PEREZ MAKES CASE FOR REST PITCHER HAMMERED AGAIN IN LOSS TO S.D. SAN DIEGO 5, DODGERS 2.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

SAN DIEGO - Dodgers lefty Odalis Perez waffled about his need to get time off to clear his mind and invigorate his body, but his actions suggest otherwise.

Rest assured, when Dodgers manager Jim Tracy and pitching coach Jim Colborn sit down today to discuss the matter, rest is the likely prescription.

Perez was hit hard again, allowing eight hits and four runs in five innings and committing a colossal mental error that led to two runs as the Dodgers began a season-long 13-game road trip with a 5-2 loss to San Diego on Monday at Qualcomm Stadium.

The Dodgers' offense was again nowhere to be seen. They scored just one run despite having the leadoff batter reach base in each of the first seven inning. Not even a revamped lineup - Dave Hansen started at third for Adrian Beltre, Mike Kinkade gave Eric Karros a day of rest at first, Paul Lo Duca moved to the cleanup spot and Mark Grudzielanek batted second - helped. The offense remained abysmal. The Dodgers had 13 hits but left 11 runners on base. They are 2-10 since the All-Star break, scoring just 29 runs.

Of course, Padres left fielder Ron Gant did his part to keep the offense slumping. He threw Grudzielanek out at the plate to end the fifth inning and keep the Padres ahead 2-1, but that was only a warmup to the eighth.

San Diego led 5-2, but the Dodgers had two runners on and two outs. Dave Roberts lined a ball off reliever Steve Reed, but Gant made a diving catch along the left-field line. The catch also helped right-hander Brian Lawrence (9-5) improve to 3-1 with a 1.48 ERA against the Dodgers this season.

Trevor Hoffman pitched the ninth for his 24th save as the Dodgers lost for the 11th time in 13 games, dropping 2 1/2 games behind National League West Division leader Arizona.

However, equally as pressing as the offense is the plight of Perez. An All-Star earlier this month, Perez (10-7) has lost his last three starts and is 1-4 with a 7.31 ERA in his last five starts.

Tracy and Colborn hypothesized after Perez's last start that, already saddled with a career high in innings and starts, he was becoming mentally fatigued. With days off scheduled for Thursday and next Monday, it provides the Dodgers with a perfect opportunity to rest Perez.

The thought of Perez growing mentally tired showed in his five innings against the Padres as he made a pair of mental blunders, one of which cost the Dodgers two runs. He failed to back up third base on Mark Kotsay's leadoff triple in the first inning.

The more disastrous one came in the fifth when the Padres extended a 2-1 lead to 4-1 when Perez failed to cover first base on Ron Gant's two-out high chopper to Kinkade. A routine out turned into an infield single and allowed Phil Nevin to score from third. It also extended the inning, and two batters later Deivi Cruz singled in Gant with an infield single behind second.

``We are keeping in mind that Odalis Perez has pitched more innings at this point, with still over two months left in the season, than he's ever pitched in his career,'' Tracy said. ``We'll keep that in mind as we go ahead and make some decisions. We'll see how the situation lays itself out.''

After throwing his second one-hitter of the season June 25 against Colorado, Perez was 9-3 with a 2.09 ERA. He had pitched at least six innings in 15 of 17 starts, but Perez has pitched six innings only once in his last four starts.