LOS ANGELES — For one electric moment Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, it felt like a celebration. Ice Cube was on the mound for the ceremonial first pitch on his bobblehead night, with comedian Mike Epps surprising him as the mystery catcher behind the plate. The crowd was buzzing, the energy was infectious, and the Dodgers desperately needed a spark.

For a few innings, it looked like they might finally get one. Then the San Francisco Giants reminded everyone just how unforgiving baseball can be.

The Dodgers dropped their fourth straight game, falling 6-2 to their bitter rivals. It's the first time since 1936 that Los Angeles has lost four consecutive games by four or more runs. A skid that once felt temporary is now starting to feel heavy.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto took the mound hoping to stop the bleeding, and for much of the night, he looked like the ace the Dodgers have been waiting for. He generated 15 whiffs and struck out eight batters over 6⅓ innings. By traditional standards, it wasn't a disastrous outing.

But baseball games can turn on a few mistakes, and Yamamoto made three costly ones.

For the first time in his MLB career, the Japanese right-hander allowed three home runs in a single game — all to the bottom of the Giants' lineup. No. 9 hitter Eric Haase tied the game in the third inning with a 393-foot solo shot to left. Two innings later, No. 8 hitter Harrison Bader launched another solo homer to even the score at 2-2. Then Haase struck again, going back-to-back with Bader to give San Francisco the lead.

When you're in the middle of a historic losing streak, every mistake gets magnified. For the Dodgers and their fans, the bright lights and loud energy of Tuesday night faded quickly — replaced by the cold reality of a team searching for answers.