Dodgers fall to Giants yet again

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers have patched the gaping holes in their starting rotation with Carlos Frias and Mike Bolsinger, both of whom have been a net positive this season. But the leaks have been spreading for some time, and the Giants have been more than willing to take a sledgehammer to open those floodgates this weekend.

The latest chapter in an increasingly unreadable story of the Dodgers-Giants rivalry in 2015 saw San Francisco hit two home runs against Frias, taking advantage of the pitcher on both sides of the ball in a 6-2 win on Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers are now just 2-9 against the Giants this season, with a division lead in the National League West down to a half-game.

The no-good, terrible, very bad day for Frias began in the first inning when he was so wild with his second pitch that he hit Nori Aoki in the left leg, causing the outfielder to collapse to the ground. After a few minutes and consultation with the team trainer and manager Bruce Bochy, Aoki remained in the game and gingerly jogged to first base.

Joe Panik followed with a double, with Aoki running gingerly as he advanced to third base. Then a pair of sacrifice flies gave the Giants a 2-0 lead.

The Dodgers responded with signs of offensive life of their own in the bottom of the first, with home runs by Joc Pederson, a shot to the back of the visitors bullpen in right field, then Justin Turner, giving the third baseman his second home run in as many days, and a 21-start hitting streak.

It was the second time the Dodgers have hit back-to-back home runs this season, Scott Van Slyke and Pederson did so on April 19 in the sixth inning against the Rockies.

Frias rebounded after his shaky first inning, retiring 11 in a row at one point, into the fifth inning, though that streak ended on a single by opposing pitcher Tim Hudson with two outs, extending the inning.

Aoki left the game after the top of the first inning with a lower leg contusion, and his replacement in the lineup Justin Maxwell made Frias pay for the single to Hudson, following with a two-run home run to left field, giving San Francisco a 4-2 lead.

Jimmy Rollins doubled to open the fifth inning as the Dodgers tried to answer again, which brought up Frias, at that point at 79 pitches through five innings. Instead of pinch-hitting for Frias, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly elected to sacrifice bunt with him, but Frias had trouble getting that down. Finally, with two strikes, Frias bunted the ball in fair territory, but so close to the plate that catcher Buster Posey was able to easily retire Rollins at third base, effectively neutering the Dodgers' rally.

Frias in the sixth allowed a one-out walk to Posey, then a sky-high fly ball by Brandon Belt that carried over the right field for another home run and a 6-2 Dodgers lead. After a single by Brandon Crawford, Frias was done for the day. The decision to let him bat netted all of four more batters faced, and two more runs added to the Dodgers deficit.

In four June starts, Frias has a 5.25 ERA with 12 strikeouts and eight walks in 24 innings. On the season, he's up to a 4.68 ERA, 4.11 FIP and 4.03 xFIP.

Not that Frias was alone in blame on Saturday. After those first-inning home runs, the Dodgers were able to piece together five hits and two walks, but no more runs, scoring two or fewer runs for the 19th time in their last 34 games.

Saturday particulars

Home runs: Joc Pederson (18), Justin Turner (8); Justin Maxwell (6), Brandon Belt (9)

WP - Tim Hudson (5-6): 6⅓ IP, 6 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts

LP - Carlos Frias (4-5): 5⅓ IP, 5 hits, 6 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts