Offense lets Dodgers down again

Reporting from Houston

If the Dodgers dragged a bit Thursday, it might have been because they arrived at their hotel here about 6 a.m. after flying in from San Diego, where the Padres had completed a three-game sweep the night before.

The Dodgers did send their next starting pitcher, Ted Lilly, out a day early so he’d be rested for the opening game of the club’s four-game series with the Houston Astros.

Lilly responded by tossing five scoreless innings, but then the left-hander surrendered a three-run home run to Chris Johnson in the sixth inning that proved the difference as the Astros edged the Dodgers, 3-2, at Minute Maid Park.

It was the Dodgers’ sixth consecutive loss and their 10th loss in 12 games, a stretch that has dropped them three games under .500 and all but ended their playoff hopes with 21 games to play even if they haven’t yet been mathematically eliminated.

The culprit Thursday was yet again the Dodgers’ punchless offense, which managed only four hits, including Andre Ethier’s two-run home run in the first inning against Houston’s Bud Norris (7-8). The Dodgers have scored an average of 2.42 runs in the last 12 games.

“It keeps going back to the same old story: We’ve put so much pressure on our starting pitching that every single pitch they make is win or lose, do or die,” Dodgers Manager Joe Torre said. “Lilly pitched well.”

But Lilly (8-10), who’s 5-2 since being traded to the Dodgers from the Chicago Cubs in late July, refused to criticize the Dodgers’ paltry offensive production.

“I don’t expect a certain amount of runs,” Lilly said. “I feel like I should have won this game. We had two runs, I was throwing the ball pretty well.”

The Dodgers had another opportunity in the seventh inning when they loaded the bases with one out, but James Loney popped out and pinch-hitter Jay Gibbons grounded out.

Lindsey’s debut

John Lindsey, who spent 16 years in the minor leagues before being called up by the Dodgers this week, made his first big league plate appearance as a pinch-hitter for Lilly and flied out to center field.

“I tried to take deep breaths” before reaching the plate against reliever Gustavo Chacin, but “when I got in the batter’s box it was just like normal,” Lindsey said.

Lindsey, 33, officially had entered Wednesday’s game against the Padres as a pinch-hitter. But before he could leave the on-deck circle, San Diego changed pitchers and Torre pulled Lindsey and replaced him with Ethier.

Ely starts anew

John Ely, the 24-year-old pitcher who excited Dodgers fans with three consecutive wins in May but later struggled and was sent to the minor leagues, gets another start with the big league club Saturday.

“I’m treating this as the biggest start I’ve had so far,” said Ely, one of the Dodgers’ September call-ups who was tapped to start to give Clayton Kershaw extra rest. “Every start, every opportunity to showcase what you can do is going to be big.”

Ely compiled a 4-7 record and a 4.63 earned-run average in 14 starts with the Dodgers this season. At triple-A Albuquerque, the right-hander was 5-4 with a 6.22 ERA in 13 starts.

Torre said he chose Ely because “he had a number of starts for us. When we told him, he was all excited. He wasn’t sure if he was going to get a look-see or not.”

james.peltz@latimes.com