Dodgers feel the letdown in San Francisco the day after clinching NL West

REPORTING FROM SAN FRANCSICO —  Don Mattingly described what happened to the Dodgers on Wednesday night as a symptom of human nature.

“Today is a tough day,” Mattingly said.

A day after they celebrated their third consecutive division title by spraying champagne and beer on each other, the Dodgers looked predictably lackluster in a 5-0 defeat to the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.

Giants starter Mike Leake pitched his first career shutout, limiting the Dodgers to two hits — a one-out single by Jimmy Rollins in the fourth inning and a leadoff single by Carl Crawford in the ninth.

“I think that human nature-wise, it’s a day that’s kind of flat,” Mattingly said.

If not for Clayton Kershaw securing the Dodgers their National League West championship the previous night, the team would likely be panicking right now. The loss was their ninth in 12 games.

Starting pitcher Mike Bolsinger (6-6) lost his third consecutive start, as he was charged with three runs and four hits over 3 1/3 innings.

Games such as this have become the norm for Bolsinger, whose last three starts lasted a combined 12 innings.

“I don’t even know how to explain it, honestly,” Bolsinger said.

Bolsinger acknowledged he was unlikely to make the postseason roster.

“I really don’t think I’ve put myself in a very good position to make that roster,” he said. “It’s out of my hands now.”

The first-ever

Mattingly has now done something Tommy Lasorda never did, as he became the first manager in Dodgers history to lead the team to three consecutive postseason appearances.

“That’s amazing,” General Manager Farhan Zaidi said. “When I first saw it, I thought, ‘That cannot be true.’”

Zaidi praised Mattingly’s work.

“I think that accomplishment speaks for itself, winning the division three years in a row against some tough competition,” Zaidi said. “This team has gone through ups and downs, injuries, a lot different of players coming through. I’m guessing this is the most players we’ve had make an appearance for the big-league team in a while. It’s been a particularly tough juggling act this year.”

Mutual admiration

When the Dodgers clinched the National League West championship Tuesday night, the Giants flashed them a congratulatory message on the video scoreboard in San Francisco.

Later in the night, Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez made it a point to compliment the Giants.

“I want to tip my caps to the Giants,” Gonzalez said. “They had a ton of injuries and I know they won’t make that excuse for themselves, but they battled, they played hard all year. They’re a great team. They’re a resilient group.

“I know they have a great coaching staff and a great team over there.”

Up next

Left-hander Brett Anderson (9-9, 3.75 ERA) will face right-hander Tim Hudson (8-8, 4.30) and the Giants at 12:45 p.m. at AT&T Park. TV: SportsNet LA; Radio: 570, 1020.

Follow Dylan Hernandez on Twitter @dylanohernandez