Dodgers Let It Slip Away

A second half of the season characterized by wild momentum swings had not swerved as quickly -- or as cruelly -- as it did for the Dodgers in the late innings Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers went from a bases-loaded, one-out situation with the potential go-ahead run at third base in the bottom of the eighth inning to a two-run deficit in the top of the ninth during an eventual 3-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies that ended their 11-game winning streak.

“We’re not in it to have winning streaks, we’re in it to get to the finish line first,” said Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent, who popped up with the bases loaded in the eighth inning. “We’ve been running pretty good; we’ve been running full-tilt.”

The Dodgers ground to a halt during a ninth inning in which starter Derek Lowe gave up two runs and catcher Russell Martin committed a rare error to help the Rockies rally for only their third victory in 12 meetings this season against their division rival.

With runners on first and second and two out, Brad Hawpe hit a run-scoring single off Dodgers closer Takashi Saito just beyond the reach of diving second baseman Julio Lugo, who had moved over from third base just before Hawpe’s at-bat.

“I think he made the right move,” Lugo said of Manager Grady Little’s defensive switch. “I feel more comfortable at second base than third base. I tried to knock it down. It was kind of changing speeds and knuckling.”

The Dodgers then appeared to have Matt Holliday caught in a rundown between third base and home on a double-steal attempt, but Martin couldn’t handle a flip from third baseman Wilson Betemit and Holliday scored to give the Rockies a two-run cushion. Martin was charged with an error on the play, ending the Dodgers’ six-game errorless streak.

“This will be a good test,” said Lowe, who gave up three runs in 8 2/3 innings and drove in the Dodgers’ run with a fifth-inning sacrifice fly. “A lot of people will be looking to see how we respond.”

Said Little, whose club squandered a chance to take sole possession of first place in the National League West for the first time since June 26 and still trails the San Diego Padres by half a game: “There’s no doubt in my mind we’ll be out there [today] to start a new streak.”

It appeared as if the Dodgers would extend their season-high winning streak in the eighth inning after Rafael Furcal hit a leadoff double over the head of center fielder Cory Sullivan and went to third on Lugo’s sacrifice bunt.

The crowd roared as Nomar Garciaparra, who had been activated off the disabled list before the game, stepped to the plate, but Rockies pitcher Jeff Francis intentionally walked him to put runners on the corners with one out.

Colorado reliever Manuel Corpas denied pinch-hitter Olmedo Saenz the opportunity to drive in the winning run for a second consecutive night when he hit Saenz with a pitch to load the bases. But Corpas retired Kent on a first-pitch pop-up to second base, and Rockies reliever Jeremy Affeldt induced an inning-ending groundout off the bat of Andre Ethier.

Lugo played flawlessly on defense in his first major league start at third base, but his baserunning featured plenty of blemishes. He was picked off first base in the first inning and thrown out attempting to steal home in the fourth.

Lugo had reached third base in the fourth after getting to first on a failed sacrifice attempt and moving up two bases on Garciaparra’s single to left. Lugo then charged down the third base line before Francis delivered a pitch to pinch-hitter James Loney and was about halfway home when the crowd roared in anticipation of a play at the plate. Francis quickly threw to catcher Yorvit Torrealba, who tagged out Lugo as he slid home.

“It’s not disappointing,” Lugo said. “We had a good run and played great baseball.”

Dodgers right fielder J.D. Drew left in the fourth inning because of a mild strain in his left quadriceps suffered when he charged in on a fly ball an inning earlier. Drew was listed as day to day but said it was too early to determine if the injury was serious.

“It’s just a matter of coming in [today] and seeing if it’s still kind of grabbing,” Drew said.