Jonathan Broxton can’t save the day for Dodgers

The Dodgers’ ambitions of a miracle run to the postseason were dealt a crushing blow on Saturday night — specifically a two-run home run Jonathan Broxton served up to Juan Uribe in the ninth inning that turned a one-run lead into a 5-4 defeat to the San Francisco Giants.

Of Broxton’s memorable late-game meltdowns, the one Saturday night might have been the most devastating, if only because the Dodgers have 26 games remaining on their regular-season schedule.

They trail the free-falling first-place San Diego Padres by eight games in the National League West. They are back of the wild-card-leading Philadelphia Phillies by the same margin.

The Padres’ incredible nosedive, which was about as improbable as the low-budget club’s ascent to the top of the division, made the Dodgers’ latest defeat particularly tough to take. Earlier in the day, the Padres dropped their ninth in a row, practically inviting the Dodgers back into postseason contention. As recently as last week, the Dodgers trailed by the Padres by 12 games.

“It certainly hurts, we just couldn’t get it done with our bullpen,� Manager Joe Torre said.

The way the game started, a late-season charge looked well within the realm of possibility, particularly with the Dodgers set to start three-game series in San Diego on Monday.

Ted Lilly held the Giants to a pair of solo home runs over seven-plus innings, the second to Edgar Renteria in the eighth inning. That blast was immediately followed by another, one by pinch-hitter Pat Burrell against reliever Octavio Dotel.

With the Dodgers suddenly ahead only 4-3, Torre strayed from his practice of refraining from using Hong-Chih Kuo on back-to-back days.

Kuo, who has survived four elbow operations, recorded the final two outs of the eighth inning to preserve the one-run edge.

The game was in the hands of Broxton, who had saved only one game since Aug. 3.

He struck out Jose Guillen to start the ninth, but gave up an infield single to Cody Ross that was nearly prevented by a spectacular spinning throw by Rafael Furcal. Then came the home run.

“I knew it was gone. I hung a breaking ball,� Broxton said. “He capitalized on the mistake. It was right down the middle.�

Broxton was booed as he retreated to the dugout.

The Dodgers scored all of their runs in the fourth inning, the last three on a home run by Jay Gibbons, making a rare start in the outfield.

Short hops

James Loney set a career high with 36 doubles in the sixth inning but embarrassed himself in doing so. Loney hit a ball sharply into the right-field corner and was on his way to third base when he stumbled, fell and was thrown out. … Torre has stopped taking questions pertaining to whether he will return next season. “I answered a very innocent question here last week and all of a sudden it got that snowball going down the hill and never stopped,� Torre said. … Center fielder Matt Kemp and second baseman Ryan Theriot were out of the lineup. Torre explained that he sat Kemp because he wanted to get Gibbons a start. Theriot is a career .176 hitter against Giants starter Matt Cain. Theriot’s replacement, Jamey Carroll, went into Saturday hitting .308 against Cain. … Vicente Padilla remains on track to start Monday. Padilla, who was activated Thursday, was struck by a line drive in his pitching arm in a minor league game Monday.

[email protected]