Dodgers Low-Ball It Again

Ring. Ring.

An incessant alarm was blaring from somebody’s suitcase in the clubhouse and nobody could find it to turn it off. The Dodgers had packed their bags after packing it in against the Washington Nationals and were ready to leave for Pittsburgh.

Ring. Ring.

The alarm continued, but there was no sign the Dodgers might be waking up. The season is two-thirds over and they are 12 games under .500 for the first time after getting worked over by dominant right-hander John Patterson in a 7-0 loss Thursday night at RFK Stadium.

The Dodgers are slipping deeper into third place in the amazingly forgiving National League West, now five games behind first-place San Diego. But they still seem to be hitting the snooze button.

They certainly aren’t hitting the baseball.

“There are two months left,” center fielder Milton Bradley said. “All it takes is a winning streak.”

General Manager Paul DePodesta pointed out that outfielders Bradley and Jose Valentin recently came off the disabled list and rookie catcher Dioner Navarro is still settling in. He conceded that the Dodgers lack firepower, especially with right fielder J.D. Drew on the disabled list because of a broken hand.

“Without J.D. there is a slimmer margin of error,” DePodesta said. “We have to take advantage of opportunities. We need to win series. We’ve been going 1-2 instead of 2-1 in a lot of them, and by an awfully slim margin.”

The Dodgers (48-60) lost two of three to the Nationals (58-50) -- who had been in the throes of their own debilitating slump -- and have won only one series since June.

Patterson (5-3), a right-hander finally reaching his potential after signing with Arizona for $6 million in 1996, struck out a career-high 13, yielded four hits and faced three over the minimum.

He improved his earned-run average to 2.42 primarily by blowing fastballs past the Dodgers. Every starter struck out at least once and Oscar Robles, Jeff Kent, Valentin and Navarro each struck out twice.

“He was nasty,” said shortstop Cesar Izturis, who doubled for the only Dodger extra-base hit and also singled. “He threw a lot of fastballs and a few sliders. He threw everything hard. It was hard to see the ball out of his hand.”

Thanks to a strong effort by Patterson’s former minor league teammate Brad Penny (5-7), the Dodgers stayed close until Washington scored five in the eighth. Brad Wilkerson hit a grand slam against reliever Duaner Sanchez.

But anyone watching the Dodger at-bats could tell the two runs the Nationals scored in the fourth were more than enough.

“We couldn’t do anything against Patterson,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “His ball was jumping.”

Ring. Ring.

The Dodgers better get jumping if they want to make a serious run at the division. Since coming off the disabled list, Bradley is seven for 38 and Valentin is two for 15. Navarro is three for 19 since being called up from triple A.

Other players are struggling too. Robles is five for 48 since his batting average peaked at .353 on July 21. He is down to .282 yet continues to play third base and bat second every day.

Tracy can’t seem to find a spot for his hottest hitter, Antonio Perez, who started for the third time in 13 games only because Jason Phillips had a sore hand. Perez had one hit Thursday and is batting a team-high .333.

The Dodgers are batting better than only two other National League teams. And despite solid starting pitching, they are 36-58 since their 12-2 start.

Ring. Ring.

“We’ve got to get hot soon,” Valentin said. “We’ve got to play well for two weeks straight. To be able to win this race, we can’t wait too long.”