Little things fail for Dodgers

MILWAUKEE —  Blowout gave way to gut-wrencher, yet two games and two losses into a season already groaning under weighty expectations, certain aspects of the Dodgers seem destined to dog them well into the summer.

Balls hit to their outfielders will put opposing baserunners into high gear. Manager Grady Little’s pitching changes -- or lack thereof -- will be scrutinized. Overcoming late-inning deficits will be infrequent for a power-challenged lineup.

The Dodgers lost again to the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-3, this time handing back a short-lived lead Tuesday night at Miller Park.

Kevin Mench hit an errant slider by Randy Wolf for a two-run home run with one out in the sixth inning to erase a 3-2 Dodgers lead and prompt questions about Little letting Wolf bat with two out and two on half an inning earlier.

Wolf, making his first start as a Dodger, had thrown only 69 pitches when he came to the plate in the sixth. And he is a top-drawer hitter, as pitchers go.

Yet with converted starters Chad Billingsley and Brett Tomko in the bullpen -- not to mention proven lead protectors Joe Beimel, Jonathan Broxton and Takashi Saito -- Little could have sent up an experienced pinch-hitter such as Marlon Anderson or Olmedo Saenz.

“We’re looking for pitchers to go deeper into games, and this was a chance to do that,” Little said.

Wolf walked to load the bases, Juan Pierre grounded into a force play to end the inning and the Brewers struck quickly. Johnny Estrada singled with one out in the sixth and Mench turned on a pitch Wolf called “my one mistake.”

The Dodgers had shown life offensively in the early innings a day after being shut down on Ben Sheets’ two-hitter, but they went meekly after Mench’s blast. Three Brewers relievers sailed through the last three innings, giving up no hits and only one baserunner.

The loss was Wolf’s first since May 14, 2005, and ended a nine-game winning streak that was interrupted at five in June 2005 by elbow ligament replacement surgery. He appears healthy, winning the No. 2 berth in the starting rotation.

“I made a crucial mistake and it cost us the game,” he said. “I felt strong the whole game. It definitely wasn’t a matter of a lack of strength. For the most part, I felt good about how I threw.”

The first Brewers run came as a result of Estrada’s second-inning double on a fly ball that left fielder Luis Gonzalez couldn’t reach. Gonzalez was victimized again in the third when Bill Hall followed Prince Fielder’s home run with what appeared to be a routine single to left-center. Hall never stopped until he reached second, however, because Gonzalez waited for the ball and made a soft throw.

“I just have to get the ball and get it in,” said Gonzalez, 39. “I don’t have a cannon for an arm. I’m not 21 either, but I go out there and play hard.”

Younger Dodgers provided the best swings. Russell Martin came in six for nine against left-hander Chris Capuano and added a home run, double and single in the first five innings. Matt Kemp, playing right field instead of Andre Ethier, twice flied out to the warning track in the deepest part of center field.

Kemp went straight to the weight room after the game, joking that he needed “extra oomph.”

“The second one, I thought it was gone for sure,” he said. “But it wasn’t quite the outcome.”

Not for the Dodgers either, for whom certain questions seem destined to linger long after they break into the win column.

steve.henson@latimes.com