SAN FRANCISCO — Before the start of this rivalry series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy challenged his players to remain focused on winning the NL West. The capricious wild card, he said, should be considered nothing more than a safety valve.

Looks like the Giants just sprung a leak.
Out to prove their relevance in the division race and make a statement against their archrivals, the Giants instead confirmed all manner of nagging little doubts in a 4-2 loss Monday night at AT&T Park.
They fell behind. And they were almost powerless to come back.
Matt Kemp hit a tiebreaking, bases-clearing double in the fourth inning against Jonathan Sanchez as the Dodgers reasserted their superiority while knocking the Giants into third place and out of the wild-card lead.
The Dodgers, who snapped a three-game losing streak, are 6› games in front of the Giants and 5› in front of the second-place Colorado Rockies, who won behind a cycle from South Bay native Troy Tulowitzki.
A sellout crowd of 40,522 arrived early at AT&T Park, cheered Dave Dravecky’s ceremonial first pitch and raised plenty of steroid-themed banners at Manny Ramirez from the left-field bleachers.
But the Giants’ lifeless offense sucked the life out of China Basin. By Ramirez’s fourth at-bat, the crowd barely managed to groan for the Dodgers’ left fielder, who was making his first trip to AT&T Park after serving a 50-game suspension for a positive performance-enhancing drug test.
Kemp’s three-run double gave the Dodgers a 4-1 lead and was a virtual game-ender. The Giants have overcome a three-run deficit just once all season — and that came just last week in Houston. Perhaps it’s asking too much to do it again so soon.
They did manage to bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth, though. Bengie Molina hit a solo homer off closer Jonathan Broxton and Randy Winn bounced a one-out single. But Fred Lewis hit into a force-out and Dodgers second baseman Juan Castro, a defensive replacement, made a diving stop to take a hit away from Ryan Garko.
Sanchez (5-10) figured to be a different pitcher than the inefficient left-hander who lasted just five innings in two early season starts against the Dodgers. Sanchez had been competing better, throwing more strikes and stood a little taller on the mound ever since his no-hitter on July 10.
He carried that look into the first three innings, when he struck out four and allowed just two baserunners.
But he began to lose his grip in the fourth inning. By the time he recovered, the Dodgers had scored four runs and his pitch count bloomed.
Ramirez started the rally with a one-out single, which did little to quell the boos. Sanchez loaded the bases on walks to Casey Blake and Orlando Hudson, the latter coming when he missed on a 3-2 slider.
With Sanchez’s off-speed pitches failing him, he threw a fastball that Kemp pounded into the left-field corner. It took a high carom and Lewis made a clean pickup, but there was little he could do. Hudson had no problem scoring from first without a play as the double cleared the bases.
Travis Ishikawa hit a solo home run against Hiroki Kuroda in the second inning, getting a reprieve after he fouled off a hanging breaking ball earlier in the at-bat.
If he’d hit the first mistake, it would have been a two-run shot. But Lewis was thrown out trying to advance on a ball in the dirt that momentarily got away from catcher Russell Martin. With the bases empty, Kuroda threw another hanger that Ishikawa put into the right-field arcade.
Kuroda retired the next two hitters and faced the minimum over the proceeding four innings. Rich Aurilia and Freddy Sanchez hit into double plays.
The Giants played with a handicap, too. First base umpire Bill Hohn appeared to blow a pair of calls at first base. Sanchez appeared to beat out an infield single and had a look of disbelief when Hohn pumped his arm in the third inning. Replays showed Aurilia beat the double-play relay in the sixth.
Bochy jogged onto the field to argue both times, drawing the ejection after the call on Aurilia.