FIVE SPOT NO ACE IN THE HOLE DODGERS STARTER SEO STRUGGLES, GIVES UP SIX RUNS WASHINGTON 10, DODGER 4.

Byline: TONY JACKSON Staff Writer

WASHINGTON -- Casually conversing with a couple of writers an hour or so before Jae Seo was to take the mound against Washington on Sunday, Dodgers manager Grady Little idly remarked that it didn't seem like five full days had passed since the right-hander had last pitched.

Unwittingly, Little was expressing an emotion common to every major- league manager: That fifth starter's spot comes up way too often.

In a sobering reminder that Seo is still a hit-or-miss, back- of-the-rotation guy who relies entirely on finesse, the right-hander showed no resemblance to the man who had given the Dodgers back- to-back masterpieces in his two previous starts. Instead, he left too many pitches over the middle of the plate and watched too many pitches carom off the outfield wall or land on the other side of it.

As a result, he was trudging his way to the clubhouse by the third inning, and the Dodgers were trudging their way to a 10-4 loss to the Nationals in front of 30,348fans at RFK Stadium.

That and an adequate, 2 1/3-inning relief effort by maligned former starter Odalis Perez left Little with a heavy decision to make sometime in the next four days. That hair-raising fifth spot is due to come up again Friday against Philadelphia.

``If there are any changes to be made, they will be to make us better, whatever they may be,'' Little said. ``If we need to do something to make ourselves better, we will.''

Little didn't mention Perez by name, but it was clear to whom he was referring. Perez, who to his credit has largely held his tongue since his banishment to the bullpen earlier this month, can sense his chance to re- enter the rotation might be at hand.

``I don't want to be in the bullpen all year long,'' said Perez, who allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits. ``I am a starter. Why be out there pitching one or two innings? That's not what I want. I want to start and get my 200innings and make 32 of my 35 starts.''

And if it takes a trade to another club for that to happen, Perez is OK with that.

Matt Kemp, who was recalled from Double-A Jacksonville earlier in the day, struck out in each of his first three at-bats against a dominating Ramon Ortiz but singled off Jon Rauch in his fourth at-bat for his first major-league hit.

Seo battled for two innings, but the wheels came off in the third. The Nationals scored five runs on six hits and seemed to be locked on to everything he threw.

``Starting pitching dictates the game,'' Little said. ``Theirs was good, and ours wasn't as good. That's the way the game turned out.''

Seo (2-3) had allowed a total of one earned run over his previous two starts and seemed to have solidified his once-tenuous place in the rotation. But as with most clubs, the fifth spot tends to be fluid and unforgiving.

This time, Seo struggled. And the amount of leeway Little affords him will become clear in the coming days.

``That third inning, I had problems controlling the ball,'' said Seo, speaking through an interpreter. ``It seemed like a lot of those balls were concentrated over the middle of the plate. I tried to keep the ball low, but I couldn't control it much, and the pitches were a little bit higher than I expected.''

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Right-hander Jae Seo, who was coming off two strong outings, struggles Sunday against the Washington Nationals.

Nick Wass/Associated Press