Dodgers draw a blank against Giants in 5-0 loss

Reporting from San Francisco — Like the Dodgers, the San Francisco Giants can’t hit.

So, why is it that the Giants can win games and the Dodgers can’t?

“It’s pretty simple,” Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said. “They think they’re going to win. They win close games.”

They won another Monday night, scoring four runs in the sixth inning to turn a one-run game against the Dodgers into a 5-0 victory at AT&T Park.

The result extended the first-place Giants’ lead over the fourth-place Dodgers in the National League West to 131/2 games.

Asked whether a lack of self-belief was responsible for the disparity, Mattingly said, “It’s not about having self-belief. We think we’re going to win these games, too.”

But Mattingly said there’s a difference between a team thinking it will win and knowing it will win.

“It’s hard to measure but it’s a big advantage,” he said.

But aren’t the extra wins a reflection of the Giants’ superior bullpen? Don’t they have a better starting rotation?

“I’m not saying we’re a better club than the Giants,” Mattingly said. “Obviously, I wouldn’t do that. … But it’s a belief that they’re going to win those games.”

The Giants went into the opening game of the three-game series hitting .242, 10 points lower than the Dodgers. But they also had a lower earned-run average, 3.17, compared to the Dodgers’ 3.85.

Whatever the reasons, the Giants are 26-12 in one-run games. The Dodgers are 12-12.

This wasn’t one of them.

The Giants took a 1-0 lead on a fourth-inning home run by Pablo Sandoval against Chad Billingsley (8-8).

The score remained that way until the sixth inning, when the Giants were able to do to Billingsley what the Dodgers failed to do against Ryan Vogelsong (7-1).

The Giants had five hits in that inning.

Mike Fontenot and Sandoval led off the inning with singles. Nate Schierholtz singled to center field to drive in Fontenot.

Two batters later, Cody Ross doubled in Sandoval and Schierholtz to increase the Giants’ lead to 4-0.

Rookie Brandon Crawford drove in Schierholtz with a single to center field for the final run.

Crawford entered the game as a third-inning replacement for Miguel Tejada, who strained an abdominal muscle while playing shortstop.

“Just groundballs up the middle,” said Billingsley, who was charged with five runs and nine hits in 51/3 innings. “You can’t do anything about that.”

The four runs the Giants scored in the inning matched the most they had scored in any one inning at AT&T Park this season.

The Dodgers had the men on base required to make that kind of run, but were never able to drive them in.

They had runners on first base and second base in the third inning, only for Aaron Miles to strike out to end the inning.

They had runners at the corners with one out in the fourth inning, but James Loney grounded into a doubleplay.

They had runners at first base and second base with no outs in the sixth inning, but Matt Kemp grounded into a doubleplay. Miles reached third base, but Juan Rivera popped up to Crawford for the final out.

The bases were loaded in the seventh inning for Miles, who grounded out for the third out.

The Dodgers were 0 for 5 with men in scoring position. They left eight men on base.

Vogelsong lowered his ERA to 2.02 by pitching seven innings.

dylan.hernandez@latimes.com