The Bounces Aren’t Going Dodgers’ Way : Baseball: Giants score winning run on bad-hop single in eighth. McDowell can’t hold the lead for Martinez.

When the Dodgers thought nothing could be stranger than losing a game in which the winning run was knocked in by a guy’s shoulder, a perfectly good Saturday was ruined when a ground ball suddenly became a fly ball.

On a day when baseballs and accusations swirled around Candlestick Park like so many hot dog wrappers, this thing the San Francisco Giants have for the Dodgers suddenly got serious when the Giants scored a second consecutive unusual victory, 4-3, before 53,096.

Less than 24 hours after the Giants defeated the Dodgers in the 13th inning when Kevin Gross hit Kevin Mitchell in the left shoulder with a bases-loaded pitch, the Giants moved to within seven games of the first-place Dodgers with something they will remember even longer.

In the eighth inning, with the score 3-3 and runners on first and third with two out, Rob Thompson hit a grounder back to Roger McDowell.

“I thought, either I’ve got this or Sammy (second baseman Juan Samuel) had this,” McDowell said.

The ball had other ideas, hitting a spot on McDowell’s left and taking a soaring hop over the infield and behind a stunned Samuel. Willie McGee trotted home from third base with the winning run.

“I thought, ‘The ball didn’t hit my glove, it didn’t hit my foot, what could it have hit?’ ” McDowell said. “I guess it just hit the dirt, and then just took off.”

Said catcher Mike Scioscia: “I’ve never seen anything like that before. Never.”

By the time the Dodgers could gather their composure, they had lost a game after blowing a lead for the fifth time on this nine-game trip, during which they are 3-6.

“It’s going to be hard for us to get back after something like this,” said Lenny Harris, whose two hits and diving catch were not enough. “If we don’t do something quick, they are going to be getting out the brooms on us.”

Leading the Dodgers in their attempt to prevent a sweep today will be Orel Hershiser, who will be required to perform the sort of magic he did last week in Cincinnati, where he ended the Dodgers’ four-game losing streak by defeating the Reds.

And he might not have the assistance of Darryl Strawberry, who is suffering from a sore back that caused him to leave Saturday’s game in the seventh inning.

With 16 victories in 20 games, however, the Giants suddenly seem to be looking for more than a sweep. Their past two victories have made them feel like they have a chance at a championship.

“The Dodgers are impressive . . . to beat them it’s going to take a team like us, winning games like these,” said Giant rookie Darren Lewis, whose grounder up the middle against McDowell tied the score before Thompson’s hit.

Former Dodger Dave Anderson, who started their eighth-inning rally with his fourth pinch-hit in 23 at-bats, added: “We’ve been saying all year that this race is not over yet. Now is our chance to prove that.”

The Giants are taking this year’s rivalry so seriously, they are even accusing the Dodgers of cheating. Giant Manager Roger Craig asked plate umpire Charlie Reliford to check a ball thrown by McDowell before the reliever threw his first pitch.

McDowell had spelled starter and loser Ramon Martinez with two out out in the eighth after Martinez had given up a single to Anderson, a bunt, a ground out and a walk to McGee.

“(McDowell) has a good slider . . . and maybe something else,” Craig said. “I told the umpires to watch him. He goes to his hair and his face a lot. A lot of my players say things.

“I’m not going to accuse him, but I’m going to watch him closely.”

McDowell, who gave up the game-tying hit and the bad-hop single after the ball was checked, shook his head.

“He’s not going to accuse me? What did he just do?” McDowell said. “Roger saying something like that is like the pot calling the kettle black, isn’t it? If he really thinks I can get batters out by cheating, more power to him. But he’s barking up the wrong tree.”

When asked about going to his face and hair on the mound, McDowell shrugged.

“Yeah, I do because I’m nervous out there,” he said. “There’s a lot riding on this stuff, isn’t there? Not everybody can be calm and collected.

“I have heard this stuff before, Pete Rose used to accuse me of doing something to the ball. I think with what Roger said, this will now be very interesting.”

Taking a second consecutive loss for second time this season, Martinez gave up four runs and 10 hits in 7 2/3 innings to fall to 14-7.

“The way we’ve been playing, it’s like something is always there to go against us,” he said. “I see that grounder, I think they catch it, and it goes over somebody’s head. Lately, it’s always something.”