Kuroda can’t stop Giants

The Dodgers play three games with the first-place Padres in San Diego starting Monday, a series that could have been a crucial showdown in the National League West for the Dodgers, except for the Dodgers’ mediocre play of late.

San Diego lost its 10th consecutive game Sunday, yet the Dodgers have gained little ground in that span, a lost opportunity extended again Sunday in large part by the San Francisco Giants’ No. 8 hitter, shortstop Juan Uribe, for the second time in two days.

After hitting a two-run home run to beat the Dodgers on Saturday night, Uribe hit a two-run homer against starter Hiroki Kuroda that gave left-hander Jonathan Sanchez and the San Francisco bullpen the cushion they needed as the Giants defeated the Dodgers, 3-0, at Dodger Stadium.

“We’re going to see Uribe in our sleep,” Dodgers Manager Joe Torre said.

As for the Dodgers’ bats, Torre said “we haven’t been hitting with any regularity, but I don’t want to take anything away from Jonathan Sanchez.”

So it’s the Giants who have nearly caught the Padres, with San Francisco only one game behind in the division. The fourth-place Dodgers remained eight games behind with 25 games left, and in the wild-card race they remained nine games behind Philadelphia, which also lost.

After flirting with a no-hitter in his last start, Kuroda (10-12) pitched fairly well except for Uribe’s homer, giving up three runs and striking out eight in eight innings.

But Sanchez (10-8) dominated the Dodgers in his seven innings, giving up three hits and striking out nine. Sergio Romo and Brian Wilson kept the Dodgers hitless in the last two innings, with Wilson earning his league-leading 40th save.

“We’ve put so much on our starters by virtue of the fact that we haven’t given them anything to work with, for the most part,” Torre said of the Dodgers’ hitters.

Kuroda said through a Japanese interpreter that Uribe hit a slider that “stayed up a little bit. He’s got a really quick swing. ...I could have thrown it a little bit outside a little bit more.”

Barajas auditions

Catcher Rod Barajas has impressed since the Dodgers acquired him Aug. 22 from the New York Mets, hitting four home runs and driving in eight runs in 10 games.

Barajas, a Southern Californian who turned 35 on Sunday, said he wants to keep posting strong numbers because he’s a free agent after this season.

“You want to make a good impression for the team you’re playing for and for all the other teams,” he said. “Being an L.A. guy, I’d love to come back here.”

But Barajas added that he would look “for the best opportunity” to catch regularly. “I still feel like I’m a starting catcher.”

September call-ups

The call finally came for John Lindsey -- after 16 years.

Lindsey, a slugging first baseman who has toiled in the minor leagues since 1995, was among five players the Dodgers called up from triple-A Albuquerque now that rosters can be expanded. The others were pitchers John Ely and Jon Link and infielders Russell Mitchell and Chin-lung Hu.

Lindsey, 33, was leading the Pacific Coast League with a .356 batting average, and had 25 home runs and 97 runs batted in. The players were scheduled to join the Dodgers on Monday in San Diego.

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james.peltz@latimes.com