Dodgers Hit New Low

The message scribbled on the dry erase board in the Dodger clubhouse was not subtle.

For Your Information: MAY IS OVER.

The Dodgers were 11-17 during that not-so-merry month and realize they must change their tune in June.

Judging by a 9-5 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night in front of an announced sellout of 54,093 at Dodger Stadium, fixing their problems will require more than turning the page on a calendar.

The Dodgers (26-26) fell to .500 for the first time since the second game of the season, are 12-14 at home and trail the first-place San Diego Padres by 6 1/2 games in the National League West.

“We can’t get down,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “The question is, how do we respond?”

Derek Lowe, who signed a $36-million contract during the off-season, was outdueled by John Koronka, a left-hander making his major league debut.

It was Lowe’s 32nd birthday, and a fan gave him a plate of cookies before the game. The Cubs blew out his candles but quick, scoring four runs in the second inning.

The big hit was a three-run home run with two out by Neifi Perez. However, a key play came earlier, when Todd Hollandsworth hit a grounder to first base and beat a stumbling Olmedo Saenz to the bag for a single.

Lowe was late getting there too, and when he reached the dugout after the inning the normally easygoing right-hander cut his wrist throwing a stool in anger. He came out for the next inning, although the umpires made him change his bandage because it blended with the color of the ball.

“It was bleeding, and it looked a lot worse than it was,” he said. “It didn’t affect my pitching.

“I was mad at myself. It could have been a harmless inning if I’d covered first base.”

The Cubs weren’t done with him, scoring single runs in the fifth and sixth. Lowe (4-5) gave up 13 hits, three more than in any previous outing this season.

“That was as poor a pitched game as I’ve had in a long time,” he said.

Koronka, meanwhile, turned in a credible debut in place of Mark Prior, who was hit by a line drive and fractured his elbow in his last start. The Dodgers scored three runs in the third on a single by Cesar Izturis, a run-scoring double by J.D. Drew and a home run by Saenz, but Koronka retired six of the next eight batters.

Cub first baseman Derrek Lee, who leads the league in all triple crown categories, capped a five-hit day with his 17th home run, a three-run shot off Duaner Sanchez in the eighth. The Cubs had 16 hits, including four by Perez and two each by Todd Walker and Hollandsworth.

Dodger problems are numerous, but one has become especially glaring because it was supposed to be the team’s strength: the pitching staff.

The team earned-run average is 4.78. Sanchez was the only pitcher with an ERA under 3.00, and after giving up the home run to Lee, it ballooned to 3.50.

Clutch hitting is another ongoing problem. The Dodgers left 10 runners on base. Outfielder Milton Bradley remains sidelined because of a finger injury that will be evaluated again today.

“We have to pitch consistently, and when we have opportunities to score runs, we have to do it,” Tracy said.

A 13-game homestand expected to provide a haven for the slumping Dodgers instead is heightening concerns. They lost three to the Cubs and face Milwaukee Brewer ace Ben Sheets tonight.

“The last four to five weeks have been very frustrating,” Lowe said. “We are a lot better team than what the record shows. But until we play better, this is who we are.”