DENVER -- One week on the road, and if the wheels didn't exactly fly off the Dodgers' postseason express, they're wobbling some.

When a ninth-inning rally fizzled in Sunday's 9-6 loss, Los Angeles still had a share of first place, but also had pulled victorious Colorado into a four-team race in the National League West, 3 1/2 games separating the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Padres and Rockies.

This 2-4 trip included two starting pitchers (Derek Lowe and Brad Penny) leaving games with injuries and a third (Randy Wolf) shut down indefinitely while trying to return from one. Jeff Kent strained a left hamstring muscle beating out Troy Tulowitzki's throw in the ninth inning for his fourth hit of the day, which was wasted, along with Russell Martin's three extra-base hits and Nomar Garciaparra's two RBIs.

Kent, who is hitting .500 during a 12-game hitting streak, said the injury occurred as he was heading down the first-base line and not on his head-first dive into the bag. He will be examined Monday.

Chad Billingsley (7-1) suffered his first loss of the year on his 23rd birthday, lasting less than half as long (4 1/3 innings) as he did in his previous start, a complete game. He allowed two homers and four runs making a tiring 114 pitches, while the bullpen did worse, charged with five runs.

And now the circus comes to town. Barry Bonds is gunning for Henry Aaron, and since he couldn't break the home run record at home, could any place be sweeter for a Giant than Dodger Stadium?

"I definitely don't want to be on SportsCenter for the next 20 years for that reason," said Martin, who returned from a day off.

The whole team gets a scheduled rest Monday. Some players flew to their winter homes, Lowe and coach Manny Mota will hold fundraisers and management will continue working the phones looking for pitching help.

Sunday's game was another example of why. Dodgers pitchers issued seven walks, and at Coors Field, that's a recipe for disaster. Three of those walks scored, which was the margin of defeat. The Rockies also stole five bases, three of them leading to runs, but manager Grady Little blamed his pitchers for slow deliveries to the plate.

He stopped short of dumping too much blame on Billingsley, and that birthday has a lot to do with it. Little knows only so much can be expected of a young pitcher in a pennant race, and something that can't be expected is consistency.

"We understood it last year and we understand it this year too, and you might as well get ready, because this is what happens with a young starting pitcher out there," Little said. "He's been good and it's been a long time since he's taken a loss."

Billingsley said he was mislocating pitches and not by much, although the two-run homer he allowed to Matt Holliday was exactly where that slugger likes it.

"I didn't feel I had bad stuff," Billingsley said. "They really battled me. A lot of pitches were around the plate and they could have gone either way, but didn't go in my favor. It was a frustrating day."

Martin said Billingsley lacked the command of his fastball he showed in recent starts. Martin, however, came out swinging after a 48-hour break thanks to a rainout and a day off.

"I think we saw a fresher body with him at the plate," said Little.

Martin, the All-Star catcher who had been slowed by a stiff back, agreed.

"My body felt better," Martin said. "I had a better swing and it was easier to concentrate. I was having a hard time keeping my focus."

He's pretty sure that won't be a problem this week with Bonds in town.

"I'm sure it'll add fuel to the fire," he said of Bonds' imminent record. "I'm sure the fans will be happy when we get him out and the fans will be mad if he hits a home run. It will add intensity to the series. He's one of the greatest hitters to ever play. We know how to get him out, but we have to execute."

Although the division has tightened, Martin said there is no crisis.

"I like our team right now," he said. "We just have to play a little better baseball. We have to play together as a team, just do the little things right and play fundamental baseball. We have the capability of getting to the postseason. There's no panic button close by."

Little echoed Martin's advice about the team concept. The offense relied on Kent (13-for-20), Andre Ethier (6-for-16) and Garciaparra (8-for-21) on the trip, and Billingsley's complete game was the only quality start.

"It's a total team effort," said Little. "When we win, everyone prospers. When we lose, everyone suffers. Everyone's got to be ready to play every day and to pitch every day. Two players had seven of our nine hits going into the ninth inning. Everyone has to contribute regularly."