DYLAN HERNANDEZ / ON THE DODGERS

If only the Dodgers could play the San Francisco Giants every day.

Matt Cain held the Dodgers to two runs over six innings.

It didn’t matter.

Aaron Rowand hit an eighth-inning home run that turned a one-run deficit for the Giants into a two-run lead.

It didn’t matter.

James Loney drew his second bases-loaded walk of the game in the ninth inning, this one from closer Brian Wilson, completing a 5-4 come-from-behind victory for the Dodgers over their self-destructing visitors Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.

Nearly wasted because of the eighth-inning implosions by Dodgers relievers Hong-Chih Kuo and Ronald Belisario were the career-high 13 strikeouts Clayton Kershaw recorded over the first seven innings.

The Dodgers couldn’t hit Cain, but the Giants couldn’t even touch Kershaw, making the 21-year-old left-hander the youngest Dodgers pitcher to strike out 13 batters since Sandy Koufax struck out 14 Cincinnati Reds as a 19-year-old rookie Aug. 27, 1955.

Chad Billingsley struck out 11 in the Dodgers’ series-opening victory Monday, after which there was a day off in the schedule.

The last time the Dodgers had pitchers strike out 10 batters or more in consecutive games was Sept. 23-24, 2000, when Kevin Brown and Chan Ho Park each struck out 13 San Diego Padres.

That Padres team was 76-86 in the regular season and finished at the bottom of the National League West, 21 games out of first place.

These Giants could be on their way, as they dropped their fifth decision in a row to fall to a division-worst 2-6.

How bad are the Giants?

Cain began the game with a career earned-run average of 3.17 but had not beaten the Dodgers in 11 tries. He was 0-6 against them despite posting a respectable 4.06 ERA.

Cain wasn’t able to reverse the trend. He gave up a single to Orlando Hudson and walked three of the next four batters to force in a run that put the Dodgers up, 1-0, in the first inning.

Kershaw served up a leadoff home run to Bengie Molina in the second inning that leveled the contest, but Casey Blake sent the Dodgers ahead again in the fourth inning with a one-run blast of his own.

The home run, which handed Kershaw a 2-1 lead, was Blake’s team-leading third.

Blake, began the game with a .172 average and an NL-leading 11 strikeouts, said he had started to find his rhythm in recent days.

“Early on, I was just searching,” Blake said. “I was thinking a lot.”

Not that this was abnormal for him.

Last season, he batted .215 in April, lower than any other month.

“I don’t care how much you play in spring training, it takes time” Blake said.

The lead stood until the eighth inning, when Kuo replaced Kershaw. He drilled Pablo Sandoval, who was replaced by pinch-runner Emanuel Burriss, and gave up a single to Rich Aurilia that advanced Burriss to third base.

In came Belisario, a career minor leaguer who blossomed into the Dodgers’ top reliever in the first week of the season.

But Belisario’s scoreless streak ended at 4 2/3 innings, as he promptly served up a three-run home run to Rowand that put the Dodgers in a 4-2 hole.

Jeremy Affeldt couldn’t hold the lead. He gave up a single to Andre Ethier and a double to Russell Martin, both of whom scored to tie the score, 4-4.

Bob Howry had a similar start to the ninth, giving up consecutive singles to Hudson and Manny Ramirez. Howry intentionally walked Ethier to load the bases and handed the ball to Wilson, who forced Martin to ground into a force-out at the plate.

Then Loney walked again.

--

[email protected]