Loss reveals Dodgers' big issue: Rotation, rotation, rotation

MILWAUKEE — On the tentative schedule laying out the Dodgers' rotation after the All-Star break, Randy Wolf is penciled in for the first game and Chad Billingsley the second.

For the fifth game, there isn't a name but a number: 5.

"It certainly is an issue at this point in time," Manager Joe Torre said.

Why that is was evident Saturday night, when Jeff Weaver lasted only 3 1/3 innings in a 6-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park that cut the Dodgers' lead over San Francisco in the NL West to six games.

Weaver ventured out of the bullpen on this evening to take the place of fifth starter Eric Milton, who could be headed for season-ending surgery to repair a herniated disk.

The Dodgers fell behind immediately, as Craig Counsell tripled to right in the first inning. He scored when Ryan Braun hit a grounder to short, where Rafael Furcal fielded it and threw home, the ball arriving well ahead of Counsell -- only for it to go through the legs of catcher Russell Martin. Braun, who reached second on the error charged to Furcal, was driven in on a single by Prince Fielder to increase the Dodgers' deficit to 2-0.

The margin doubled in the fourth, which Frank Catalanotto led off with a home run to right.

Weaver threw 74 pitches and was charged with four runs (two earned) and six hits. A bullpen overburdened by the inability of the starters to pitch deep into games -- staff ace Billingsley has pitched seven or more innings in only three of his last eight starts and Wolf in none of his last eight -- was burdened even more.

A two-run home run by Furcal and a solo shot by Andre Ethier in the fifth closed the gap to 4-3, but the Dodgers didn't get any closer than that.

The subject of what the Dodgers might do to replace Milton on a permanent basis dominated the postgame conversations.

Milton was already on the disabled list with what some suspected might be a phantom injury designed to create a roster spot when he went out for a run in the outfield at Citi Field in New York on Thursday and came down with a real back problem. He underwent an MRI exam the next day, which revealed the herniated disk.

The 33-year-old left-hander, who missed the previous two seasons recovering from an elbow operation, is to be examined in Los Angeles on Monday. Whether Dr. Robert Watkins recommends rest or surgery, Milton isn't expected back any time soon.