SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Another game, another injury and another walkoff loss for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
At this rate Don Mattingly’s club will be lucky to get to the All-Star break with a healthy roster.
Dodgers closer Brandon League gave up a home run to pinch hitter Guillermo Quiroz with one out in the 10th inning of a 10-9 loss to Giants, extending Los Angeles’ losing streak to four against the defending World Series champs.
“It happens to every team,” said Dodgers infielder Jerry Hairston, who tweaked a groin muscle rounding third base in the fifth inning.
“The biggest thing for us was that we could have gotten down and folded tents when we were down 5-0 and 6-1 but we showed some resiliency. We battled back, we kept fighting. It’s a good sign.”
The Dodgers need any ray of hope they can find.
The loss to San Francisco was the third straight and fifth in seven games for Los Angeles.
It came after the Dodgers placed injured shortstop Hanley Ramirez on the 15-day disabled list with a hamstring injury less than a week after his return from an offseason thumb injury. Then first baseman Adrian Gonzalez was a late scratch with neck pain.
Quiroz hit an 0-2 pitch from League (0-1) into the left field stands. A former teammate of League’s in Toronto and Seattle, Quiroz pumped his fist as soon as he left the batter’s box and scurried around the bases with his first career walkoff hit. He is 4 for 6 this season as a pinch hitter.
“I hit it pretty good,” Quiroz said of his first career game-ending home run. “I learned not too long ago, you’ve got to take a shot and see what happens.”
The teams combined for 19 runs, 30 hits and combined to strand 24 runners in a game that lasted 4 hours, 11 minutes.
A.J. Ellis homered and was one of six Dodgers with two hits as Los Angeles lost for the fifth time in seven games.
It was San Francisco’s fourth straight win over its NL West rival and the second straight by game-ending home run. Buster Posey’s homer lifted the Giants to a 2-1 win on Friday night.
“Ideally, I should have bounced it, but you’re not thinking bouncing because it’s a split,” League said. “I didn’t make him look too good on the 0-1 split so I thought I’d throw it again ... and he got me.”
Both teams had a chance to win it in the ninth.
Los Angeles got a one-out single from Dee Gordon but failed to advance him past second, while the Giants loaded the bases before Posey hit into an inning-ending double play.
If there was encouraging news for Mattingly, it was in the Dodgers’ resiliency. Los Angeles overcame a 5-0 deficit and scored seven runs in the fifth to take a brief lead before San Francisco rallied to post its majors-leading 11th comeback win of the season.
“Tonight in a sense is encouraging,” Mattingly said. “It was as good as you can feel about a loss as you can. Coming back tells me a lot about my club.”
San Francisco won its fifth straight.
Gordon put the Dodgers up 9-8 in the seventh when he drew a leadoff walk against Javy Lopez and was sacrificed to second. Gordon stole third and scored on a headfirst slide into home to beat the throw from San Francisco second baseman Marco Scutaro following Carl Crawford’s infield grounder.
Pablo Sandoval’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh tied it at 9-all.
The Giants batted around in the first inning and led 5-0 after two to chase Dodgers starter Matt Magill. Posey had a two-run double to help get the defending World Series champs out to their early lead.
Ellis homered off San Francisco starter Ryan Vogelsong with one out in the fourth before Los Angeles sent 12 men to the plate and took the lead in the fifth.
Matt Kemp had a two-run double while Gordon tripled in two runs when his hit bounced past sliding right fielder Hunter Pence. Gordon later scored on Nick Punto’s single.
After Andres Torres ended an 0-for-14 slump with a solo home run off reliever Javy Guerra in the fifth to pull the Giants within 8-7, Posey scored the tying run on a wild pitch by Paco Rodriguez in the sixth.
The teams traded runs in the seventh, setting the stage for the finish.
NOTES: Magill threw 43 pitches in the first inning. ... Injured Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke threw a 60-pitch bullpen session in his latest step back from a broken left clavicle. “He felt like he had a lot more left, so that was good,” Mattingly said. ... LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (3-1), who starts the series finale for Los Angeles, is coming off a 12-strikeout performance against Colorado. He’ll oppose San Francisco RHP Matt Cain (0-2), who is seeking his first win of the season.
LA Dodgers lick wounds after loss to San Francisco