SAN FRANCISCO -- If the Los Angeles Dodgers don't clinch pretty soon, this thing is going to take on a life of its own.
The Dodgers lost 3-2 to the San Francisco Giants in 12 innings Monday to keep the champagne on ice at least one more night. With a runner at third and one out, the Dodgers went to a five-man infield, but pinch hitter Alejandro De Aza lifted it to left field for the winning sacrifice fly.
The Dodgers have lost eight of their past 10 games and dropped a game in the standings each of the past three days. They still lead the Giants by five with just six to play, but they have three more games left in this series and they have scored just two runs in their past 38 innings at AT&T Park.
How it happened: Zack Greinke was good, but Jake Peavy was a little bit better. That left most of the action for the final few innings of a tense game. The Dodgers rallied for a run to tie it in the ninth inning thanks to hits by Corey Seager and Adrian Gonzalez. The Dodgers had their shot to win it in the 11th, but with runners at first and second, Chase Utley hit into an inning-ending double play.
Greinke, who missed his previous turn because of soreness in his right calf, picked up where he left off. He has looked like the league's Cy Young winner most of the season, though that race has been tightening lately because of Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta's historic run. Greinke struck out seven Giants in seven innings, allowing two runs on four hits.
The Giants scored their runs off Greinke with two outs in the second inning. Rookie catcher Trevor Brown hit a high fly ball to right-center field that was placed perfectly between Andre Ethier and Joc Pederson. It landed for a two-run double.
The Dodgers had a rookie answer Brown's hit. Seager singled to center with two outs to drive in Carl Crawford and cut the deficit to 2-1 in the third. But Jake Peavy otherwise mastered the Dodgers' lineup, inducing nine ground ball outs and 10 easy fly balls and striking out three over seven innings.
What it means: The Dodgers have given the Giants a sliver of hope, and they could soon squander any chance at home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The New York Mets were idle but now lead the Dodgers by two games for home field and also hold the tie breaker based on a better head-to-head record. The Mets' magic number to clinch home-field advantage is four.
Notable: Enrique Hernandez came off the 15-day disabled list, after missing a month with a strained hamstring, and went 2-for-2 after entering the game in the 10th inning. ... Greinke had to throw some warm-up pitches and then squat down behind the mound to stay loose during a lengthy replay review in the sixth inning, but it proved worth the wait. New York overturned the call on the field and Jarrett Parker was ruled to have been out on Greinke's pickoff move. ... Howie Kendrick has still been experiencing tightness in the left hamstring that caused him to miss 34 games, so he was held out of the lineup in favor of Chase Utley. Kendrick pinch hit and grounded out in the eighth. ... Kelby Tomlinson made a nice diving stop to take a hit away from Seager leading off the sixth. ... Chris Hatcher and Juan Nicasio, who have emerged as the primary setup men for closer Kenley Jansen, had encouraging outings in pressure situations. Each allowed a hit but combined to get eight big outs. Hatcher struck out Angel Pagan and Jarrett Parker. Nicasio went 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Up next: The series continues Tuesday night at 7:15 p.m. PT. Clayton Kershaw (15-7, 2.25 ERA) goes for the Dodgers against Madison Bumgarner (18-8, 2.88 ERA).