Slide reaches four straight

The Dodgers are known for losing all sorts of ways. Tuesday night it was to a guy who hasn't appeared in a big league game since the end of May.

Brandon Belt hit a solo homer and two-run double in helping the Giants beat the Dodgers, 5-3. The Dodgers actually had a 3-2 lead at one point, but you knew that wouldn't last. Lo and behold, it didn't, so it's nice to know that I was right.

Rubby De La Rosa worked around two men in scoring position with one out in the first, but would have no such luck the next inning. Belt led off with a solo shot, his second of the year. His other one? Against the Dodgers, of course! There wouldn't be any other way.

Brandon Crawford singled and went to second on De La Rosa's throwing error. After going to third on Eli Whiteside's groundout, Madison Bumgarner got him home with an RBI groundout, and it was 2-0.

In a rare sign of life, the Dodgers responded right away. It started with a double by James Loney. Rod Barajas, who hasn't had a hit since the Clinton Administration, was just barely beaned on the leg, putting two on. An out later, Tony Gwynn ripped an RBI double to right to make it 2-1.

Next came something unbelievable, and I had to pinch myself to make sure it really happened. Rafael Furcal hit a two-run single up the middle to give the Dodgers a 3-2 lead. Juan Rivera kept it going with a single to left... but of course was then thrown out at first after a wide turn. Matt Kemp grounded out to end it.

The score held up until the fifth when the Giants tied it. Andres Torres and Mike Fontenot singled to open the inning. Pablo Sandoval then tied the game with an RBI single. De La Rosa was in a tough spot, but he did a good job of getting out of it on a grounder by Nate Schierholtz and a double play ball by Cody Ross.

Kenley Jansen got through the sixth just fine, but the same cannot be said for Hong-Chih Kuo in the seventh. His lousy season got even worse. He immediately gave up a double to Torres, and after Fontenot sacrificed him over to third, Sandoval was given an intentional walk for runners on the corners. Schierholtz struck out, so Ross was given another intentional walk to load the bases.

Then came another example of the difference between being a winning team and losing team. A winning team would get a big out to end the inning. A losing team would give up runs. Bet you'll never guess what happened. Belt doubled down the left field line to score two, and it was 5-3. The Giants never looked back.

Like many other loses, the Dodgers couldn't do a lick in the last couple of innings. Only Kemp could get on base with a single in the ninth off of Brian Wilson. Andre Ethier pinch-hit and flew out to give Wilson his 29th save.

De La Rosa's final line is a bit up and down, but I thought he battled when he was out there. He ended up with six innings for nine hits, three runs (two earned), no walks, and five strikeouts. Obviously not having one walk was a great step forward. Nine hits in six innings could be better. But like every other Dodgers' pitcher, it means little when the offense doesn't back him up.

Then there's Kuo. It's hard to believe just how bad he is now. Right now he has a 9.36 ERA. What was his ERA at this point last year? 0.95! Whoa! In fact, he had only given up three earned runs at this stage. Tuesday night he gave up two. I could go on and on, but the bottom line is that all of Kuo's injuries and the anxiety disorder he was suffering through have caught up to him. Hitters are no longer scared of him. It's sad to see, as he was as dominant as you could be last year.

The top four hitters in the order of Gwynn, Raffy, Rivera, and Kemp all went 1-for-4 with one extra-base hit (Gwynn's double). I'm a broken record on this, but that won't get it done. Don Mattingly tried something different with a lefty on the mound by putting Rivera in the #3 spot, but it didn't matter. He's now 4-for-16 as a Dodger with a homer. I just don't see him getting much better, either.

Wednesday's game will be an afternoon start, and it's a fantastic pitching matchup. Clayton Kershaw goes against Tim Lincecum. It's one of those games where a big advantage goes to the team that scores first.