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Jonathan Broxton can’t get it done again as Giants rally for 5-4 victory

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It is the sad, strange mystery of the Dodgers’ 2010 season. One without explanation, a puzzle to players and coaches and management and media alike.

The disappearance of Jonathan Broxton.

Or at least the Broxton who was an All-Star, who had saved 20 of 22 games at the break.

The post All-Star Broxton has been a whole other matter, a tentative-looking pitcher, one seeming to lack confidence as much as movement on his fastball.

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The Dodgers gave Broxton another chance to save a key game, turning a 4-3 lead over to the right-hander in the ninth inning Saturday, only for him to give up two-run homer to Juan Uribe.

And a desperate Dodgers team was stung with a 5-4 defeat.

The National League-West leading Padres have lost nine consecutive games, yet despite the unexpected opportunity, the Dodgers have made up precious little ground.

They remain eight games behind the Padres in the division, and nine behind the Phillies for the NL wild card.

The Dodgers jumped to a 4-0 lead Saturday, then held off a barrage of San Francisco solo home runs.

Ted Lilly went seven-plus innings, giving up two runs on solo home runs. He allowed only one other hit, walked two and struck out seven.

Matt Cain was matching Lilly early until the Dodgers scored four runs in the fourth. Rafael Furcal walked, stole second and went to third on a single by James Loney.

Casey Blake lined a double to drive in both, and Jay Gibbons drilled a two-run homer to stake the Dodgers to their 4-0 lead. It was Gibbons’ third home run in 29 at-bats since being called up from triple-A Albuquerque on Aug. 8.

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It was still a 4-0 game going into the seventh, when Buster Posey hit his solo home run off Lilly. When Edgar Renteria led off the eighth with a solo shot, Manager Joe Torre went to Octavio Dotel, who immediately gave up a solo shot to pinch-hitter Pat Burrell.

Torre went to Hong-Chih Kuo to get out of the eighth.

And that forced him to go to Broxton in the ninth. Kuo, now the closer, had also pitched Friday.

Broxton (5-5) struck out Jose Guillen to start the inning but then gave up an infield single to Cody Ross before Uribe lined his 18th home run.

-- Steve Dilbeck

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