LOS ANGELES — Tim Lincecum’s bid to repeat as the NL Cy Young Award winner probably took a hit on a balmy Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.

The Giants’ playoff hopes definitely backslid with a lethargic 6-2 loss to their archrivals.
Lincecum (14-6) dominated the Los Angeles Dodgers the first time through the lineup, but he wilted like cut daisies in the SoCal sunshine and the Dodgers’ savvy lineup seized on his weakness.
Andre Ethier hit a two-run home run in the third inning and Ronnie Belliard hit a two-run single in the fourth. Lincecum didn’t make it through the fifth as the Dodgers won their second consecutive game to take the final series between the two clubs.
The Giants fell 4 1/2 games behind the Colorado Rockies in the NL wild card standings. And from their ace on down, they don’t appear to have the energy required to make the climb.
“Well, you saw what I saw,” Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said. “It looked like Timmy was on. That third inning took a lot out of him. He threw 29 pitches and it looked like he hit a wall. He ran out of gas there and it caught up with him.”
The Giants looked dead on both ends of their battery, even though catcher Bengie Molina had a day off Saturday. Molina grounded into his third double play of the series and failed to block two wild pitches that led to runs.
And Molina didn’t make mound visits when it was clear Lincecum could’ve used a moment to gather himself.
It was just 81 degrees at game time, but the sunshine was intense and Lincecum’s hair was plastered to the back of his neck after one inning.
“I’m sure it might have been a factor, but you play baseball in heat,” Bochy said. “It’s part of the game you deal with.”
Lincecum threw the most pitches in the NL last year, his first full season, and he is on pace to exceed his 227 innings from 2008, too. But the Seattle native loathes any suggestion that he is fragile and he refused to blame fatigue for his control issues after the second inning.
“It was a little bit hotter than San Francisco, but it’s no different than the East Coast or down south,” Lincecum said. “I just felt I had a tough time throwing strikes.”
Lincecum iced his lower back before the game, but was moving well and said it wasn’t an issue.
The Dodgers won the season series 11-7 and continued to cruise toward another NL West title. Facing Lincecum was a perfect practice session for their talented lineup, which could take them deep in the postseason.
Giants outfielder Andres Torres provided the Giants’ only spark, leading off the game with a home run and crushing another deep into the left field pavilion in the sixth inning. But those were the only runs allowed by Randy Wolf, and the Dodgers’ power relief arms dispatched all eight hitters they faced.
Lincecum entered with the lowest ERA in the NL but it rose from 2.30 to 2.47 and he now trails the Cardinals’ Chris Carpenter.
The Giants haven’t taken advantage of their ace in the second half. They were 12-6 in Lincecum’s starts before the All-Star break. They’re just 6-6 in his starts after that.
“I felt more like I was beating myself out there,” Lincecum said. “Obviously, you’ve got to give those guys credit. Ethier put a great swing on that ball. But it was too many pitches and too many walks. I just kind of lost it. “... That’s the area where I wanted to get better this year, less walks and attacking batters more.
“Definitely, today was a big game. You can tell from the look on my face. I feel I let the team down. I feel I could’ve done a better job.”
The Giants traveled to Arizona for the first of six games remaining against the Diamondbacks.
“There’s always hope,” Bochy said. “If you don’t have hope, you don’t have anything. We’ve got to win games and hopefully get some help, too. But you have to stay optimistic. That’s the only way to be.”