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Noah Lowry allowed three runs in six innings and did not receive a decision. (Lenny Ignelzi/AP)

San Francisco suffered two losses Wednesday night in dropping a 4-3 decision in 10 innings to the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park and losing right fielder Dustan Mohr with a serious knee injury virtually as the game ended.

With the defeat, San Francisco dropped into a second-place tie with Chicago in the National League Wild Card race, a half-game back of Houston, and remained three games behind Los Angeles in the NL West.

"Dustan being hurt almost makes the game irrelevant," said reliever Scott Eyre. "You lose a man who gives everything he's got on every pitch, whether he is playing or not."

With the bases loaded in a 3-3 game, Mark Loretta lifted a high foul fly to the visitors' bullpen mound, and Mohr -- who has a rifle arm and a gutsy playing style -- wasn't about to let it drop. He had his eyes on the ball, not the dirt pile.

He stumbled, fell hard, as Kerry Robinson raced home on the sacrifice fly. Sacrifice indeed.

"That's what was going through his mind," said Eyre of Mohr's play. "I guarantee you he's more [mad] about not making the throw than getting hurt. That's the type of player he is."

Costly throwing errors by third baseman Edgardo Alfonzo and catcher Yorvit Torrealba allowed two runners on base in the 10th, helping to set up the painful ending.

Further disturbing news was that Giants second baseman Ray Durham strained his right quadriceps, but his condition won't be known until Thursday.

Despite the double blow, manager Felipe Alou and the Giants aren't out of the playoff chase yet with four games to go in the season, including three at Dodger Stadium this weekend.

"We knew we had to win today, but the next step now is to win tomorrow," said Alou. "We know we need to win out, but we can't complicate it in such a way; if you do that and lose, then you feel you don't have a chance -- but we do have a chance.

"We lost, but we're only a half-game out so we can't panic," said Alou, knowing the Astros don't play Thursday and the Giants could be in a tie for first if they win the finale at PETCO Park.

Padres closer Trevor Hoffman (3-3) was the winner, while Dustin Hermanson (6-8) took the loss.

Hermanson still pitched well, but the throwing errors cost him, as did Mohr's horrific injury, which prevented him from trying to gun down Robinson.

"We lost and lost a player -- there's nothing positive about that," said the closer. "It was a tough situation. The [bullpen mounds] are part of the game. I definitely thought we had a chance to get the runner -- he's fast, but Mohr is running in and under control. And D-Mo has a great arm.

"You can't blame the guys, but everybody makes mistakes. It was just a wild last inning and tough to swallow."

Noah Lowry  /   P
		Born: 10/10/80 Height: 6'2" Weight: 190 lbs Bats: R / Throws: L More info: Player page Stats | Splits Gallery Team Site | Shop

Neither Giants rookie starter Noah Lowry nor Padres veteran David Wells was involved in the decision, with Lowry giving up three runs over six innings and Wells leaving after eight innings.

"The kid pitched well enough to win," said Alou of the rookie left-hander, who finishes the regular season at 6-0 and has yet to lose after 21 career Major League appearances dating back to 2003. "He didn't have good command tonight -- he was scattering his pitches all over the place -- but had a decent start.

"We also were facing a very tough customer in Wells," added Alou.

The Giants scored two runs in the first inning when Alfonzo singled, Barry Bonds walked, then Pedro Feliz drove them in with a double down the right-field line.

Former Giant Rich Aurilia homered to left in the fourth, but the Giants upped the lead to 3-1 in the fifth when Lowry doubled and came home on Deivi Cruz's single.

San Diego tied it at 3 in the sixth when Aurilia singled and Hernandez homered.

Should the Giants end up in a tie with any team for the Wild Card berth, they will host the co-leader in a single-game playoff at SBC Park on Monday night.

San Francisco won all five coin flips to determine the playoff venue. If they tie Los Angeles for first in the NL West, the playoff will also be Monday in San Francisco.

Rich Draper is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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