Dodgers Can’t Get a Sweep : Baseball: Will Clark and Robby Thompson return to the Giants’ lineup, help spark a 7-2 victory.

Late Tuesday night, after the Dodgers had routed the San Francisco Giants for a second consecutive game, aching Robby Thompson sidled up to sore Will Clark.

“I told him, ‘Will, I’m going to play tomorrow no matter what,’ ” recalled Thompson, the Giants’ second baseman. “He looked at me and nodded his head and said, ‘Me too.’ ”

It is of such promises that pennant races can be made. Wednesday night, Clark had three hits and a run batted in, Thompson scored a run and played well in the field, and the Giants defeated the Dodgers, 7-2, before 40,500 at Dodger Stadium.

After being outscored, 20-3, by the Dodgers in the first two games of this series, the Giants figured it was finally time to play the first string. This included not only the return of Clark, suffering from a bruised foot, and Thompson, who has a bad back.

Gary Carter also showed up for the first time in 16 days.

And the Dodger team that had won so easily the previous two days did not show up.

“Having our varsity out there makes a difference, and we all know it,” Thompson said.

The difference Wednesday was, the second-place Giants took advantage of a doubleheader sweep by the San Diego Padres of the division-leading Cincinnati Reds to gain 1 1/2 games and move to within 9 1/2 games.

“And we could have gained that game-and-a-half,” Dodger starter and loser Mike Morgan said. “Instead, we gain just one-half game. It is OK, but look what it could have been . . . “

The Dodgers were left 12 games out of first place, and the Giants were left inspired to face the Reds in a four-game series beginning tonight in Candlestick Park.

“Time is running out, the series are getting bigger and bigger,” said Clark, whose team broke a six-game losing streak. “And this is a big one. It is important for us to get at least three of those games.”

Wednesday night, the Dodgers would have settled for one victory. Rarely has a team won two of three games in a series and felt so bad.

“We never take advantage of the Reds’ losing,” Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said. “They had a bad streak earlier this year, and we couldn’t win then. The Giants won, and got back into it. And we couldn’t.”

Wednesday, the Dodgers trailed by three runs before their first chance to bat. Turns out, it didn’t matter. The offense could barely touch veteran Scott Garrelts, who gave up two late runs on eight hits in seven innings to improved to 8-7.

After the Giant victimized Morgan in the first inning, they added three runs in the sixth inning against Morgan, Ray Searage and Tim Crews. Kevin Mitchell completed the scoring in the ninth inning against Mike Hartley with his 25th homer, tying him with Chicago’s Ryne Sandberg and New York’s Darryl Strawberry for the league lead.

Delivering the big hit in the sixth inning was Clark, who lined a two-out, run-scoring single to center against Searage.

Carter, activated after missing time with a shoulder injury, singled and threw out Kirk Gibson attempting to steal to end a Dodger rally.

Morgan allowed six runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. His five walks were unusual for one of the team’s best control pitchers, and matched his season high.

He has not pitched longer than five innings in four of his last five starts and has won once in his last seven starts.

“I’m just going a little flat right now, but I’ve gotten out of these things before,” said Morgan, whose record fell to 8-9 and ERA rose to 3.64.

The game began when Brett Butler singled up the middle against Morgan. Two outs later, Kevin Mitchell walked. Two pitches later, Matt Williams homered to right. It was his 20th homer and increased his league-leading RBI total to 83.

After escaping several jams, Morgan could not get through the sixth inning. He walked Thompson and allowed a single up the middle by Uribe, moving Thompson to third. Uribe then stole second. Morgan then walked Butler, loading the bases.

Searage replaced him and gave up runs on a fly ball by pinch-hitter Bill Bathe and Clark’s single. Crews then came on and gave up a run-scoring double by Mitchell for the Giants’ third run of the inning.

Dodger Notes

Ron Schueler, special assistant to the vice president for the Oakland Athletics, made a rare visit to Dodger Stadium. He was probably taking a close look at Kirk Gibson, who the A’s could use in their pennant drive. If the Dodgers trade Gibson to the A’s, it would probably happen before July 31, the deadline for trading a player with no waivers required. After that day, other teams can block the move by claiming Gibson off mandatory waivers, a move that has been used by second- and third-place teams times in recent years to stop first-place teams from stocking up. The Detroit Tigers are still the most likely team to acquire Gibson.

Alfredo Griffin took infield practice without sunglasses for the first time and said he was nearly ready to return to the lineup. “I see everything except the white uniforms--they are still a little blurry,” said Griffin, who is being treated for a swollen eye resulting from a fight at a bar in Pittsburgh Saturday.