LOS ANGELES -- Giants manager Bruce Bochy remarked last week that Drew Pomeranz looked like a “different guy” after raising his arm slot, an adjustment that helped the 30-year-old left-hander return to form after a rough start to the season.

After posting an 8.08 ERA over his first 10 starts, Pomeranz allowed no earned runs over 10 innings in his last two outings. He began that encouraging stretch against the Dodgers at Oracle Park on June 7, but he couldn’t keep it going at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night.

Pomeranz surrendered seven runs on nine hits, including three home runs, over 4 1/3 innings in the Giants’ 9-2 loss to the Dodgers.

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“I just kind of struggled to be consistent with that release point,” said Pomeranz, whose ERA now stands at 7.09 this season. “I didn’t feel like I had been throwing like I had been the previous two starts, and because of that, I was missing a lot and missing a lot up in the zone. That’s what happens when you miss up in the zone, especially when you’re in bad counts, too.”

The club’s bats didn’t fare much better, producing only four hits, all of which came against the Dodgers’ bullpen after starter Rich Hill was forced to depart after just one inning with left forearm discomfort.

Tyler Austin and Mike Yastrzemski homered for the Giants, who have been outscored 20-5 and outhit 32-11 over the first three games of this series. Despite suffering their second consecutive lopsided loss, the Giants will still have a chance to clinch a series split when they send Madison Bumgarner to the mound in Thursday night’s finale.

“We’re just not swinging the bats very well right now. That’s pretty obvious,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “You like to think we’ll get the offense going with what happened tonight, but their ‘pen came in and threw well.”

Pomeranz struggled from the outset, yielding a three-run home run to Chris Taylor with two outs in the first inning to put the Giants in yet another early hole. It marked a continuation of San Francisco’s season-long issues in the first inning, when they’ve been outscored by a staggering 71-19 margin over 72 games this year.

“You obviously don’t want to be in the hole right out of the gate,” Pomeranz said. “It’s something that’s not good for any team. It’s not good for anyone.”

Pomeranz gave up another home run to Kyle Garlick to start the second and was removed from the game after allowing a second home run to Taylor with one out in the fifth. He departed after throwing 99 pitches with the Giants trailing, 7-1.

“He got behind a lot, especially after 1-1 counts,” Bochy said. “They got to see a lot of pitches there. The pitch count I’m sure caught up with him, but even in the early go, he made mistakes. He wasn’t as sharp as he’s been the last couple outings. Rough start for him. It’s tough to come back when you get down six runs there pretty quick.”