Mercury News
LOS ANGELES -- It wasn't Rosstober. But it was close.
With one majestic swing, Cody Ross rescued the Giants from another blown game and another frustrating, expletive-filled night. He connected for a tiebreaking, three-run home run with two outs in the ninth inning, delivering a precious and costly 8-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers Wednesday night.
Last year's NLCS Most Valuable Player, Ross swatted his shot deep into the left-field seats off Lance Cormier. It was a triumphant ending on an otherwise troublesome night in which seemingly half the Giants' roster ended up in the trainer's room.
Mark DeRosa is headed back to San Francisco and the disabled list after sustaining a significant and possibly career-threatening wrist injury while loading up to swing at a pitch in the fourth inning. Aaron Rowand left the game in the ninth when he jolted his back while trying to beat out a ground ball.
And trainers rushed to the mound to check on closer Brian Wilson when he turned his left ankle while stepping in a hole on the mound in the ninth. But Wilson remained on the hill and finished up one of the strangest games of the season.
"It was a good win. I don't know how much fun it was," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "We lost the lead and lost two players, almost three. But what's important is being resilient in these games."
Bochy was hopeful Rowand would rebound quickly, as he did when his back flared up earlier this month.
Wilson, who couldn't hold the lead when tabbed for a four-out save in the eighth, said he wasn't seriously hurt.
"I'm fine," Wilson said. "I just got beat."
It was a much different game in the eighth, when Miguel Tejada's second run-scoring hit of the night gave the Giants a 5-2 lead. But the Dodgers stormed back in the bottom of the inning with a three-run rally against Matt Cain and three relievers to tie it.
Bochy, perhaps a little more concerned after watching his team blow a pair of leads in two losses at Coors Field, tabbed Wilson for a four-out save. But old dominoes partner Juan Uribe stung him for a two-run double, and the Dodgers tied it when first baseman Aubrey Huff inexplicably gave up on James Loney's softly hit ground ball that went into right field for a single.
Bochy said Huff misread the play and expected second baseman Freddy Sanchez to field it. But Huff was the only one within reach of it.
Cain, who carried a perfect game into the fifth inning, lost his decision. Ross made certain they wouldn't lose the game. His shot came with two outs after Sanchez and Buster Posey had singled.
"We definitely needed that," Ross said. "We had two tough ones in Colorado, and I'm sitting there in the outfield going, 'No way this is happening again, especially after Cain threw such a great game.' "
The Giants finally found an answer for Clayton Kershaw, the Los Angeles Dodgers' domineering ace, and all it took was a little right-minded thinking. With a series of singles served to right field, the Giants sustained two scoring rallies against the tough left-hander.
With one painful exception, every Giants starter had at least one hit. DeRosa did not, and his career looks to be in jeopardy after his twice-repaired left wrist sprang another leak.
In a strange scene, DeRosa exited the game in the fourth inning after flinching suddenly while taking a 1-2 pitch. DeRosa didn't even check his swing. He merely began to load his hands when he almost jumped out of the batter's box in apparent pain. He flung his helmet down the tunnel as trainer Dave Groeschner escorted him inside; Mike Fontenot finished the plate appearance and drew a bases-loaded walk.
The Giants announced that DeRosa strained his wrist and was considered day-to-day, but given his history, it's possible the injury could be career-ending for the 36-year-old infielder.
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