Programming note: Giants-Dodgers coverage starts tonight at 6:30pm with Giants Pregame Live on CSN Bay Area..
Over five starts in August, Madison Bumgarner went 5-0 with a 1.43 ERA.
On Tuesday night, he suffered defeat for the first time since July 31.
The Giants' ace allowed just two runs over seven innings, but the Orange and Black dropped their fourth straight and fell to 5.5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West.
[PAVLOVIC: Called strike haunts Giants in loss to Dodgers]
"It hurts when Bumgarner goes down," Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow lamented on KNBR 680-AM Wednesday morning. "He's your blanket of invincibility. And when he loses, those games hurt a little bit more."
It hurts even more when its your fourth straight loss.
It hurts even more when it comes in the middle of a pennant race.
It hurts even more when you lost 5-4 in 14 innings the night prior.
"It's very frustrating to be on the losing end of two, one-run ballgames," Krukow said. "Disappointed, but certainly impressed, too, with what the Giants have done ... It's a gut check. You're banged up and you really have to dig deep ... it doesn't go your way the first two, you had your opportunities ... you just can't dwell on it, man. You just can't.
"What they have to do now, is they have to beat a bigger foe, they have to beat the big guy, they have to beat Kershaw. And I think if they can do that, they salvage this trip down here. I thought it was very important for them to get one win, and they still have that chance."
Entering the 2015 season, Kershaw was 14-5 with a 1.43 ERA over 25 career starts against the Giants.
This year? He's 0-2 with a 3.54 ERA over three starts against San Francisco.
"If you can beat an ace with the reputation of a Kershaw, it's almost like two wins because of how big he is and what he means to that Dodgers team," Krukow declared.
The Giants hand the ball to Mike Leake, who is 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA in three starts since being acquired before the trade deadline.
