to end their longest trip with a winning record, but they said it wouldn’t happen unless they respond better in the final test of the series.

“Tomorrow takes on some significance,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “You don’t want to be swept, No. 1. And No. 2, you’re a game away from having a winning road trip in what has been a grueling two-week period.”

The end of the trip has been as difficult as the Dodgers had anticipated.

“We know we’re playing a great team, but we have to do our best to beat them tomorrow,” Beltre said. “If they sweep us, they’re going to feel comfortable facing us in the playoffs.

“If we get swept, our confidence level might go down a little bit. Their confidence level, if we face them in the playoffs, it’s going to be high. Knowing that San Francisco is playing pretty good ball right now, we can’t afford to lose three games in a row.”

Ishii tried to help the Dodgers on Saturday. The left-hander was not as sharp as in his previous two outings, but he pitched 5 2/3 innings and left trailing, 3-0, in the sixth with two out, a run already in and runners on first and second.

Elmer Dessens came in and appeared to get Reggie Sanders on an inning-ending fly ball to center field. However, Finley, a four-time Gold Glove Award winner, overran the ball and two runs scored as it dropped.

“I took my eye off of it for a second,” Finley said. “I came back, I was in a bad spot and I missed it. It happens.”

Although Ishii walked four, Tracy said he was satisfied with the performance.

“I thought Kaz did a nice job. He really did,” Tracy said. “The only ball really hit off of him was the ball that Edmonds hit.

“The unfortunate thing there was that there was a walk in front of it. It ended up not being a solo home run but a two-run home run.”

Ishii said he had hoped to do better.

“I’m not completely satisfied,” Ishii said through an interpreter. “I would have liked to have pitched a little longer, and kept my team in it a little longer.”

Despite the first two games, the Dodgers said the Cardinals don’t intimidate them.

“We know we can play with these guys,” Finley said. “I think some guys, right now, are maybe a little tired.

“It’s the end of the longest road trip of the year and it’s the beginning of September, but we’re not going to make any excuses.”