DODGERS AT LOSS WITH BAT, GLOVE BELTRE'S ERROR CAPS ANOTHER FRUITLESS DAY MILWAUKEE 2, DODGERS 1.

Byline: Tony Jackson  Staff Writer

MILWAUKEE - Granted, Adrian Beltre should have held the ball. Granted, the bunt by Milwaukee's Keith Ginter had been so perfectly placed that Beltre had practically no chance of throwing him out at first base.

But the fact the Dodgers third baseman chose to throw it anyway, resulting in the ball hitting Ginter in the back and rolling away as Geoff Jenkins (USC) scored the winning run from second base in the bottom of the 12th inning, wasn't the reason the Dodgers lost yet again, this time 2-1 to the Milwaukee Brewers in front of 14,084 at Miller Park on Wednesday night.

The reason the Dodgers lost this one was the same reason they now have lost 10 of their past 12 games, scoring a total of 20 runs in those losses.

The Dodgers blew a prime scoring opportunity in the first inning when, with runners on first and third and one out, Milton Bradley got picked off first base. They blew another big chance in the seventh when, with runners on second and third and one out, Cesar Izturis hit a soft, looping liner to a drawn-in infield. Alex Cora, who had just been inserted as a pinch runner, was easily doubled off third.

After that, the Dodgers didn't blow any more potential big innings. Because, after that they didn't get another hit. In fact, after Shawn Green's leadoff walk in the eighth was erased when Bradley grounded into a double play, the Dodgers didn't have another baserunner. Their final 14 batters went quietly, against a ragtag quintet of Milwaukee relievers that included the likes of John Bennett, Brooks Kieschnick and Matt Kinney (2-3).

The Dodgers are expecting left fielder and leadoff man Dave Roberts back soon, possibly as early as Friday, after a three-week absence with a strained right hamstring. Even that won't be soon enough. The club didn't hit the skids until a week after Roberts went down, but the offense showed the strain of his absence almost immediately.

From there, it went into a gradual decline. Now, it is in the midst of a freefall.

``It would be nice not to have to think him being out is to blame for this,'' Dodgers veteran Robin Ventura said. ``(But) it's definitely different not having him.''

The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead on Juan Encarnacion's one-out homer in the second inning, giving left-hander Odalis Perez one more run to work with than the Dodgers had scored in either of his two previous starts. But with one out in the sixth, Perez gave up a game-tying, pinch-hit, solo shot to longtime Angels prospect Trent Durrington, who had been hitless in 12 previous pinch-hit at-bats this season.

This time, Perez couldn't take the lack of support personally. Four relievers followed Perez, not one of whom gave up an earned run. But the Dodgers couldn't score for them, either, and Beltre's throwing error stuck Duaner Sanchez (1-1) with the check.

Dodgers manager Jim Tracy, while reciting his usual monologue about well-hit balls that just didn't fall right for his team, was noncommittal on whether he thinks Roberts' return will rejuvenate the offense.

``Obviously, the one thing David Roberts really does for this ballclub with his ability to run is he creates situational at-bats for people,'' Tracy said. ``That's a different at-bat than going up there and knowing in the back of your mind that it will take a base hit to score a run. How that turns out remains to be seen when we get David back.''

For the eighth consecutive day, the Dodgers (24-20) held onto a share of first place in the National League West after San Diego lost at Colorado.

Tony Jackson, [phone]

tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(color) Milwaukee's Geoff Jenkins crosses the plate in the 12th inning, scoring from second base on Adrian Beltre's throwing error.

Morry Gash/Associated Press

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