Ashley’s Two Slips Show in Loss

SAN FRANCISCO — Dodger left fielder Billy Ashley took the blame after he took two falls as the Dodgers fell to the San Francisco Giants, 4-2, Sunday before a paid crowd of 36,749 at 3Com Park.

“It was my loss, my game. I lost the game,” Ashley said. “The ball down the line where I slid cost us a run and the ball that I booted in the outfield cost us a run.

“We lost by two and both runs are mine.”

With the Giants leading, 3-2, and runners on first and second in the seventh inning, Ashley booted Bill Mueller’s two-out RBI single, which allowed Rich Aurilia to score from second.

However, Ashley threw out Mueller at second.

Another Ashley misplay led to the Giants’ first run.

Ashley, perhaps the team’s worst fielder, was fortunate that he wasn’t charged with an error when he slipped and fell on the warning track as he went into the left-field corner to run down Stan Javier’s one-out first-inning RBI triple.

Javier drilled a shot down the left-field line that took a bad hop after hitting the bullpen pitcher’s mound. Ashley slipped on the warning track, allowing Javier to go to third.

Ashley also slipped and fell on the warning track while chasing a fifth-inning pop foul by Darryl Hamilton.

“The second time I was going to take a header into the wall and I slipped,” Ashley said.

The Dodgers had to settle for a split in the four-game series with the Giants, whom they still trail by six games in the National League West. They’re 2 1/2 games behind the second-place Colorado Rockies, who open a three-game series at Dodger Stadium tonight.

“We had an opportunity to come in and gain some ground, but we’re leaving the same way we came in,” Dodger Manager Bill Russell said.

The Giants broke a 2-2 tie in the seventh when Eric Karros misplayed a slow roller by pinch-hitter Mark Lewis off reliever Mark Guthrie with runners on first and third.

Karros tried to barehand Lewis’ grounder, but fumbled the ball, which allowed J.T. Snow to score. Karros was late with the throw to first, which allowed Lewis to reach.

“I was trying to throw home to cut off the runner,” said Karros, who was charged with his third error of the season.

Lewis followed with his single that Ashley misplayed.

Brett Butler, who had two hits, singled with one out in the eighth inning off reliever Rich Rodriguez. But reliever Julian Tavarez, who has pitched 17 consecutive scoreless innings, got Todd Zeile to hit into a double play with Mike Piazza on deck.

Piazza led off the ninth with a single off reliever Rod Beck. But Beck got Karros and Roger Cedeno and struck out pinch-hitter Karim Garcia for his league-leading 24th save.

Karros drilled a shot to the warning track in right and Cedeno hit a sinking liner that was easily caught by Javier, who also made an outstanding play to take away a seventh-inning, two-out RBI extra-base hit from second baseman Tripp Cromer.

Dodger starter Chan Ho Park (5-4) gave up four leadoff walks. He got into trouble after walking Snow in the seventh inning. Park, who gave up four runs and three hits in 6 1/3 innings with six strikeouts, was relieved by Guthrie after giving up a hit-and-run single to Aurilia, which advanced Snow to third.

Park, who has given up a team-high 13 home runs in 84-plus innings, gave up a leadoff home run to Barry Bonds in the fourth inning, giving the Giants a 2-1 lead. Bonds has hit eight home runs in his last 15 games, including four in the Dodger series.

Bonds belted a fastball over the left-field fence for his 350th career homer.