LOS ANGELES — The timing couldn’t have been better for the San Francisco Giants, who came into Dodger Stadium for a three-game series just one day after Manny Ramirez received a 50-game suspension for using a banned drug.
The Giants took two of three against their archrivals, who were off to their best start in 26 years. In Sunday’s series finale, Randy Winn hit a tiebreaking two-run single with the bases loaded in the 13th inning and finished with four hits in San Francisco’s 7-5 victory.
The defending NL West champion Dodgers are 1-3 since their slugging left fielder was suspended.
“We’re not concerned about those things,” Giants center fielder Aaron Rowand said. “We’re concerned about winning ballgames, and that’s all that matters. We know whenever we play the Dodgers, with or without Manny, they’re going to be a tough team no matter what because they have a lot of great talent.”
Juan Pierre had three hits for the second straight game, doubled home a run and scored three times for the Dodgers, who went 8-3 on a history-making homestand in which they set a modern major league record with a 13-0 start at home.
The Giants loaded the bases with one out in the 13th against Guillermo Mota (2-1), getting infield hits from Edgar Renteria and Steve Holm around a walk to Pablo Sandoval. Winn got a fastball low and away on a 1-0 count and drove it into the left-field corner.
“I was just trying to get a good pitch to hit, and luckily I was able to get it away from Pierre and we were able to get a couple of runs in,” Winn said. “I’m starting to swing the bat a little bit better, trying to get good pitches to hit and focus on having good at-bats.”
San Francisco took a 5-4 lead in the 12th on Rich Aurilia’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly. The Dodgers tied it in the bottom half when Casey Blake drove a pitch from Brian Wilson into the former “Mannywood” seats in the left-field corner with one out, resulting in the right-hander’s second blown save in nine chances.
Wilson (2-0) got the victory with two innings of one-hit ball.
“There’s no quit in this team. We’re not going to give up and roll over,” Rowand said. “We feel we have a good team and we have the ability to win a lot of games, especially with our pitching staff. So there’s a lot of confidence in here.”
Pierre, who two years ago played in all 162 games for the fifth straight season and lost his regular role when Joe Torre became manager last year, has started the last four games in left and is 9 for 16 with two walks, four RBIs, four runs scored and two stolen bases in that stretch.
“It feels good to be back out there,” Pierre said. “I’ve learned the past couple of years to control only what can control. I know what I can do on the baseball field, so that’s what I focus on.”
Jeff Weaver was charged with two runs and three hits over five-plus innings. The Dodgers right-hander threw 76 pitches and departed after giving up a leadoff double in the sixth to Winn, who scored on a single by Emmanuel Burriss to cut the Dodgers’ lead to 4-3. Burriss had a career-high four hits.
The Giants tied it at 4 in the eighth on pinch-hitter Nate Schierholtz’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly.
Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum gave up four runs — three earned — and six hits over six innings after winning his previous three starts — including a 9-4 decision against the Dodgers on April 29 in San Francisco.
Pierre snapped a 2-all tie in the fifth with an RBI double to left-center after first baseman Travis Ishikawa turned Weaver’s sacrifice attempt into a force at second. Pierre continued to third on a wild relay to the plate by shortstop Renteria and scored on a two-out double by Orlando Hudson.
In the first inning, Pierre advanced from first to third on an errant pickoff throw by Lincecum and scored on Hudson’s sacrifice fly. In the third, Pierre stole second with two out and scored the tying run on Rafael Furcal’s single.
Pierre was robbed of a potential winning RBI double in the ninth by Rowand, who made a diving grab with two out and Blake on first base.
Notes: OF Xavier Paul, promoted from Triple-A when Ramirez was taken off the 25-man roster, got his first major league hit when he singled up the middle as a pinch hitter in the eighth. … The Dodgers begin a six-game trip Tuesday night at Philadelphia. Thursday’s starter is RHP Chad Billingsley, who has lost his last three starts against the Phillies — including Games 2 and 5 of the NLCS.
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