Dodgers routed by Padres

Esteban Loaiza was hit, Derek Lowe was hit in the hand and, suddenly, the Dodgers’ rotation once was back to looking as vulnerable as it did a month ago.

Loaiza gave up six runs in 3 1/3 innings of the Dodgers’ series-opening 9-4 loss to the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, dropping L.A. 3 1/2 games behind the Padres in the wild-card race.

And it could get worse.

Lowe hurt his pitching hand in a game of catch with Jonathan Broxton during pregame warmups, leaving his status for his scheduled start tonight uncertain.

“Right now, he’s our pitcher for tomorrow,” Manager Grady Little said.

Little refused to discuss his alternatives, but an option could be to move up Chad Billingsley’s turn in the rotation.

Because the Dodgers didn’t play Monday, Billingsley would be pitching on a normal four days’ rest.

The troubles on the mound come at a time when the Dodgers are at the front end of a six-game homestand that could bounce them out of postseason contention. The remaining two games against the Padres will be followed by a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who hold a six-game lead over them in the National League West with 18 games remaining.

“We’re coming around that last turn and every stride is going to be important from here on in,” Little said.

The strides felt less laborious over the last two weeks, with David Wells and Loaiza moving into the once battered and short-handed rotation.

Loaiza, who was claimed off waivers from Oakland, won his Dodgers debut on Labor Day by giving up three runs in seven innings in Chicago.

But on Tuesday, the man who missed most of the season because of a bulging disk in his neck and a knee operation served up three home runs. He started the game by walking three of the first four batters he faced, resulting in a two-run first for the Padres.

Loaiza and Little blamed the strike zone set by plate umpire James Hoye.

“I threw a lot of good pitches, but the umpire wasn’t calling them,” said Loaiza, who pitched on seven days’ rest.

Loaiza gave up a two-run homer to Brian Giles in the second and consecutive homers to Khalil Greene and Kevin Kouzmanoff in the third, leaving the Dodgers with a 6-0 deficit.

Loaiza was booed by the home fans as pitching coach Rick Honeycutt went to visit him on the mound. Those same fans booed Honeycutt when he retreated to the dugout with Loaiza still on the mound.

The six-run lead was more than enough for Cy Young favorite Jake Peavy, who improved to 9-1 lifetime against the Dodgers by limiting them to two runs and five hits in seven innings.

James Loney’s fourth home run in his last five games and Jeff Kent’s run scoring single in the sixth pulled the Dodgers to within 6-2, but they got no closer, as the Padres responded with three runs in the seventh.

A single by Loney in the eighth scored Rafael Furcal to move the Dodgers to within 9-3 and led to them eventually loading the bases with no outs. But Olmedo Saenz lined out to short, Matt Kemp struck out and Andre Ethier hit a sharp ball that went off first baseman Adrian Gonzalez’s glove. The ball was collected by second baseman Geoff Blum and tossed to pitcher Heath Bell covering first for the inning-ending out.

The Dodgers got a run back in the ninth when pinch-hitter Chin-Lung Hu hit his first major league home run in his second at-bat. Giving up the home run was Brett Tomko, who was released by the Dodgers last week.

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dylan.hernandez@latimes.com