NO JOKE: DODGERS' BATS COLD AT COORS L.A. SCORELESS IN 16 OF 18 INNINGS AFTER LOSS TO COLORADO COLORADO 6, DODGERS 4.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

DENVER - It might be time to harbor serious concerns about the Dodgers offense, because not even Coors Field is helping.

A ballpark renowned for football scores played host to another traditional baseball score Tuesday. Again the Dodgers could muster only an inning's worth of offense, but this time it was not enough.

Four runs in the fourth inning didn't do it for the Dodgers, who lost to slumping Colorado 6-4 on a chilly night. The Rockies ended a losing streak at five games.

A Rockies pitching staff that usually ranks among the worst in the league has held the Dodgers scoreless in 16 of the 18 innings of the series.

The Dodgers, who scored five runs in the first inning Monday, haven't scored more than five runs in any of the first eight games of their current road trip. They are 4-4 heading into the finale today.

``We're definitely not manufacturing anything,'' Dodgers second baseman Mark Grudzielanek said. ``What do you do? We've had a few big innings, but there's no question you have to put together a few more hits and try to scrape a few more runs across. We have to get runners on and put pressure on the defense. If we only do that one inning, we're not going to have a chance to win a whole lot of games like that.''

The new participants from a juggled lineup - done, in part, because of Brian Jordan's sore knee and Dave Roberts' .211 batting average from the leadoff spot - did their part, but it wasn't enough.

Hiram Bocachica made his fourth career start in left field and hit his second homer of the season to jump-start the fourth inning. Paul Lo Duca added his first home run and Marquis Grissom, playing in place of Roberts, capped the inning with two-run homer. It was the first time the Dodgers hit three homers in a game this season.

It also gave Dodgers starter Andy Ashby (1-1) a 4-2 lead, but that's rarely enough to win in a place where baseballs usually leave quicker than fans.

``I don't know. It's tough,'' Bocachica said. ``We didn't score enough runs. Personally, I feel pretty good, but we didn't score. We should have scored more than four runs, but it didn't happen. We tried. I guess we tried too hard.''

The Dodgers have scored in just two of their past 31 innings, thanks largely to a continued lackluster performance with runners in scoring position. They went 0 for 5 Tuesday to drop their season average to .231.

Bocachica was 0 for 2 with runners in scoring position and Grissom, Shawn Green and Adrian Beltre each were 0 for 1.

``We could have taken a very solid road trip that we have right now and turned it into a great one if we could just come up with a base hit in a couple of the run-producing situations,'' Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said. ``We're a base hit away in about three of the ballgames we've played. You can't be disappointed about it. You just know those are going to come your way also.''

After single runs in the first two innings, Ashby was able to shut down the Rockies until the sixth.

However, Todd Helton began the sixth with a single and by the time Paul Quantrill relieved, the Rockies had three more runs on five consecutive hits. Greg Norton had an RBI double, former Dodger Todd Hollandsworth singled in the tying run and Gary Bennett singled to score Hollandsworth.

Quantrill, who had his first scoreless outing in five appearances, relieved and got pinch hitter Terry Shumpert to ground into a double play, though Jose Ortiz scored on the fielder's choice to give the Rockies a 6-4 lead.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(color) Todd Zeile hits into a double play during the first inning of Colorado's victory over the Dodgers.

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press