NOT EVEN PADRES CAN CURE DODGERS SAN DIEGO 4, DODGERS 1.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

The Dodgers say there is nothing they can do but ride out the storm, believing wholeheartedly their fortune will turn at some point.

However, just how much havoc will this storm wreak, and will the damage it causes be insurmountable?

On ``Shawn Green Bobblehead Night'' there was plenty of head shaking, mostly in disbelief and out of frustration as the Dodgers again were beaten, falling 4-1 to San Diego in front of a sellout crowd of 53,662 Thursday at Dodger Stadium.

The Padres swept the two-game series, marking the first time since April 24-26 they won back-to-back games on the same road trip. San Diego (39-56) has the second-worst record in the National League.

Not even manager Jim Tracy's tinkering could help a Dodgers lineup that has scored 17 runs in its past eight games. But they did end their scoreless streak at 21 innings in the eighth with Dave Roberts' RBI ground out.

The Dodgers (55-41) matched their season-long losing streak of four, which was established six days ago. They have lost eight of nine, and seven of eight since the All-Star break.

The saving grace was that National League West leader Arizona lost to Colorado, leaving the Dodgers 1 1/2 games behind the Diamondbacks. Third-place San Francisco, which trails the Dodgers by one-half game, also lost but begins a three-game series tonight at Chavez Ravine.

``We had three pretty bad days to start the season,'' Tracy said. ``I believe we had consecutive two-hit shutouts pitched against us in another segment (May 14-15 against the Mets), all of which were in the process of winning 54 of our first 88 games. So this is not unfamiliar to us, and we've been pretty damn good about understanding what's going on, figuring it out, and getting the ball rolling in the right direction again. That's all part of becoming a champion.''

A night after Brian Lawrence allowed only four hits, Padres teammate Brett Tomko (5-6) nearly matched him with eight breezy innings. He allowed five hits, walked one and struck out two, which actually is an improvement for the Dodgers from the last time they faced Tomko. On April 21, he struck out 13 and allowed two hits in seven shutout innings.

Dodgers starter Andy Ashby (7-8) lost his second consecutive start and remains winless in his last four. He was aided by some dazzling defensive plays from left fielder Brian Jordan, shortstop Cesar Izturis and second baseman Mark Grudzielanek but yielded 10 hits and four runs in six-plus innings.

Tracy moved Izturis from eighth to second in the lineup so Paul Lo Duca and Shawn Green could be in more run-producing situations, but it didn't work. The switch-hitting Izturis, who batted left-handed against Tomko, went 0 for 3 with three ground outs to second. He is batting .200 left-handed, .103 points lower than his average right-handed, and his .256 on-base percentage is the lowest among National League regulars.

Green went 0 for 3 with a walk.

Ashby worked on his mechanics with pitching coach Jim Colborn after allowing six runs on eight hits in his last start, but he didn't get the results he wanted.

Padres center fielder Mark Kotsay homered with two outs in the third to give the Padres a 1-0 lead, and Phil Nevin made it 2-0 with his second homer in two nights in the fourth.

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(color) Dodgers catcher Paul Lo Duca went 0 for 4 Thursday vs. San Diego.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer