LOS ANGELES - The Rockies' short-term ambitions of being a part of the National League West race in September are fading.

And for all the good things that this season is showing for the future of the franchise, there is a frustration that comes with the struggles of the present.

Josh Fogg provided a respite for a beleaguered bullpen Friday night, but there was no relief for the Rockies' recent struggles in a 6-4 loss to the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. The loss dropped the Rockies into fourth place in the NL West, a half-game behind the Dodgers and seven games behind first-place Arizona.

The victims of a nine-run fifth in a 11-9 loss Thursday at San Diego, the Rockies saw the Dodgers put up a five-run rally in the second inning Friday.

"We've been the victim of big innings the last two nights, but (Fogg) recovered well," manager Clint Hurdle said. "He made the adjustments to give us some innings."

Garrett Atkins did provide a ninth-inning moment with a two- run home run off reliever Scott Proctor, but as soon as Atkins unloaded, the Dodgers turned to closer Takashi Saito to get the final two outs for his 32nd save.

And to think, four weeks ago, the Rockies were percentage points ahead of the fourth-place Diamondbacks. Since then, though, Arizona has gone on a 20-5 spree while the Rockies are 13-12 and trying to piece together a rotation that has been ravaged by injuries that have left Aaron Cook (strained left rib cage), Jason Hirsh (fractured right fibula) and Rodrigo Lopez (right elbow surgery) on the disabled list.

"We are drawing things up as we going along," Hurdle said of adjustments that have been made. "So far, we have been doing fairly well, but we still have a lot of work to do."

Fogg has found himself moved up from the fifth spot in the rotation to a No. 2 role behind Jeff Francis. And while that five-run second inning by the Dodgers on Friday was an obstacle the Rockies couldn't overcome, Fogg at least pitched deep into the game, finally departing after Juan Pierre's two- out triple in the seventh.

That might not seem like much in light of the feeble effort of a Rockies offense that managed only two runs and two hits in seven innings off left-hander Eric Stults, fresh up from Triple-A Las Vegas, where he allowed 15 runs in 12 2/3 innings of his final three minor league starts. Stults also struck out nine, four more than his previous career best.

But Fogg's effort provided a bit of a break for bullpen that has been worn down, working 16 2/3 innings the four previous games, and is on call for tonight when rookie Franklin Morales, who has only three Triple-A starts on his résumé, makes his major league debut, against the Dodgers.

Thanks to Fogg, the only reliever the Rockies needed to use was Ramon Ortiz, who joined the team before the game Friday after being acquired from Minnesota earlier in the week.

Morales, moving into Hirsh's rotation spot, is a part of the Rockies' future, just like Ubaldo Jimenez, who has filled the void in the rotation left by Lopez. Both youngsters have live arms, and the Rockies are giving them an opportunity to help right now, too.

Jimenez provided the Rockies their lone victory in the first four games of this trip, pitching six shutout innings Wednesday night at San Diego in the fourth solid effort he has had in six starts this season.

Now it is Morales who is going to get the call, which is the way the Rockies players wanted it instead of having the organization look outside for help.

"We have a team that has banded together," Hurdle said. "It is an exciting time for the ballclub and our fans. We are taking a snapshot of the future (with Jimenez and Morales) to see what's available in the next wave, but also because we feel they are capable of giving us a lift right now."

More than Morales being on his game tonight, the Rockies are going to need to jump-start an offense that was shut down by Stults, whose résumé certainly didn't intimidate.

It was one thing to see Dodgers reliever Jonathan Broxton strike out Brad Hawpe, Kazuo Matsui and Troy Tulo- witzki after giving up back-to-back singles to Yorvit Torrealba and Cory Sullivan to start the eighth.

Broxton, after all, entered the game averaging nearly 11 strikeouts per nine innings and has made 92 consecutive appearances without allowing a home run, the fifth-longest such streak in the major leagues since 1957.

But Stults? He entered the game with a major league résumé over the past two seasons of only 11 appearan- ces and three starts and with a 5.08 ERA. He was 5-7 with a 7.56 ERA at Las Vegas in 21 appearances, 17 starts this year.

ringolsbyt@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5281