It’s Not as Easy as 1-2-3 : Dodgers: Giants win, 2-1, after scoring when Brooks forgets the number of outs in the first inning.

Hubie Brooks said never before had he forgotten the number of outs while playing in a game. And in the first inning against the San Francisco Giants Saturday, the Dodger outfielder forgot only for an instant.

With San Francisco’s Brett Butler on second base, Will Clark hit a fly to deep right that Brooks caught for what he thought was the third out. Brooks, his head down, jogged toward the infield with the ball.

Only when he saw Butler rounding third base did he realize his mistake. There were only two outs.

Brooks’ desperate throw was late, Butler scored and the Dodgers fell behind, 1-0, on their way to a 2-1 loss before 44,922 at Candlestick Park.

Brooks made partial amends with his 13th home run of the season in the fifth inning, but that was one of only two hits against young left-hander Trevor Wilson.

No one was left angrier than Brooks.

“What do you want me to say?” he asked with a scowl while spreading his arms and shaking his head.

“I fouled up the play. I can’t explain it no better than that. I’ve never done it before in my career, but I did it now. You’re damn right I’m mad. I’m very mad at myself.

“And I don’t know how long I will be mad at myself. I could be mad until tonight, until next week, until this time next year.

“I got no excuses, and I’m not going to sit here and give you any excuses. These things aren’t supposed to happen, but sometimes they happen. I messed up. I messed up.”

Butler, who had singled and stolen second against starter and loser Mike Morgan, said he was as surprised by the play as Brooks.

“When he caught the ball, I put my head down and ran, and I didn’t even think anything when I was being waved around third base,” Butler said.

“I always at least round the base in that situation because anything can happen in this game.

“Then I scored, and ran into the dugout and asked what happened. Somebody said he had forgotten how many outs there were. It was a freak thing.”

Butler, who scored from second base on a sacrifice fly earlier this year when St. Louis’ Vince Coleman fell after making a catch, said he understood what could have happened.

“As an outfielder, I know you are standing out there thinking, ‘OK, there is one out, so I have to do this and if there is two outs, then I have to do that,’ ” Butler said.

“Pretty soon, you can be thinking there are two outs.”

The third-place Dodgers fell 4 1/2 games behind the Giants, who moved within 3 1/2 games of Cincinnati in the West when the first-place Reds lost to San Diego, 7-3.

As unfortunate as Brooks was pitcher Mike Morgan, who gave up only two runs on five hits in seven innings.

In some ways, his performance was as good as his two-hitter against Cincinnati in his last start Monday. Besides Butler’s run, there was Matt Williams’ 21st home run of the season in the fourth to give the Giants a 2-0 lead. No other runner advanced as far as third base against Morgan.

“But once I throw the ball, it is out of my hands,” said Morgan, who fell to 9-10 with a 3.43 earned-run average.

“Now, Matt Williams’ homer was in my hands. But other things are not.

“Obviously, I threw good enough to win.”

Wilson, 23, threw better in nearly recording his second one-hitter of the season. A broken-bat single by Kal Daniels with two out in the ninth inning gave the Dodgers their second hit, bringing up Eddie Murray in his last chance to extend a 15-game hitting streak.

After working the count to 2-and-2, Murray fouled off two pitches, took a ball and then swung at a curveball in the dirt for strike three. Gary Carter leaped up from behind the plate, Wilson leaped off the mound and seconds later they were celebrating.

“It was emotional because it’s that time of the year,” Carter said. “Every game is a big game. It’s survival time.”

Wilson, who improved to 7-3 with a 3.16 ERA in his second major league season, had a different explanation for the display.

“I was excited because I didn’t think Murray would swing at the ball,” he said.

“It was ball four, but I guess he was trying to make contact, and then all of a sudden we had a strikeout.”

Dodger Notes

Jim Gott has given up one earned run in his last 14 2/3 innings, spanning 13 appearances. Gott, who has lowered his earned-run average from 6.28 to 3.41 during that time, is still looking for his first victory or save since 1988. . . . Despite a day off Monday, the Dodgers will not juggle their pitching rotation, and rookie Jim Neidlinger will pitch in the series opener at Cincinnati Tuesday. This is because the Dodgers think Cincinnati is an easier place to pitch than New York’s Shea Stadium, where Neidlinger would be forced to pitch next week if the rotation were changed.

Juan Samuel’s sprained ankle showed more improvement, and he will probably rejoin the lineup next week without requiring a stay on the disabled list.

FO(A2)Slip Sliding Away: The Dodgers came up short, losing to the Giants, 2-1. Above, Hubie Brooks slides into San Francisco’s Rob Thompson in an unsuccessful attempt to break up a double play.