Dodgers missing out on chances to gain ground in NL West

3:27 AM ET

ST. LOUIS — The San Francisco Giants are trying to make things a little easier, and it is as if the Los Angeles Dodgers are afraid of taking the bait.

An interesting dynamic is starting to play out in the National League West. The Giants have lost six consecutive games, all since the All-Star break, the latest a defeat in New York to the Yankees.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, are plodding along in the second half, losing a series at Arizona they probably should have won, and winning a series at Washington they probably should have lost.

And in the opener of a three-game series at St. Louis, where the stands run crimson and horror strikes the Dodgers often, a new chapter began. The Dodgers were one out away from a series-opening victory when closer Kenley Jansen gave up a tying home run to Jedd Gyorko.

Some two hours later, Matt Adams won the game with a home run off emergency Dodgers reliever Bud Norris. The Dodgers’ 4-3 defeat in 16 innings cost them a chance to move to within three games of the division lead. It was tied for the longest game by innings in Dodgers-Cardinals history.

Kenley Jansen looks away as the Cardinals’ Jedd Gyorko rounds the bases after hitting a tying home run in the ninth inning off the Dodgers closer. AP Photo/Jeff Roberson

“Obviously we know what’s going on with the Giants, but we’re just focused on ourselves and trying win baseball games,” manager Dave Roberts said. “There were games [on the trip] we had and obviously we could have made up more ground. We’ve lost some tough ones, but the effort’s there, the consistency and we’re playing hard.”

The Dodgers trailed the Giants by 6½ games at the break and were behind by four games after Friday’s action. The Dodgers are on top of the wild-card …

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