CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — Bridgeport’s leadoff hitter hit a slow grounder to first, starting the game with a routine play. But Pete Rose Jr. flubbed the ball after a bad hop, watching it glance off his glove as Bobby Malek reached safely. Before Lance Davis delivered another pitch, he skipped a pickoff attempt past first.

One batter into the game, and the Ducks already committed two errors. Yeah, it was that type of night for the home team at Citibank Park. They committed four errors, including three in the first, in an ugly 9-3 loss to the Bluefish that was as miserable as the weather.

Malek scored on Quinton McCracken’s RBI single, setting the tone for the rest of the evening. Four consecutive singles and a sacrifice fly meant a four-run first, a rally that was assisted by Jamie Pogue. The catcher failed to stop a throw on Luis Figueroa’s run-scoring hit, making it three miscues in the opening frame.

The other three Atlantic Leagues were rained out, as the Ducks’ lead over Newark dropped to 4 ½ games in the North Division. That edge over last-place Bridgeport was shaved to 11 games as Lance Davis (6-3) surrendered 11 hits, seven runs (five earned) in four innings. The Ducks gave up 19 hits, including at least one in every inning and seven multi-hit innings.

“He’s a concern. We have to get him straightened out,” manager Dave LaPoint said about Davis. “He was tipping his pitches. We’ll have to work on that. They were sitting on 3-2 changeups and hitting them like they knew they were coming.”

LaPoint said glove position can tip pitches. He also said he would work with Davis in-between starts to correct the problem with the former Cincinnati Red.

Spotting any club an extra four outs is a dangerous strategy, but the mistakes were punished even more by a Bluefish squad that leads the league in runs scored. All nine offensive starters registered at least one base hit, scoring in every inning from the first to the fourth. Nick Ortiz belted a solo home run in the second, Johnny Hernandez lined a RBI double in the third and Jesse Hoorelbeke plated McCracken with a single in the fourth, making it 7-0.

After going 3-2 on a road trip through Connecticut and York, the Ducks returned to Suffolk County on a six-hour bus ride after Sunday’s game was rained out. LaPoint said that trip was a factor in the sloppy play, as the first major threat came with two outs in the ninth, resulting in two runs on three hits and two walks before Estee Harris struck out looking to end it with three men on base.

“It was one of those nights. Unfortunately, we got off to a bad start,” Ray Navarrete said. “It’s not anything to look into. We’ve been playing really well in the second half.”

Another bases-loaded rally fizzled in the fifth when Dionys Cesar was called out at first on a close play. Instead of an infield hit that would have cut the deficit to five and sustained the rally, Cesar was ruled out after the shortstop Ortiz made a nice play to snag the ball and deliver the throw to first. LaPoint didn’t come out of the dugout to argue, though he said it wasn’t because he agreed with the decision.

“It was too bad of a call to argue,” LaPoint said. “He was definitely safe. For a play he missed so bad, there was no sense in arguing. It wasn’t close. He was by the bag.”

There were some brief moments of tension, regardless of the blowout. Nearly one week after Jose Offerman charged the mound with a bat against Bluefish pitcher Matt Beech, the Ducks hit Jay Caligiuri twice. There were no incidents like the series in Bridgeport, when Offerman was arrested in the clubhouse in the Ballpark at Harbor Yard after breaking Beech’s finger and giving catcher John Nathans a concussion by hitting him with his backswing.

Offerman will face two counts of second-degree assault charges at Bridgeport Superior Court this week. There were no further altercations last night, though Caligiuri starred briefly at the mound after getting plunked on his arm in the sixth, marking the second time he was drilled.. No warnings were issued, and Caligiuri strolled to first base as home plate umpire Eric Diaz stepped between the mound and home plate.

Bridgeport reliever Hector Mercado nearly hit Harris with a fastball in the sixth. The designated hitter and former Yankee prospect worked a walk, and that was it for possible retaliation attempts.

Temperatures were at the low 60 degree levels, an unseasonably cold snap that entailed a light drizzle. The elements, combined with the poor play, kept the announced crowd of 6,182 relatively quiet until the postgame fireworks.

The Ducks could have used an extra spark from Grucci. Bridgeport starter Manny Ulloa improved to 6-6 after being tagged for just three hits and one run in five innings. Only Carl Everett’s bases loaded walk in the fifth prevented a shutout until the late rally.

That free pass brought in Ray Navarrete and also extended Everett’s league-leading RBI total to 86, putting the ex-Met five behind Francisco Morales for the team’s single-season record. He leads Newark’s Victor Rodriguez by two for the top spot.

Notes: Bridgeport’s hit total fell just two shy of trying a season-high mark against the Ducks. Somerset recorded 21 hits on June 30….Pogue endured a tough night. The backstop was charged with an error and two passed balls. He also went 0-4….Navarrete extended his on-base streak to 25 games…Randy Leek is tonight’s scheduled starter. He is set to oppose fellow lefty Steven Kent.

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