LOS ANGELES • The calculus that zipped through Matt Carpenter’s thinking as he raced for third base late Saturday night included the outfield experience of the Giants’ left fielder, the carom of the ball off the wall, and, most of all, the absolute inability the Cardinals had shown to score. Those things led Carpenter to push for third base — unsuccessfully and at a high cost.

The score was 0-0 in the bottom of the ninth when Carpenter uncorked a leadoff hit off the left-field wall. He could have strolled into second and given the Cardinals three outs to get him 180 feet for the victory. Instead, he pressed for third and the inning unraveled in what became a loss in the 13th.

“I had more than just one good reason in my head,” Carpenter said in his first comments about the baserunning choice. “I wouldn’t have gone if I didn’t think I couldn’t make it, first and foremost. Secondly, we’re talking about a game where offense was at a premium and getting to third the percentage of scoring that run goes up way higher than if I was just at second. We’re not going to bunt Jedd (Gyorko) behind me. We’re going to have to require a base hit. If I can get to third base then a sac fly wins the game, a wild pitch wins the game, a base hit wins the game, a groundball, an error — a lot of different things. My whole thought when I saw the ball hit the wall was I’m getting to third. It just didn’t work.”