Andrew Baggarly
Mercury News
The Giants' lineup and rotation have failed them during this miserable, winless slog through Southern California. Now their bullpen is keeping the rest of the team company.
Aaron Rowand slugged a three-run home run in the eighth inning Wednesday, resuscitating the Giants and positioning them to win on a night Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw was absolutely dominant.
But the Dodgers erased a two-run deficit in the bottom of the inning against setup man Bob Howry, who wasn't much better in the ninth. Closer Brian Wilson inherited a bases-loaded, no-out situation and couldn't wiggle free, walking James Loney to force home the winning run in the Giants' 5-4 loss at Dodger Stadium.
The Giants lost their fifth consecutive game and must win today to avoid being swept on this six-game trip to San Diego and Los Angeles.
"It couldn't have been any worse," right-hander Matt Cain said.
When the Giants' hardest-luck pitcher is saying it, you know it must be true.
In his first official setup appearance, Howry faced nine batters and allowed five hits plus a sacrifice fly. Orlando Hudson and Manny Ramirez led off the ninth with singles, both coming with two strikes. Howry intentionally walked Andre Ethier to load the bases and set up a force at the plate.
The plan worked once, as shortstop Edgar Renteria threw home after fielding Russell Martin's groundball. But Renteria couldn't make a clean stop, and the Giants had to settle for one out. "The grass is wet. It skips," Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said. "It looked like it caught him on the heel of his glove. If he gets it clean, yeah, we've got a shot at a double play there." Bochy didn't take issue with Wilson's throwing a 3-2 breaking ball to Loney. The pitch bounced in the dirt and Ramirez trotted home. "We did what we were hoping to do," Bochy said. "We got the big hit. We just couldn't hold it. Our setup guy is strong and he's the guy we wanted out there. They just had real good at-bats." Cain held the Dodgers to two runs while completing six innings for the second consecutive start. It's something no other member of the rotation has done this season. But he remained winless in 12 career starts against the Dodgers — even though he has a 1.09 ERA in his past four outings at Chavez Ravine. "For it to end the way it did was a heartbreaker," Cain said. "It always is when it happens to the Dodgers, or any team in our division." Kershaw, who couldn't legally buy a drink until last month, allowed one hit and struck out 13 in seven innings. But his fine work was wasted before the Dodgers' bullpen could record an out in the eighth and Rowand drove an 0-2 slider from rookie right-hander Ronald Belisario. The Giants didn't get to celebrate long. Jeremy Affeldt allowed a leadoff single to Ethier in the eighth and Martin doubled off Howry. Loney hit a sacrifice fly, and Matt Kemp hit a tying single to center. The Giants are supposed to feature the best starting pitching in the division, but the Dodgers' young aces are serving notice. Chad Billingsley struck out 11 on Monday, which was a warm-up act for Kershaw. The 21-year-old was one of six pitchers taken ahead of reigning Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum in the 2006 draft. Forgive the Dodgers if they don't have Lincecum envy. Kershaw struck out two in each of his first four innings. The only hit he allowed was Bengie Molina's home run leading off the second inning — the club's first since the Giants hit three on opening day. They had gone 213 plate appearances between home runs. The Giants broke another dry spell in the fifth when Rich Aurilia drew the club's first walk in 117 plate appearances. It was their longest streak without a walk since 1976. From: MLB.com
 San Francisco (2-6) Lost 5 | LA Dodgers 5, San Francisco 4 |  LA Dodgers (6-3) Won 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Standings thru 4/15/09 | Recap: SF | LAD | Wrap | Gameday |
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