Defensive miscues catch up to Dodgers in 7-2 loss to Padres

Behind a sloppy defensive performance, the Dodgers squandered a late-inning lead for the second consecutive day and fell to the San Diego Padres 7-2 on Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.

The Padres (36-54) erased a 2-1 deficit with three runs in the top of the seventh. With the bases loaded and two outs, Yasmani Grandal reached on a throwing error by third basemanJerry Hairston Jr., who made a dazzling play to field it. His throw to first went into the Padres’ dugout and allowed two runners to score, giving San Diego a 3-2 advantage.

On the next play, after Josh Lindblom relieved starter Chris Capuano, Hairston made another fine effort to keep the ball in the infield, but his throw failed beat Alexi Amarista to first base, allowing another run to score.

Capuano (9-5) twirled another fine effort — he allowed four unearned runs on five hits in 6 2/3 innings — but the southpaw fell victim to shoddy defense behind him, as the five errors caused too much damage. Of the seven San Diego runs, just one was earned. The five errors were the most committed in a single game by the club since 1995.

With center fielder Matt Kemp resting and out of the lineup, the Dodgers struggled at the plate again.

They missed a prime opportunity to score multiple runs off Padres starter Jason Marquis in the first inning. The first three Dodgers reached base — capped by Andre Ethier’s run-scoring single — but then Bobby Abreu was forced out and James Loney hit into a double play to end the inning.

Hairston broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the sixth with a line drive single that scored Loney before the Padres rallied in the seventh.

The loss and the San Francisco Giants’ 3-2 victory over the Houston Astros combined to drop the Dodgers (48-42) to 1 ½ games behind the division-leading Giants.

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