MILWAUKEE - Their aged roster sprang leaks all season. Their pitching staff gushed runs at the end. And the Giants officially raised the white flag on their sinking craft in the ninth inning Sunday.

After Pedro Feliz's one-out RBI single, they elected to leave Barry Bonds in the clubhouse, and Eliezer Alfonzo hit into a double play with the bases loaded to finish off a 5-3 loss and four-game sweep to the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.

"Usually we send for him," Alou said of Bonds, who was in uniform but not in the dugout. "If we'd have been in the pennant race, I'd have called for him. But we're not playing for the same thing we had been."

It's hard to feel like a contender when you lose nine of 10 on a trip, hold a lead at the conclusion of just five of 81 innings, and your pitching staff lets the walks and runs flow freer than the beer taps in this part of the country.

The Giants walked 48 in 73 innings, including three in the sixth that Matt Cain regretted. He issued passes to Bill Hall, Geoff Jenkins and David Bell, and backup catcher Mike Rivera hit a tiebreaking, two-out, two-strike double that cleared the bases.

Cain (13-11) also allowed a two-run home run to Bell over his seven innings - the longest outing by a Giants starter on the trip. He also managed to pitch a scoreless first inning - only the second time a Giants pitcher accomplished that in 10 games.

"This is the kind of kid you build a staff around," Alou said before the game. "If you spend five minutes in the clubhouse, you notice Matt Cain. When you go to take the ball from him, you are not taking the ball from a 21-year-old, but a man."

The Giants rallied against Milwaukee closer Francisco Cordero, and Pedro Feliz blooped a single for his club-leading 96th RBI, but Alfonzo was allowed to hit for himself with the bases loaded. Had the inning continued, Alou said he would have sent up Randy Winn, not Bonds, to pinch hit for Tomas De La Rosa.

The Giants were eliminated from the National League West a few hours later when San Diego beat Pittsburgh. The Giants would be eliminated from wild-card contention with one loss or Philadelphia's next victory.

Alou plans to play most of his regulars in the final weekend against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who remain in the hunt for one of two playoff spots.

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