Dodgers aren’t looking great

ATLANTA -- There was no point in looking back or wondering if his three-game rehab assignment was long enough, Nomar Garciaparra said.

But Garciaparra acknowledged that he isn’t completely comfortable at third base, where his failure to start a potential inning-ending double play in the fifth inning turned a one-run deficit into a three-run gap that the Dodgers’ lethargic offense couldn’t overcome in the club’s latest defeat, a 4-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on Saturday.

“I look great, don’t I?” said Garciaparra, who also made a throwing error in the eighth inning of his third game since being activated from the disabled list.

The Dodgers once again had a minimal margin of error, as they were held to seven hits even on a day when the Braves’ starter was triple-A call-up Chuck James, a late replacement for the injured Tom Glavine. Andruw Jones hit his first home run for the Dodgers in the second inning and Chad Billingsley struck out nine of the first 18 batters he faced in what Manager Joe Torre called his most impressive start of the season, but everything unraveled in a four-run fifth inning for the Braves.

Billingsley (0-3) started the inning by striking out Brayan Pena but allowed the next five batters to reach base on either a single or walk, turning a 1-0 lead into a 2-1 deficit and setting up a one-out, bases-loaded situation. Jeff Francoeur hit a grounder at Garciaparra that took a late hop, forcing him to stop it with his chest and settle for a throw to first. Chipper Jones scored on the play and the Braves added a fourth run when Mark Kotsay singled in Mark Teixeira. Right fielder Matt Kemp threw out Brian McCann at the plate to prevent a fifth run from scoring.

Garciaparra was hit on his right wrist by a pitch in a spring training game on March 7 and an MRI exam almost two weeks later revealed that he had a microfracture of a bone. He didn’t play again until April 13, the first of his three games with triple-A Las Vegas. Of his three games, Garciaparra played only two at third base.

“I haven’t had many balls hit at me,” Garciaparra said. “It’s tough to simulate a game, so it’s going to take some time to get used to that. . . . It’s not a matter of angles, it’s a matter of seeing the ball off the bat.”

Garciaparra, who was 0 for 4 and is one for 10 overall, also said his timing at the plate remains slightly off.

“I have to keep going, keep battling,” Garciaparra said.

Torre said he would talk to Garciaparra to see how he feels and determine when rookie Blake DeWitt will give him a breather.

Andy LaRoche, who was competing with Garciaparra for the starting job in spring training and went down with a torn ligament in his right thumb, is scheduled to depart today for extended spring training in Vero Beach, Fla.

Billingsley, who matched his career-high in strikeouts with nine, remained composed in the aftermath of the loss, refusing to blame the Dodgers’ offense or the double play Garciaparra couldn’t start.

“It happens,” said Billingsley, who threw 99 pitches in five innings as his earned-run average rose slightly to 6.14. “It’s still a long season. The bats will come along. It’s just a tough time right now. We’re struggling with the hits, but there will be a time the pitchers are struggling and the bats will carry us.”

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dylan.hernandez@latimes.com