Giants lose 5-3; Cain remains winless against Dodgers

Andrew Baggarly - MercuryNews

Every time Matt Cain seems ready to turn a corner, he wanders down a dark alley instead.

Same goes for the Giants in front of their home fans.

Cain wasn't sharp against the Los Angeles Dodgers and neither were his teammates in a 5-3 loss Sunday.

Cain allowed five runs in six innings as the Giants lost two of three to the Dodgers, dropped their final home game before the All-Star break and missed a chance to post their first winning homestand of the season.

After losing four of seven to the Dodgers and Cubs, the Giants are 17-28 at AT&T Park - the worst home record in the major leagues.

"We didn't play well in any facet of the game," said Manager Bruce Bochy, who watched shortstop Emmanuel Burriss make an error and commit another mistake on the basepaths. "We just didn't execute at all. It's not going to work when you play like that."

It's not the way you hoist yourself into a pennant race, even for what passes as one in the sagging N.L. West. The Dodgers are two games under .500 yet remained just a half-game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Giants are five games out.

Their last winning homestand was Aug. 21-29.

"We know if we had a better home record, we'd possibly be leading this division," Bochy said before the game. "But I do think we're playing better here. We're putting runs on the board. I do think the second half will be better for us here, which we need to happen."

Cain (5-7) is winless in eight career

starts against the Dodgers. He also failed in his bid to win consecutive starts for the first time since Aug. 23-28.

"I feel I let us down," Cain said. "I had better stuff than I showed today. The times I got ahead of guys, I didn't make the pitch to put them away."

Cain was ahead 1-2 when James Loney hit a two-run double in the fifth inning. Even Dodgers Manager Joe Torre said he was shocked to see Loney's drive down the left-field line, remarking that the young hitter appeared dominated earlier in the at-bat.

Burriss made a throwing error and Cain made a mental one, failing to cover first base on a grounder to the right side during the Dodgers' two-run third inning.

"You can't always control everything you do out there, but I didn't get an easy out," Cain said. "I just flinched instead of breaking to the bag. I don't exactly know what happened."

The Giants' offense was just as disappointing against unheralded Eric Stults and four relievers. San Francisco failed to push a run across in the fifth after Ray Durham hit a leadoff double and Randy Winn followed with a single. Bengie Molina popped up, Aaron Rowand flied out and Jose Castillo struck out.

The Giants were 2 for 14 with runners in scoring position.

Rich Aurilia hit a solo home run in the fourth inning for his 1,500th career hit and Burriss followed with a single. But the rookie was thrown out when he made a wide turn around second base on Fred Lewis' single.

Down three runs, the Giants mounted a charge in the ninth against Dodgers closer Takashi Saito when Burriss hit a bloop single and John Bowker grounded another through the left side.

But Lewis struck out looking for the third time in the game, Durham hit a sacrifice fly and Winn grounded back to Saito to end it.

After playing in his first Giants-Dodgers rivalry game, Burriss was left with a distinct impression.

"I don't know much about the rivalry, but I know they're in second place and we're in third," he said. "I don't know if they were more focused because of the rivalry or that we're on their tails, but it was definitely intense out there.

"Maybe it's my imagination, but guys were sliding into second base harder."

Cain and the Giants will need to quicken their step if they hope to play any intense games in September.