[0] DODGERS FINDING MANY WAYS TO LOSE : SAN DIEGO 6, DODGERS 2.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

It's reached the level where you can reach into your bag and pull out a reason du jour as to why the Dodgers lost.

Dismal starting pitching, a lack of clutch hitting or the inability to manufacture runs come to mind. But those ideas are running stale.

Here's a new one: The Dodgers lack the ability to shut down their opponents after scoring themselves. That's what happened in the fifth inning of a 6-2 loss to the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.

A night after being shutdown by lefty Sterling Hitchcock, San Diego right-hander Woody Williams (3-5) silenced the Dodgers on five hits in eight-plus innings.

Trevor Hoffman earned his 17th save after entering the game with runners on first and second with none out in the ninth. He didn't allow a run. The Padres have won five in a row while the Dodgers followed their two-game winning streak with a pair of losses and counting.

And while the Dodgers (32-37) talked about being a few games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks in the loss column a few weeks ago, the Padres (30-38) can talk about being a game behind the Dodgers in the loss column in the race to climb out of the N.L. West cellar. If the Padres complete the three-game sweep tonight they will be tied in losses.

The ever-pressing Dodgers provided a quasi-early lead thanks to a solo homer by Gary Sheffield and an RBI single from Jose Vizcaino in the bottom of the fourth inning.

It lasted two outs.

Dodgers starter Ismael Valdes (5-7) breezed through the first four innings, but as soon as he had some breathing room the Padres knocked the breath out of him and the Dodgers.

Valdes initiated the problem by walking No. 8 hitter Damian Jackson with one out and walked leadoff hitter Quilvio Veras with two outs.

Eric Owens, starting again in the place of the injured Tony Gwynn, then hit Valdes next pitch for a homer to left to give the Padres a 3-2 lead.

Three pitches later Reggie Sanders homered to left to give the Padres a 4-2 lead. They were the 18th and 19th homers Valdes allowed this season as he and Chan Ho Park continue to battle for the dubious distinction of allowing the most homers on the staff. Valdes leads by two.

Valdes hasn't been blessed with great run support lately. He's done just enough to lose while pitching moderately well. His last win came May 27, which pushed his record to 5-2.

But Valdes has lost a career-high five consecutive games. It's come in five starts in which he has allowed four earned runs just once, which happened to be this night. During that span he's allowed two earned runs twice and three earned runs on a pair of occasions. In his last five starts Valdes' ERA is 3.63.

Until Todd Hollandsworth and Karros led off the ninth with singles, the only hits the Dodgers got off Williams came in the fourth inning.

Sheffield led off the fourth with his 15th homer of the season. Hollandsworth struck out and Eric Karros hit a nubber in front of the plate and was thrown out before Devon White doubled to right-center. Vizcaino then blooped a single to center to score White and give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.

Williams, who entered with a three-game losing streak and hadn't won since May 21, retired 13 of the next 14 batters. Adrian Beltre was the only Dodger to reach base, and he got there after being plunked with a pitch with two outs in the fifth.

It becomes more amazing on a daily basis just how much the Dodgers can mess things up. After leadoff singles and a pair of stolen bases put runners on second and third with one out in the eighth, reliever Jamie Arnold fielded Ruben Rivera's comebacker.

Arnold had any easy throw to home to nab Sanders, but he stumbled with his footing and threw a one-hopper that went through catcher Angel Pena's legs. It allowed two runs to score and gave the Padres a 6-2 lead.

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PHOTO San Diego's Damian Jackson steals second as Jose Vizcaino takes the late throw.

David Crane/Daily News