(My Sportsbook) - Just last week the Dodgers were on another long winning streak. This time it was eight games and again it was due to the pitching staff's ability to shut down any offense. But in the last streak, the offense's inability to score runs caught up to the Dodgers, causing them to lose eight of their next 12 games. So here we are again, the Dodgers, fresh off a long winning streak, have now lost four of seven and are try desperately to make something of their offense.

Scoring runs in Los Angeles is easier said then done, especially with Fred McGriff is on the DL for the first time in his 18 year career and Brian Jordan's see-saw action on the DL (this time it is a sore left leg). The biggest concern of all is the slump All-Star outfielder Shawn Green has sunk into this season. Green is batting just .183 this month with only 13 RBI.

"I don't feel pressure of everybody waiting on me," Green told the Los Angeles Daily News. "I just get frustrated having it not click. I know honestly it doesn't take much for it to all click and change completely, and that's frustrating trying to get that. It's not a matter of pressure to get it done."

The only player in this Dodger lineup that has hit on a consistent basis all season has been catcher Paul Lo Duca. Lo Duca has posted a career high 25-game hitting streak this season and is seventh in the NL in batting average at .324. After Lo Duca there is no one the Dodgers can trust for a clutch hit.

Also struggling offensively for the Dodgers this season is Adrian Beltre. Beltre has never been known for his offensive explosions, but he is a career .261 hitter and last season posted a career-high 21 home runs and also knocked in 75 RBI. Well, the Dodger's third baseman has pulled a complete 180 this season, batting just .213 with eight round trippers and 28 RBI.

The ineptness of the Dodgers lineup has led to general manager Dan Evans scouring the league for deals, looking for that prominent hitter. The first two that come to mind are Royals outfielder Carlos Beltran and Marlins third baseman Mike Lowell. However, will those players fit in LA?

"If you bring in one guy, but five or six other guys on this club can't get themselves going for an entire season, what are you suggesting?" Dodgers manager Jim Tracy told the LA Daily News. "That one guy will come in and shoulder the burden and pick the whole team up and carry you across the finish line. It doesn't work that way. You don't become a champion that way."

The Dodgers have the ability to go deep into the postseason if their offense can hit on a more consistent basis. As of now the Dodgers are averaging 3.6 runs a game, that is not going to win you a championship, so either the lineup needs to improve quickly, or you could see some major changes made to that offense by the trading deadline.

WHO'S HOT

Starting pitcher Hideo Nomo is 3-0 in his last four outings and has allowed only three earned runs in 28 1/3 innings.

Kazuhisa Ishii is also 3-0 in his last four outings and has allowed only five earned runs in his last 25 2/3 innings.

WHO'S NOT

Odalis Perez is 0-4 in his last six outings, allowing 26 runs in 34 innings of work.

COMING UP:

The Dodgers will open up a three-game set at Edison Field tonight against the Angels. After this road series the Dodgers will travel back to LA to host a three-game set with the San Diego Padres.