by Henry Schulman, Chronicle Staff Writer , The San Francisco Chronicle

As Ramirez returns to the lineup tonight, the Dodgers stand 7 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Giants , who completed a 5-5 trip with a sickly 5-2 loss to the Cardinals on Thursday night. When Ramirez left for his little "vacation," the Giants were 6 1/2 back.

One could say the Giants did not take advantage of a great gift, which ultimately might cost them a longshot bid to win the West. On the other hand, Juan Pierre replaced Ramirez and played out of his mind. Plus, while the Dodgers went 29-21 in Ramirez's absence, the still-rebuilding Giants went 29-23 after a 13-13 start.

The Dodgers are supposed to win the division, the Giants are not and, as Tim Lincecum said, "We're still hanging out with them."

"We've played good Baseball and so have they," said Aaron Rowand, whose two-run homer constituted the Giants' offense Thursday. "It's not anything as far as us not fulfilling expectations. Look at the guy who took his place."

Pierre batted .318 with 21 RBIs, 21 steals and 32 runs in Ramirez's absence.

"Hats off to them for playing that way without Manny, but we also played well," Rowand said. "There were some games we probably could have won, but that's going to happen. We were six games over .500 over that time? That's not bad Baseball."

Nobody can say if the Dodgers will get a Manny bounce. They needed pitching when Ramirez was suspended and still do.

The Giants have a chance to gain ground anyway. Tonight they open a 10-game homestand against Houston, Florida and San Diego that leads them to the All-Star break while the Dodgers travel to San Diego, New York and Milwaukee.

"It's important that we finish up the first half with the momentum we've had the whole time," losing pitcher Barry Zito said. "It's important we go into the second half running. We can't be satisfied where we're at right now."

The Giants should not be satisfied with a loss that led to a split of a four-game series after they won the first two.

The Cardinals won with a three-run first inning against Zito, who threw 26 pitches before he got an out.

The key was a flyball into the left-field corner by Skip Schumaker, St. Louis' second hitter. Fred Lewis, getting a rare start because manager Bruce Bochy thought Nate Schierholtz needed a day off after playing eight consecutive games, whiffed on the ball after a long run back and toward the wall. Schumaker had a double.

An intentional walk to Albert Pujols loaded the bases, and the Cardinals scored three on an infield hit, a walk and a forceout.

Lewis has been a liability in left all season. As the Giants try to contend, Bochy will have to think twice before sending him out there.

Asked if he thought Schumaker's fly was an out off the bat, Bochy said, "Yeah, I thought it was. It wouldn't have been an easy play. It looked like he took a circuitous route there. I think it was catchable. It was a tough play, but it put us in a tough spot."

Lewis said he was positioned three steps in, which made the catch tougher.

Zito blamed himself for allowing Brendan Ryan, the Cards' leadoff hitter, an 0-2 single to start a rally that essentially doomed the Giants because they could not solve starter Todd Wellemeyer.

"We had a chance at a winning road trip coming into two tough places to play," Zito said, referring to Milwaukee and St. Louis. "The guys really battled on this trip. It's just frustrating because I love this team and I want to give my all for these guys."

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