Dodger Hits Keep On Not Coming

The Dodgers held a position players-only meeting before Wednesday night’s game against the New York Mets, presumably to discuss ways to jump-start their anemic offense. Only someone forgot the cables.

Dodger bats remained as dead as the car on the frozen lake in those old commercials--the one without the Die-Hard battery--and they were shut out for the eighth time this season in a 2-0 loss to the Mets before 31,995 in Dodger Stadium.

New York right-hander Jeff D’Amico--or was that Walter Johnson?--blanked the Dodgers on two hits and struck out eight for a complete-game victory, as the Dodgers were shut out for the second consecutive night and matched their shutout total for the 2001 season in the first month and a half of 2002.

Left-hander Kazuhisa Ishii (6-1) suffered his first loss as a Dodger despite giving up one run and four hits in seven innings, the rotation’s 28th quality start in 40 games this season.

But the Dodgers, who also managed only two hits against Pedro Astacio on Tuesday, extended their scoreless innings streak to 18--they have one run their last 26 innings--and failed to score three runs or more for the 23rd time this season and the 14th time in the last 15 games.

They grounded into their major league-leading 50th double play Wednesday night, putting them on a pace to shatter the franchise record of 145 set in 1979. They hit six balls out of the infield, and No. 3 batter Shawn Green, who took a fastball down the middle for strike three to end the game, didn’t hit a ball out of the infield in three games against New York.

The Dodgers were retired in order in 17 of 31 innings during the series. They’ve hit six home runs in the last 21 games and 22 on the season, ranking 15th in the National League in that department.

“This small ball is getting a little old,” second baseman Mark Grudzielanek said. “All these one-run and two-run games ... they give you headaches, they drive you nuts. We need to break open a few games and ease the minds of not only the pitchers, but the whole team.”

Dodger pitchers don’t need much. The team is 22-5 in games in which it has scored three runs or more. That means it is 0-13 when it doesn’t.

“That gives you an idea that we don’t have to score seven or eight runs a night to be competitive,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “Hitting is a cyclical thing, and we’re in a valley right now. Our pitching and defense are good, but we’ve got to hit and score some runs. That’s what’s keeping this team from being special; it’s that simple.”

A split-second decision by Dodger shortstop Cesar Izturis didn’t cost the Dodgers the game Wednesday night, but it played a role in the Mets’ first run.

Edgardo Alfonzo opened the second inning with a double to right-center field and took third on Jeromy Burnitz’s grounder to second. With the middle infielders playing halfway, Jay Payton bounced a grounder to short.

Izturis charged the ball and wanted to throw home, but he double-clutched as he tried to get a grip on the ball and opted to go to first. Alfonzo scored, giving the Mets their third consecutive RBI in the series on a ball that didn’t leave the infield.

The Mets then broke the game open in the eighth--two runs is about all you need against the Dodgers these days--when Mo Vaughn, the former Angel, golfed a low-and-inside Giovanni Carrara pitch into the right-field seats for his third home run of the season and a 2-0 lead.

The Dodgers advanced only one runner to third, and that was only because of an error. Green walked with one out in the fourth, and Paul Lo Duca lined out to shortstop Rey Ordonez, whose throw in an attempt to double up Green sailed past first and into a photographer’s well for a two-base error.

But the Dodgers, who entered batting .255 with runners in scoring position and .221 with runners in scoring position and two outs, failed to capitalize when Eric Karros flied to center. They also had two on with one out in the second, but Adrian Beltre swung at the first pitch and bounced into a 6-4-3 double play.

“We have a questionable offense this year, and we’re struggling, so there’s your angle, it makes your job easy,” Karros told reporters afterward. “We just have to go out there each day with a clean slate. It doesn’t matter what you did yesterday or last year. That’s how you have to approach it.”