| SEASON | CAREER |
| W14 | 159 |
| L8 | 132 |
| G31 | 399 |
| IP178.1 | 2430.0 |
| BB69 | 1003 |
| SO108 | 1791 |
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W12 | 69 |
| L11 | 75 |
| G32 | 213 |
| IP195.1 | 1159.0 |
| BB54 | 368 |
| SO162 | 969 |
The surging Los Angeles Dodgers managed to keep their playoff hopes alive for at least one more day, pulling out a thrilling win their last time out.
They'll need a lot more help in order to stay in the race.
There figures to be plenty of scoreboard watching Tuesday night at Chavez Ravine as Los Angeles continues a three-game set against the NL West champion San Francisco Giants .
The Dodgers (85-75) extended their winning streak to a season high-tying six in dramatic fashion Monday, taking the series opener 3-2 on Elian Herrera 's RBI single in the ninth inning. That victory kept Los Angeles within two games of the Cardinals for the second wild-card berth with two to go, as St. Louis beat Cincinnati earlier in the night.
The Dodgers need to win their last two games and have the Cardinals lose their last two in order to force a tie.
"I'd like to be clinched at this point," manager Don Mattingly said. "But the guys have kept fighting. We'll take care of our business and hope for help."
The start of St. Louis-Cincinnati is scheduled for about two hours before the start of this game.
"Hopefully the Reds can get out to a good lead and turn it over to their bullpen, which is very strong," Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis said.
Los Angeles has outscored opponents 37-9 during its winning streak and will try to stay hot against Barry Zito (14-8, 4.19 ERA), who is in the midst of his best stretch since joining San Francisco in 2007. The Giants (93-67) have won his last 10 outings as the left-hander has gone 6-0.
Zito has been especially sharp over the last few weeks, winning four consecutive starts while posting a 2.19 ERA.
"It's a cliche, but it's just (a matter of) having fun," he told the team's official website. "When you're having fun, it means you're loose and you're enjoying baseball and you're trying to create things."
While Zito was left off the Giants' postseason roster during their 2010 World Series championship run, he'll be included this time around. He could be auditioning for a chance to start during the team's division series.
"He's done a great job and had a really nice year," manager Bruce Bochy said. "He's had a really nice year. He's pitched big games for us and is getting wins when we really needed them so many times."
Zito has split four outings versus the Dodgers this year, but he's 3-5 over his last 12 starts against them despite a 2.55 ERA. He can't be looking forward to facing Matt Kemp , who has hit .462 against him including 6 for 9 with three homers over the past two years.
Zito will be opposed by Chris Capuano (12-11, 3.69), who has gone 2-6 with a 5.25 ERA over his last 12 outings. The left-hander wasn't sharp Thursday but earned his first win in almost seven weeks, giving up one run, five hits and four walks over 5 1-3 innings of an 8-4 victory at San Diego.
"It wasn't the prettiest start, not getting through six innings you don't feel good about it," he told the team's official website. "But it's great to get a win. They've been hard to come by over the second half."
Capuano is 0-3 with a 4.44 ERA over four starts against the Giants since the start of last season. He's allowed two runs in three of those outings and six in the other, an 8-4 home loss Aug. 22.
@
@
AVG
HRRUNSSBSOBBOBPSLGOPS
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Brandon Crawford | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Clay Hensley | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .250 | .250 | .000 |
| Aubrey Huff | 9 | .556 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | .636 | 1.303 | .667 |
| Tim Lincecum | 5 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .167 | .167 | .000 |
| Angel Pagan | 4 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Buster Posey | 4 | .250 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | .250 | 1.250 | 1.000 |
| Pablo Sandoval | 4 | .750 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .750 | 1.750 | 1.000 |
| Nate Schierholtz | 6 | .333 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .666 | .333 |
| Ryan Theriot | 8 | .125 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .125 | .375 | .250 |
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Chad Billingsley | 11 | .273 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | .333 | .606 | .273 |
| A.J. Ellis | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .500 | .500 | .000 |
| Mark Ellis | 10 | .200 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | .333 | .533 | .200 |
| Andre Ethier | 31 | .161 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | .325 | .519 | .194 |
| Dee Gordon | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | .000 |
| Tony Gwynn Jr. | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Jerry Hairston Jr. | 22 | .364 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | .517 | 1.153 | .636 |
| Aaron Harang | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Matt Kemp | 47 | .426 | 20 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 9 | .500 | 1.117 | .617 |
| Adam Kennedy | 25 | .160 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | .250 | .530 | .280 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Ted Lilly | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| James Loney | 28 | .071 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | .071 | .142 | .071 |
| Juan Rivera | 26 | .269 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | .296 | .758 | .462 |
| Matt Treanor | 5 | .200 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .200 | .400 | .200 |
| Juan Uribe | 19 | .105 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | .150 | .255 | .105 |
 San Francisco Giants |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| September 06, 2012 | Xavier Nady | Day-to-Day | Strained left hamstring |
| August 27, 2012 | Clay Hensley | 15-Day DL | Strained right groin |
| August 27, 2012 | Clay Hensley | 15-Day DL | Strained right groin |
| August 23, 2012 | Justin Christian | 15-Day DL | Sprained left wrist |
| August 23, 2012 | Justin Christian | 15-Day DL | Sprained left wrist |
| August 22, 2012 | Buster Posey | Day-to-Day | Hamstring tightness |
 Los Angeles Dodgers |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| September 15, 2012 | Clayton Kershaw | Day-to-Day | Torn labrum, right hip |
| September 09, 2012 | Clayton Kershaw | Day-to-Day | Sore hip |
| September 08, 2012 | Adam Kennedy | 60-Day DL | Strained right groin |
| September 08, 2012 | Matt Kemp | Day-to-Day | Left shoulder strain |
| September 08, 2012 | Adam Kennedy | Day-to-Day | Strained right groin |
| September 03, 2012 | Javy Guerra | 15-Day DL | Left oblique strain |
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A must-win game turned into a job the Los Angeles Dodgers couldn't get done.
They were eliminated from playoff contention, their wild-card hopes dashed Tuesday night with a 4-3 loss to Barry Zito and the San Francisco Giants .
"Everything kind of comes to a screeching halt," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "To not have that opportunity to move forward is painful."
The defeat left the Dodgers two games behind St. Louis with only one game left in the regular season. Los Angeles had won six in a row to stay in the race for the second NL wild-card spot, but Mark Ellis lined out to center field with a runner on second base to end it.
"It doesn't feel that good right now," Ellis said in a silent clubhouse.
The Dodgers fell short despite adding first baseman Adrian Gonzalez , pitcher Josh Beckett , infielder Hanley Ramirez and outfielder Shane Victorino in July trades.
"There's a lot of intangibles that go into a team firing on all cylinders," losing pitcher Chris Capuano said.
The defending World Series champion Cardinals claimed the final berth in this year's major league playoffs. St. Louis will be at Atlanta on Friday in a one-game matchup to see which team advances to the division round.
Zito won his seventh straight decision, Buster Posey and Joaquin Arias homered and the NL West champion Giants finished off their longtime rivals.
The Dodgers knew early in their game that Cincinnati had beaten St. Louis 3-1, opening the door for them to remain in the chase. But they couldn't capitalize, and will miss the playoffs for the third straight season and first under the club's new ownership, including Magic Johnson and Mark Walter, who watched from their box.
"We're not so much into knocking people out," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "There's a lot of history between these two clubs. Both clubs have knocked each other out."
Zito (15-8) continued his best stretch since joining the Giants in 2007. They've won his last 11 outings as the left-hander has gone 7-0 for the first time since he won eight in a row with Oakland from June 28-Aug. 4, 2005.
"Personally, I don't like to read into numbers too much," Zito said. "Sometimes you go out there and feel kind of crappy and you win, and other times you feel great and you lose. (The streak) is just evidence that the team has been scoring a lot of runs and playing good `D' when I'm on the mound."
The former AL Cy Young winner allowed two runs and six hits in six-plus innings, struck out six and walked one to put himself in contention for a start in the NL division series.
Sergio Romo got three outs in the ninth to earn his 14th save in 15 chances after Jeremy Affeldt gave up a leadoff single to Andre Ethier that had Dodgers fans on their feet to end the game. Pinch runner Dee Gordon stole second with two outs on a close play, but Ellis hit a liner that center fielder Angel Pagan charged in to catch.
"To see Pagan catch that ball, it's kind of like the season is pretty much over," Matt Kemp said.
Capuano (12-12) gave up two runs and five hits in three-plus innings, his shortest outing of the season. He allowed both home runs and didn't record any strikeouts or walks. The left-hander has lost five straight decisions against the Giants and fell to 1-7 in 13 career games against them.
"Kind of a bitter pill for us to swallow," Capuano said. "We really battled to the last out and had a chance. The last week has been fun. It's disappointing we couldn't finish it."
He bruised his left shoulder in San Diego when he hit himself with a weighted doughnut off his bat while loosening up, but Capuano said it didn't bother him on the mound.
The Dodgers rallied to trail 4-3 in the seventh on A.J. Ellis' two-run homer off Guillermo Mota , who came on after Zito hit Ethier in the back to start the inning.
Ellis pumped his right arm as he rounded first base and the crowd of 42,473 erupted. After pinch-hitter Nick Punto struck out looking, Mark Ellis doubled to deep center, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple.
"Yeah, I think he got excited," Mattingly said.
That proved costly as Shane Victorino tripled, and was stranded when Kemp struck out swinging against George Kontos to end the inning, slamming his bat to the ground. Kemp was hitless in four at-bats, with three strikeouts.
"It's kind of going to stick with me for a while," Kemp said. "It hurts. I just didn't do my job. It's my fault."
Posey led off the second with his 24th homer. The Dodgers answered right back, tying the game at 1 on Luis Cruz 's RBI groundout to third base after Hanley Ramirez tripled in the bottom of the inning.
Arias homered leading off the third, giving the Giants a 2-1 lead. In the fourth, Dodgers fans cheered when the video board displayed the final score of the St. Louis game.
The Giants added two runs in the fifth on Marco Scutaro 's RBI double in the right field corner off Jamey Wright , extending his hitting streak to a career-best 19 games, longest in the majors this season. Pagan, who walked leading off, beat the throw home to make it 4-1.
NOTES: The last time the Giants won 10 or more consecutive starts by one of their pitchers was when they won 11 in a row when Bill Swift started from April 6-June 27, 1992. ... The last time San Francisco lost one of Zito's starts was on Aug. 2 against the New York Mets . ... Posey started at first base after mild back spasms forced him out of Monday's game in the eighth inning. ... Dodgers 1B Adrian Gonzalez singled in the sixth, extending his hitting streak to 14 games, tops on the club. ... The Giants, who dropped the opener on Monday, haven't lost two straight road games since July 7-8 at Pittsburgh. ... RHP Clayton Kershaw will start Wednesday's season finale for LA. ... Dodgers great Maury Wills , an instructor for the team during spring training and the regular season, turned 80.
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San Francisco Giants