LITTLE THINGS MEAN A LOSS DODGERS FAIL TO EXECUTE THE BASICS IN BLOWOUT ST. LOUIS 9, DODGERS 2.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

The Dodgers vaulted to the top of the National League West with strong fundamental play and an emphasis on doing the little things. That means situational hitting, taking extra bases and not giving up additional outs or giving away at-bats.

Since the All-Star break, the Dodgers have failed miserably in this regard and manager Jim Tracy has seen enough.

Following their 9-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium - which knocked the Dodgers from first place - Tracy held a closed-door meeting with his players to be sure they don't lose sight of what put them atop the division.

``Tracy said it was the little things,'' Dodgers center fielder Dave Roberts said. ``Everybody knows we're not good enough to just go out there and win if we don't execute the little things. We faced a first-place ballclub in St. Louis, and Arizona before that, and they're going to take advantage of it.''

From the moment Tracy was named manager Nov. 1, 2000, he preached the importance of doing the little things. He talks about it daily with the media and stresses it with his players.

He declined to elaborate on the meeting, saying only that after watching his club bumble through the first six games after the All-Star break, he decided it was time to get his ``attention to detail'' message across again.

The spiraling Dodgers have lost six of seven, their worst stretch of the season, and are 1-5 since the break. They trail Arizona by a game in the NL West, a position they earned by playing sloppy, uninspired baseball.

The Dodgers committed a season-high three errors in a loss to Arizona on Thursday, but their problems didn't end there. Since the break ended, they've failed to advance runners with productive outs, have had poor at-bats and have been lethargic.

``(Tracy) said it was basically up to us,'' Dodgers first baseman Eric Karros said. ``We have to play well and just don't let the little things hurt us. That's what's gone on the last six games. We've had some really bad at-bats.''

After a weekend of miscues and missed calls from umpires in losing three of four to Arizona, failed execution on back-to-back days enabled St. Louis to sweep a two-game series. It was the first time the Dodgers were swept since dropping the first three games of the season to San Francisco.

Roberts failed to get a bunt down with the tying run on first and none out in the ninth inning in Monday's loss. Less than 24 hours later, right- hander Hideo Nomo threw the Dodgers right out of Tuesday's game.

With the scored tied 2-2 and two runners on in the seventh, Nomo fielded a sacrifice bunt and threw widely to third base. The ball went down the left-field line and two runs scored. Placido Polanco added an RBI double into the right-field corner to give the Cardinals a 5-2 lead.

The Cardinals added four runs in the eighth off reliever Guillermo Mota as the Dodgers yielded their most runs since an 11-2 loss June 11 at Tampa Bay.

``I think we were just kind of going through the motions and taking things for granted and with being in first place, expecting things to fall in your lap,'' Dodgers second baseman Mark Grudzielanek said. ``(Tracy) said if they're going to beat us, let them beat us. But we haven't been doing that the last couple of days. We've been beating ourselves.''

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Photo:

(color) Dodgers starter Hideo Nomo, who made a key throwing error in the seventh inning, allowed five runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer