Padres 5, Dodgers 2 … and Trevor gets to 500

Congrats to one of the game’s true class acts. Trevor Hoffman posted his 500th career save tonight, the first man ever to do it, retiring Jeff Kent and Luis Gonzalez on ground balls and getting Russell Martin on a called third strike after Nomar led off the inning with a double. … Meanwhile, the Dodgers appear to be fading fast. Their little two-game losing streak sure feels like something much worse, doesn’t it? In this series, they are 0 for 10 w/RISP, and they have scored a total of three runs on 11 hits. It’s notable that they didn’t strike out once in 6 1/3 innings against Greg Maddux tonight. After all, you have to see at least three pitches to strike out. Think it’s going to get any better tomorrow night against Jake Peavy? … Grady hinted at changes in tomorrow’s lineup. I wouldn’t be surprised if Pierre goes to seventh or eighth for a while. I WOULD be surprised if Grady tries Russell Martin in the leadoff spot, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t make sense. He has everything you look for in a leadoff man — a solid OBP (.382), a lot of walks (24, second on the team) and enough speed and savvy to steal the occasional base (he has swiped nine in 10 attempts). And if nothing else, batting him first means he might get one more plate appearance a game. Why wouldn’t you want that from a guy who leads the team in average and RBI and is second on the team in home runs? … Dodgers fall to 34-25, and 1 1/2 games behind the Pods and Snakes in the NL West — their worse position in the standings since April 10, and it matches their biggest deficit of the season. No, really, I double checked it. I know it’s hard to believe. The Dodgers have never been more than 1 1/2 games out of first with THIS offense?