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Giants fall to Dodgers again, playoff hopes dwindle

Sep 23, 2011 - 5:57 AM Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Hiroki Kuroda went seven-plus innings while Matt Kemp and Juan Rivera both hit a two-run homer, as the Dodgers downed the Giants, 8-2, dealing San Francisco another blow to its playoff hopes.

With the loss in the rubber match of the three-game series, the Giants fell four games behind the NL wild card-leading Braves and six games behind the NL West-leading Diamondbacks, both of which were idle Thursday. The Giants begin a three-game set in Arizona on Friday. Arizona's magic number is one to win the division.

In the Dodgers' final home game of the season, Kuroda (13-16) allowed two runs on five hits to earn the win. He struck out four and did not issue a walk.

Kemp finished 4-for-5 with a career-high three doubles and three runs scored. Rivera went 2-for-5 with three RBI for the Dodgers, who have won six of eight.

Madison Bumgarner (12-13) yielded four runs in as many innings to see his career-long five-game win streak come to an end.

"He didn't have his normal good stuff," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. "He was off. You're going to have an off night and that's what it was tonight."

Carlos Beltran and Pablo Sandoval both hit a home run for the Giants, who entered the series having won eight straight.

Kuroda, who has won six of his last eight starts, allowed a two-out homer to Beltran in the first, but surrendered just two other hits until Sandoval's leadoff blast in the seventh.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first, as Kemp doubled with two down and Rivera followed with his 11th homer of the season.

Rivera added an RBI single in the third and Dee Gordon drove home Rod Barajas in the fourth to make it a 4-1 game.

Steve Edlefsen spelled Bumgarner to begin the fifth and allowed a leadoff double to Kemp, then issued one-out walks to Aaron Miles and James Loney to load the bases. Waldis Joaquin entered and walked Barajas to push a run across before Jamey Carroll's RBI groundout made it a 6-1 game.

Kuroda was pulled with after allowing a leadoff single to pinch-hitter Hector Sanchez in the eighth. Kenley Jansen walked pinch-hitter Pat Burrell but retired pinch-hitter Andres Torres, Jeff Keppinger and Beltran in succession to end the threat.

In the home half, Gordon walked, and two batters later Kemp sent his 36th home run deep to center to cap the scoring.

"I just tried to make contact," said Kemp. "If it goes it goes."

Kemp, who is hitting .326 with 118 RBI this year, got some appreciative cheers from the home crowd.

"The chants of MVP are overwhelming," said Kemp. "If it happens it happens. I'm not going to put any more pressure on myself."

Game Notes

The Dodgers finished the season 42-39 at home. They split the season series with the Giants, 9-9...Former Dodgers manager, Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda, spent his 84th birthday in the home dugout at the request of current manager Don Mattingly...Bumgarner logged his shortest start since going four innings in a July 30 loss to the Reds.