No Brave Front for Dodgers, 6-2 : Baseball: They fall 7 1/2 back of Reds with 26 games to play as Atlanta homers four times off Morgan.

The Dodgers engaged in the traditional September activity of scoreboard watching Wednesday. But it had no relation to the Cincinnati Reds or winning a pennant.

They were looking at the Dodger Stadium outfield scoreboards because it was in that direction that baseballs hit by the Atlanta Braves were flying.

Four Braves hit home runs during the first four innings against Dodger pitcher Mike Morgan, giving Atlanta a 6-2 victory before 27,148.

It was the Dodgers’ third consecutive home loss, their fifth loss in six games overall. And it dropped them to 7 1/2 games behind the National League West-leading Reds, who defeated San Francisco 5-3.

With a comeback in the final 26 games nearly impossible, the players’ feelings are becoming as raw as their play.

“It seems like we are just out there,” said Lenny Harris, who had a five-game hitting streak broken. “We have to go out there and play hard and bust our butts . . . and there are some guys not doing that now.

“If they come to the park like this, they might as well not dress.”

Harris added: “The veterans have to come in here and pick up the young guys. Eddie (Murray) is a leader, he’s trying to keep us in there.”

About the booing the Dodgers received Wednesday, Harris said they deserved it.

“We’re dead, we let them down, I don’t blame them,” he said. “They came to see great baseball and we’ve played terrible.”

If the Reds go 14-13 in their final 27 games, the Dodgers must win 21 of their final 26 games to tie. This means they need to sweep the Reds this weekend when they come to Dodger Stadium for a three-game series.

The best thing that can be said about Wednesday’s game is that the Dodgers didn’t have to worry about blowing a 7-0 lead as they did to Houston in Tuesday’s 10-8 loss.

No, Wednesday’s game was over in the time it took the Dodgers to twist their necks and look toward the seats.

Oddibe McDowell hit Morgan’s sixth pitch into the right-field stands for his seventh homer. Three batters later, Dave Justice hit Morgan’s first pitch into the same area for his 23rd homer.

With two out in the third, Ron Gant hit his 27th homer into the left-field seats. Morgan retired just one more Brave hitter, ending the inning, before giving up Jeff Blauser’s sixth home run leading off the fourth.

It was the most home runs allowed by a Dodger pitcher since Sept. 2, 1988, when Tim Leary allowed four to the Mets in New York. It was more than one-third as many homers as Morgan had allowed in 182 2/3 previous innings this season, 11.

This came after a pregame speech by Manager Tom Lasorda, who felt his team needed to hear something after the two losses to the Astros cost the Dodgers two chances to gain ground on the Reds.

Said Lasorda: “I told them, ‘What if you had won those two games, and the Reds had won their two games? You would be feeling pretty good, right? You would be feeling that you could beat these guys pretty good, right? Well, you are in the same place in the standings now as you would have been if that happened, so you should feel the same way.’ ”

The short talk never had a chance to sink in, as those two first-inning runs seemed like 20 runs to an offense that could barely touch John Smoltz, who had thrown his first major league shutout against the Dodgers on June 27 in Atlanta.

Smoltz nearly threw another shutout Wednesday, allowing just three singles and a double and only one runner as far as third base until the ninth. The Dodgers then rallied for two runs on a leadoff double by Murray and a homer to left by Hubie Brooks, his 18th. But after Mike Sharperson singled, Kent Mercker replaced Smoltz (13-9) and retired Jose Offerman and Mickey Hatcher to end the game.

Afterward, Lasorda canceled batting practice for today, but only to give the team a change of pace. Of bigger concern to the Dodgers than their offense is their starting pitching.

Morgan, who allowed four runs on eight hits, has not won since July 30, a span of seven starts. He has not lasted past the seventh inning during that time, even though he has allowed just 17 runs in 45 innings for a decent 3.40 earned-run average.

And Morgan (10-13) has been pitching better than most starters.

In the past five games, of which the Dodgers have lost four, no starter has made it past the fifth inning. Dodger starters have lasted an average of 4 1/3 innings, allowing 24 runs on 36 hits during that time for a 10.12 ERA.

“Just a bad night,” Morgan said. “(But) I don’t think I’m done. The season isn’t over tomorrow.”

Maybe not. But close.

Dodger Notes

Hubie Brooks underwent a magnetic resonance imaging exam on his sore right knee Wednesday that revealed irritation but nothing more serious, according to Brooks. “This is not going to keep me out of the lineup,” said Brooks, who made two running catches in right field early in Wednesday’s game. “It’s sore, but I think I can keep playing with it.” Brooks twice irritated the knee last week by landing hard on first base while running out a grounder. . . . Jeff Hamilton reported that his right shoulder is feeling improvement for the first time, and said he definitely will not undergo surgery, one of the options recommended by Dr. Frank Jobe. Hamilton said he will continue his weight rehabilitation program and hopefully begin throwing in January. “To have it finally feel better, it is like a big weight lifted off my shoulders,” he said. . . . Kirk Gibson missed his second consecutive start with a sore right foot that was injured Monday when struck with a foul ball.

Tim Belcher said that if his shoulder does not feel better soon, he may agree to undergo arthroscopic surgery. “If there is not improvement in the next couple of days, or if I improve but in not enough time to be ready for the end of the season, I would definitely consider the surgery,” he said. “There are certain things that they cannot tell with exams--they have to go in there and look at it. With all of the advanced technology, I could be back for next season.”

Rick Dempsey missed Tuesday’s game because of a one-game suspension, which was upheld along with a $1,000 fine after consideration by National League President Bill White. The penalty, assessed for Dempsey’s Aug. 20 fight with Lenny Dykstra, was appealed by Dempsey because he said that Dykstra provoked the fight by dropping his bat and taking a step toward Dempsey after insulting him at home plate.

Ray Searage said his tender left elbow felt “great” after throwing 50 pitches Tuesday. He will throw on the side today and hopes to begin simulated games this weekend. He could be activated by the end of the next trip, which would make him available for the final two weeks of the season. The Braves, who have had as much trouble at the fifth starter spot as the Dodgers, will try new fifth starter Paul Marak tonight. The rookie right-hander, 25, allowed two runs in 7 1/3 innings in his major league debut last week against St. Louis. This season at Richmond he led the International League in earned-run average with 2.49. . . . The Rev. George Simmonds of Pasadena, age 100, sang the national anthem to a rousing ovation.