LOS ANGELES -- Friday night's boxscore from Chavez Ravine showed that Kiké Hernandez overwhelmed the Giants with two home runs, a double and four RBIs in the Giants' 7-3 loss to the Dodgers. However, the Giants beat themselves about as much as Hernandez did.
San Francisco's inability to turn a pair of double plays helped the Dodgers score four runs in the fourth inning, expanding Los Angeles' lead to 6-1. This enabled Clayton Kershaw to cruise to his first Dodger Stadium victory in four starts against San Francisco's Madison Bumgarner, who won their first three meetings here.
Bumgarner wouldn't say so, but he received no favors from San Francisco's typically precise defense, which had committed four errors in 10 games and ranked fifth in the National League with a .989 fielding percentage entering Friday's series opener.
"We just didn't play a clean game. That would have helped matters," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "That's uncommon for us. We're pretty good at catching the ball."
The fourth inning was an exception. Giants middle infielders Kelby Tomlinson and Joe Panik booted double-play grounders, resulting in a four-run frame, with Hernandez doubling in two runs and former Giant Charlie Culberson singling home a pair. Culberson singled in his third run in the sixth after Tomlinson's second error of the game.
Tomlinson was starting because left-handed-batting Brandon Crawford was nursing a sore hip -- though he was fit enough to enter the game as a substitute -- and received a rest with the left-handed Kershaw on the mound. With utility infielder Ehire Adrianza sidelined by a broken left foot, Tomlinson likely will get more chances to redeem himself.
"He has to put this behind him," Bochy said. "That's what separates the average player from the good player. It's not an easy role for a young guy."
Bumgarner empathized with his infielders. "Like I've said a few times before, it's a long season. We play a lot of games. You're probably bound to see a little bit of everything. There's nothing about it that's easy, that's for sure. ... I know that kind of stuff's going to happen. I'm behind our guys 100 percent."