Dodgers Display Awful Timing

This was no time for a rag-tag opponent to display more heart -- at least certainly more Hart -- than the Dodgers.

It was no time to be shut out on four hits by run-of-the-Miller Park left-hander Doug Davis.

It was no time for veteran second baseman Jeff Kent to boot a ground ball and look helpless at the plate.

And perhaps it’s about time the Dodgers stopped sending Mark Hendrickson to the mound.

The left-hander was lighted up again and the Milwaukee Brewers romped, 9-0, Tuesday night, handing the Dodgers their third loss in a row and second on a three-city trip that isn’t going to get easier, beginning today when they face Brewers ace Chris Capuano.

The Dodgers are 29-38 on the road and their lead over the San Diego Padres in the National League West is down to one game, far too slim to withstand a disastrous trip.

“We still have four weeks left and are in first place, even though we didn’t play like a first-place team,” Hendrickson said.

Hendrickson (1-7) hasn’t pitched like someone who belongs in the rotation of a first-place team since coming to L.A. from Tampa Bay on June 27. The Dodgers have won exactly one of his 12 starts, and his reputation for getting deep into games has taken as big a hit as the changeup he threw to Corey Hart in the first inning.

Hart, a rookie outfielder, drove the pitch more than 400 feet for a three-run home run, giving Davis more than enough support. Hart wasn’t through, though, hitting a home run in the fifth and driving in six runs, nicely padding his career totals of six homers and 21 runs batted in.

Davis is a lot like Hendrickson, a soft-throwing left-hander. He also is the epitome of a .500 pitcher -- starting the game with a 9-9 record, going 11-11 last year and 12-12 in 2004.

But he thoroughly confounded the Dodgers, giving up singles in each of the first four innings and retiring the last 16 hitters in order. His cut fastball was especially tough.

“He hit both sides of the plate and changed speeds well,” said Nomar Garciaparra, whose batting average dipped to .308 after going 0 for 3. He is 0 for 7 in the series.

The only thing remotely positive for the Dodgers was the major league debut of left-hander Eric Stults, who gave up three runs in three innings of relief but at least was able to pitch in front of his parents, in-laws and more than 20 friends who drove 3 1/2 hours from Indiana for the game.

Stults is one of Manager Grady Little’s few options to replace Hendrickson. Chad Billingsley is out of the rotation until at least next week because of a strained side muscle and rookie left-hander Hong-Chih Kuo will start in his place Friday.

Whoever gets the ball needs to last more than the four innings Hendrickson provided. Dodgers starters have averaged only five innings over the last 11 games, putting tremendous pressure on the bullpen.

Hendrickson went at least six innings in 11 of 13 starts with Tampa Bay before the trade. Dodgers infielder Julio Lugo, who also was with the Devil Rays at the time, sees a difference.

“He seems a little timid,” Lugo said. “He was getting a lot more ground balls. I know he’s much better than what he’s showing. Maybe he’s trying to do too much and show he’s a good pitcher.”

Lugo might heed his own advice -- he’s batting .228 as a Dodger after batting .308 with Tampa Bay.

Little continues to give his most productive -- and highly paid -- hitters frequent days off. The left-handed-hitting J.D. Drew did not play and won’t be in the lineup today against the left-handed Capuano, despite hitting two doubles and a single Monday.

Little has made a habit of resting players the day after they excel. Garciaparra, for example, drove in six runs Saturday against the Colorado Rockies and sat out Sunday.

“A lot of their success has to do with knowing they have the next day off,” Little said. “It gives them a relaxed kind of feeling.”

The Dodgers might want to step up the intensity. The race is tight and getting swept by the Brewers is hardly the prelude to the four-game series against the New York Mets they envisioned.

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steve.henson@latimes.com