By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com

And when St. Louis put up a five-spot in the third inning to take a 6-0 lead there was no coming back. The Dodgers have now lost seven postseason games in a row since winning Game 5 of the 1988 World Series to defeat Oakland for their last of six championships.

But matters could be worse. "It was just one game," manager Jim Tracy said. "The one game boiled to that one inning. Otherwise, I think we have a lot of good things to take into Game 2."

Vitals check
A look at key statistics through Game 1 of the NLDS.

Team stats

Digits		Trend	The Deal
ERA	9.00		at least Odalis Perez is not starting Game 2
BA	.257		team hasn't really been hitting for days
BA w/ RISP	.333		only had three shots at it, knocked in one
Runs	3		need to score more and give up less to defeat Cards
Errors	1		take note Little Leaguers -- Perez botches pick-off pickle

Who's hot?

Player	Digits	Trend	The Deal
Adrian Beltre	.500 BA, 2-for-4, 1 R		played like a potential MVP should
Milton Bradley	.333, 1-for-3, BB		comes off suspension like nobody's business

Who's not?

Player	Digits	Trend	The Deal
Perez	20.25 ERA (2 2/3 IP, 6 R), 5 H, 3 HR		has until Sunday's start to think about it

Behind the numbers
The Dodgers have lost three of their last four since the Giants came to Los Angeles on Friday. The Giants played 26 perfect innings in three games but melted down in the ninth inning on Saturday, costing themselves a shot at the playoffs. Dodgers haven't recovered since the celebration, losing the season finale, 10-0.

Frozen moment
No key moment, but when you give up four homers in the first 17 batters you face, you know it's going to be a tough afternoon. Perez last seen getting treated for whiplash from craning his neck so quickly, so often.

Second guess
Dodgers manager Jim Tracy should have had Perez out of the game earlier in the third inning after Walker sent a one-out homer almost back to Denver. A two-run double by Edgar Renteria and a two-run homer by Jim Edmonds later, the game was over.

Homers, so many homers
The Padres' late Eric Show knew the feeling. He allowed the first three of the five homers the Cubs hit in a Game 1, 13-0 drubbing of San Diego at Wrigley Field to open the 1984 NL Championship Series. The Cards tied that NL postseason playoff record with their five homers off Dodgers pitchers Tuesday, the first three off Perez.

What me, worry?
The Padres came back from a 2-0 deficit against the Cubbies to win the last three games in San Diego and capture their first NL pennant. The Cubs hit only four more homers in the series, the last of the five-game LCS format.

Last word
"Odalis just didn't have it today. Let's hope [Jeff] Weaver can come back on Thursday and be like Weaver can be."
-- Bradley

Barry M. Bloom is a national reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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