It was win or go home for the Los Angeles Dodgers. With a St. Louis win earlier in the evening, the Dodgers had to beat the San Francisco Giants or they were done. As much as the NL West Champion Giants would have loved to help push their bitter rival from the south closer on to the golf course, but after a risky defensive call by manager Bruce Bochy, San Francisco would lose 3-2.
The Dodgers were leading 2-1 a majority of the game. In the 8th inning, Marco Scutaro drove in Angel Pagan to tie the score at two a piece. In the bottom of the 9th with one out, Bocchy decided to load the bases for the force out at home. This decision would come back to haunt Bochy when LA's Elian Herrera drove in Hanley Ramirez on a line drive to second.
The Dodgers 'tragic number' is still one; however, they've gained some ground on the Cardinals. Tonight's victory puts them two games back of St. Louis. The Giants will get another crack at eliminating the Dodgers on Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. in LA. As of right now, it looks like the pitching battle will be between Ryan Vogelsong (14-9) against Clayton Kershaw (13-9).