[0] DODGERS FIND ZERO ANSWERS OFFENSE FAILS; GIANTS SWEEP S.F. 3, DODGERS 0.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

The Dodgers' 3-0 loss to the rival San Francisco Giants on Thursday wasn't the embarrassment of the first two days of the season. It lacked Barry Bonds' personal game of home run derby, and the pitching staff didn't get battered as if they were throwing a round of batting practice.

Yet the loss might have been more disturbing, as the Dodgers tripped and clopped over themselves and wasted a strong debut by left-hander Odalis Perez.

It's only three games, but problems run deep for the offensively challenged Dodgers. A lineup that was said to be deeper and more versatile than the station-to-station version of the past two years watched its scoreless streak reach 24 innings.

After registering just three hits off Giants starter Ryan Jensen - making his eighth major-league start and pitching a career-high seven innings - and having none after the fifth inning, the Dodgers have 12 hits this season.

The Giants swept a three-game series from the Dodgers for the first time since 1991. It also was San Francisco's first three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium since Sept. 24-26, 1982.

The Dodgers are 0-3 for the first time since they began 1998 with four losses. They lost five in a row to begin a season three times since moving to Los Angeles.

The moral-victory aspect is that Bonds didn't add to his four-homer, nine-RBI total of the Giants' first two wins in the series, in which the Dodgers were outscored 21-2.

Bonds went 1 for 2 with a walk and was hit by an Perez pitch in the Giants' three-run sixth inning. Bonds finished the series 6 of 8 with three walks and six runs scored.

Before the game, Dodgers manager Jim Tracy talked about the struggles of his revamped lineup, which has unproven Dave Roberts and Cesar Izturis at the top in an effort to use their speed and base-running savvy. Veterans Eric Karros and Mark Grudzielanek are batting at the bottom of the order.

``We'll come out here and hopefully have a baseball game unfold in front of us where we can utilize those couple of guys at the top of the order the way we wanted to, pretty much get an idea what do we need to do with the lineup,'' Tracy said. ``Is it going to work the way that it is? We don't have any idea of that. You don't have much of an opportunity to do much managerial-wise other than for the first couple of inning on opening day. But other than that, I've sat there and watched it just like you guys have.''

On Thursday, an offense the Dodgers admit must do the little things to survive has killed itself.

In the second inning, Shawn Green was stranded at second base after a leadoff double. A leadoff single by Mark Grudzielanek in the third resulted in a botched baserunning scenario that ended with a perplexing double play but no runs scored.

With two on and none out, Roberts bunted to move the runners up rather than play for a big inning. Izturis grounded to Jensen, and Grudzielanek was caught in a rundown between third and home. After Grudzielanek was tagged out, catcher Yorvit Torrealba threw to David Bell to catch Izturis going to second and end the inning.

The Dodgers also wasted a leadoff single from Adrian Beltre in the fifth and a leadoff walk by Jeff Reboulet in the sixth. Neither advanced past first.

While the Giants' onslaught the first two games came early - they outscored the Dodgers 8-1 in the first two innings of each game - it took time before they got to Perez, who was making his Dodgers debut.

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Odalis Perez pitched well in his Dodgers' debut, but he didn't get any support.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer