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Dodgers’ magic number at 5; Giants miss Wild chance
- Updated: September 22, 2016
LOS ANGELES — Presented with a chance to regain a shred of their long-lost momentum, the Giants reacted as they have done with virtually every opportunity in recent weeks. They squandered it.
San Francisco took the field Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium knowing that the Mets and Cardinals, their rivals in the National League Wild Card competition, already had lost. A victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers would put the Giants back on top of the NL Wild Card standings. But instead of delivering an aggressive response, San Francisco offered only an ineffectual retreat in the form of a 9-3 loss.
The Giants therefore remained tied with the Mets and Cardinals atop the NL Wild Card perch, each with 80-72 records.
“Well, yeah, they could have gained, too. It works both ways,” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy, who maintained an upbeat perspective. “You have to savor being in this position. There are too many times I haven’t been in this position. We’re in it. It’s going to be a fight here these last 10 games and we have to come out every day trying to win every game.”
The Dodgers, meanwhile, reduced the magic number to win the NL West to five, leading the Giants by six games.
“It’s nice to have that separation, but this is a crazy game and nothing is certain until the number is zero,” said Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner. “You’re not going to see us relaxing and taking things for granted, we’ve got to keep winning, get hot, build momentum going into the playoffs. The last thing you want to do is get flat and play bad baseball over the last week and limp into the playoffs.”
Giants starter Matt Moore lasted two batters into the second inning and allowed more hits (seven) than he did in his previous two Dodger Stadium appearances this year (five). The left-hander, who’s 4-5 since joining the Giants in an Aug. 1 …
