Tracy Can’t Quite Get Off Scott Free

The Dodgers rolled out another installment of Life on the Edge, starring Scott Erickson. In this episode, the aging fifth starter pitched six brilliant innings Monday night, lulling decision makers into believing he could venture into the seventh for the first time this season.

Within minutes, a one-run Dodger lead was turned into a one-run deficit, Manager Jim Tracy was signaling for a reliever, and Erickson had the look of a gambler whose burgeoning bankroll had been blown on one lousy hand.

The Dodgers never recovered, falling to the Washington Nationals, 6-2, in front of 34,079 at Dodger Stadium.

The scoreboard said the Dodgers (16-9) were errorless, and perhaps technically it was true. But anyone who watched the game knew differently.

Mistakes began in the sixth inning, when the Dodgers took a 1-0 lead but could have struck for more had J.D. Drew not been thrown out trying to advance to third on a single by Jeff Kent that drove in Hee-Seop Choi. National pitcher Esteban Loaiza (1-2) was fortuitously out of position on the play, standing in front of the mound instead of backing up home plate, and he cut off the throw by center fielder Brad Wilkerson and threw out Drew.

The miscues piled up. The Nationals (14-12) began the seventh with a single by Ryan Church and a walk to Vinny Castilla on a pitch that was a telltale sign Erickson (1-3) was tiring -- a balloon-like slider that nearly hit Castilla in the shoulder.

Left-hander Kelly Wunsch and right-hander Steve Schmoll were up in the bullpen, but Tracy stayed with his starter, who entered the game with an earned-run average of 7.20. Brian Schneider bunted toward third base, and Jose Valentin showed his inexperience at the position, breaking for the bag rather than fielding the ball. Erickson also was at fault, dashing toward the plate rather than toward the third-base line after the pitch, creating a seam for the bunt to roll through.

“It was 100% my fault,” Erickson said. “I took a bad route to the ball.”

With the bases loaded, Cristian Guzman drove in a run with a groundout and pinch-hitter Carlos Baerga drove in another with a single.

Finally came the call for Wunsch, who struck out the next two batters. Tracy would not second-guess his decision to stay with Erickson.

“He was still throwing the ball great,” Tracy said.

The Nationals piled on with two runs in the eighth against Schmoll -- who wasn’t helped by two hits that went off the glove of first baseman Choi -- and two in the ninth against Buddy Carlyle on Jose Guillen’s seventh home run.

It might have been the swan song for Carlyle, who is expected to be sent to triple-A Las Vegas today to make room on the roster for left-hander Wilson Alvarez. Carlyle battled his way back to the major leagues by way of Japan and several minor league stops after short stints with the San Diego Padres in 1999 and 2000. However, in nine Dodger appearances, he allowed 10 earned runs in 11 innings.

Erickson pitched well enough to keep his berth in the rotation. Tracy, though, has options for the first time all season.

Alvarez, whose recovery from shoulder tendinitis is complete, made 27 starts for the Dodgers the last two years and is a favorite of Tracy for his ability to hit spots and change speeds. Right-hander Elmer Dessens said the pain in his right shoulder is gone and he is only a few days away from beginning a throwing program. Opponents batted only .194 against him in two starts before he was injured.

Of greater concern is the Dodger offense. Milton Bradley homered with two out in the ninth, his sixth, but it was far too little, too late.

“Once we scored a run, I was trying to be extra careful,” Erickson said. “It’s tough when we aren’t hitting as well as we are capable of hitting.”