Dodgers Handed 2 Losses : Baseball: They fall to Giants, 7-6, and might lose Daniels after he crashes into wall.

Will Clark scored on Jim Gott’s bases-loaded wild pitch in the ninth inning, lifting the San Francisco Giants to a 7-6 victory over the Dodgers at Candlestick Park Friday night.

Given new life because of an earlier loss by the Cincinnati Reds, the Dodgers had battled if this game was their last.

The Dodgers battled back from a 4-0 deficit to take leads of 5-4 and 6-5 before being tied by the Giants, 6-6.

By the time the game started, the San Diego Padres had already defeated the National League West-leading Cincinnati Reds, 2-1. Since any combination of Red victories and Dodger losses equaling two was required to eliminate the second-place Dodgers from the championship race, they were automatically spared for one more day.

The Giants scored once in the first inning and three times in the second inning against starter Dennis Cook. The Dodgers came back with five in the third inning thanks to consecutive home runs by Kal Daniels and Eddie Murray.

The Giants countered with a run in the bottom of the third to tie it and send Cook to the clubhouse after giving up five runs, four earned, on five hits. In four appearances for the Dodgers since being acquired in a trade from Philadelphia, Cook has a 6.75 earned-run average.

The Dodgers took a brief lead in the fifth on consecutive hits by Murray and Hubie Brooks against rookie Mark Dewey. But the Giants tied it in the bottom of the sixth.

The biggest blow early in the game was not a home run or even a base hit. It was Daniels’ body crashing into a wall in the left-field corner while chasing a bouncing drive from Kevin Bass in the third inning. Daniels backhanded the ball an instant before he hit the wall with his left side. He stood, threw to the infield, then crumpled.

It took Dodger trainers 10 minutes to help him to his feet and off the field. Preliminary examinations did not show a need for X-rays, but Daniels had jarred his left shoulder and irritated his back and ribs. The pain was such that he required a muscle relaxant.

Daniels had been suffering from a muscle pull in his left side that had caused him to miss several games in recent weeks. He skipped batting practice during the three-game series earlier this week in Houston because of soreness.

Earlier, Daniels had become the fourth Dodger in Los Angeles franchise history to get at least 31 RBIs in a month by slicing a full-count pitch from rookie John Burkett over the left-field fence with runners on first and second. The third-inning homer came after Lenny Harris hit a one-out double and Kirk Gibson walked.

In his last 21 games, Daniels has 28 RBIs with six homers. He leads the Dodgers with 27 homers and 94 RBIs even though he has only 450 at-bats, more than 80 fewer at-bats than either Hubie Brooks or Eddie Murray.

A serious injury to Daniels would not only hurt the Dodgers’ slim pennant chances, but could hurt their chances of trading him during the off-season. Despite Daniels’ career-best statistics, should the Dodgers sign potential free agent outfielder Darryl Strawberry, Daniels would become a marketable commodity in the Dodgers’ search for a third baseman or starting pitcher.

Two pitches after Daniels’ homer, Murray, who loves hitting against the Giants, hit his 26th homer. Murray has six homers against the Giants this season, 10 in two seasons.

The Dodgers’ five-run third inning made the score 5-4, but the Giants scored moments later. Matt Williams led off the bottom of the third with a grounder that shortstop Jose Offerman threw wildly to first base for his fourth error in 26 games. Bass then hit the ball to left field that Daniels was injured chasing.

The Dodgers rebounded two innings later to take the lead with a sort of batting milestone. Murray led off the fifth inning with a single up the middle, and then was balked to second by Dewey. Brooks then singled underneath the glove of first baseman Will Clark to score Murray and give Brooks 90 RBIs.

Because Murray and Daniels had already reached the 90-RBI mark, the Dodgers now have three players with 90 or more RBIs for the first time since 1974, when Steve Garvey, Jim Wynn and Ron Cey accomplished the feat. The Dodgers are also the only team in the league this season with three players with more than 20 homers and 90 RBIs.

The Dodgers, however, could not hold the lead. John Wetteland, who had not given up a hit in two innings of relief after replacing Cook, suddenly tired in the fifth.

He gave up a single to left by Williams, then a single by Bass. It appeared he might work out of the jam when he retired Steve Decker on a fly ball to center field. But Mike Kingery singled up the middle to score Williams to tie the score.

Wetteland was replaced by Dave Walsh, and Bill Bathe grounded out. Then Darren Holmes replaced Walsh and struck out Ernest Riles to end the inning with the score 6-6.

Dodger Notes

Orel Hershiser threw 70 pitches, the most he has thrown since undergoing shoulder surgery Aug. 27. But only 15 were from the regular pitching distance, and Hershiser estimated that only one was as fast as 80 m.p.h. “And to go from 80 to 90 m.p.h. is a big, big step,” Hershiser said. He hopes to throw again Monday, then again on the final day of the season Wednesday. He will then take a break from pitching, but will continue his other forms of rehabilitation with therapist Pat Screnar.

The Dodgers’ annual organizational meetings are scheduled for Oct. 10-13 in Mesa, Ariz. .