How long can the Dodgers talk the good talk? Put up the brave front, remind themselves it’s a long season?

It must feel miserably long right now, the Dodgers not having led a game in their last 61 consecutive innings.

They did Saturday what they’ve done a lot of lately — lose — this time falling, 5-0, to the Mets, as left-hander Johan Santana gave up only three hits in throwing eight scoreless innings.

It was the Dodgers’ season-high seventh consecutive loss, leaving them with their longest losing streak since 2008. Worse, it was their 11th loss in the last 12 games.


That’s not just plummeting, that’s out of the plane without a parachute. That’s screaming without a sound coming out.

The Dodgers were shut out for the second consecutive game and a stunning fifth time in their last six games. They have scored in one of their last 57 innings. They haven’t hit one home run in seven games.

Carlos Lee is supposed to turn this around? Babe Ruth couldn’t turn it around. The Dodgers are just trying to make it to the July 10 All-Star break, but nothing seems assured right now.

The thing giving them a glimmer of hope is, with the Giants also losing Saturday, the Dodgers remain only one game back in the National League West. That’s the end of the good stats.


The injured could begin returning next week, Andre Ethier and Mark Ellis on the mend, and Matt Kemp hoping to return to the game after the All-Star break.

The Dodgers are just trying to hang on until then, but doing a miserable job of it. In a nationally televised game Saturday, they went weakly against Santana. The left-hander, who threw a no-hitter against the Cardinals on June 1, gave up a clean leadoff single to Dee Gordon in the first and did not give up another until Scott Van Slyke singled to open the bottom of the eighth.

Tony Gwynn Jr. followed one out later with a base hit, but Adam Kennedy and Gordon bounced out, and there went the closest thing the Dodgers had to a rally in days.

The Mets scored solo runs against Nathan Eovaldi in the second and fifth, and then put it out of reach on Ike Davis’ three-run homer in the sixth. Eovaldi fell to 0-5, though the Dodgers have now scored only three runs while he was in the game in his seven starts.


RELATED:

New owners have not been approached by NFL about Dodger Stadium

Matt Kemp expects to return to the Dodgers on July 13

Carlos Lee considering trade to Dodgers