{Giants} {MLB}

By Jeremy Kahn

Yes, the San Francisco Giants hit three home runs in the same game for the first time on the young season, but once again it was their pitching that came up huge in the long run.

Madison Bumgarner pitched into the seventh inning, allowing two runs on eight hits and the Giants defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-2 at Dodger Stadium.

In his last five starts at Dodger Stadium, Bumgarner is 4-1 with a 1.53 earned run average.

It was the fifth win in six games for the Giants over their division rivals, the Arizona Diamondbacks, where they won three out of four at Chase Field and now the first two games of this series over the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

Pablo Sandoval hit a three-run home run off of Paul Maholm in the top of the fifth inning that not only gave the Giants a 5-1 lead, but ended Maholm’s first start as a member of the Dodgers.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly replaced Maholm with Jose Dominguez, and the first batter Dominguez faced was Buster Posey and hit planted a Dominguez offering into the left field seats to give the Giants a 6-1 lead.

Michael Morse gave the Giants 2-1 lead in the top of the second inning, as he took a Maholm pitch and put it into the left field pavilion.

It was the first home run of the season for Morse, who is in his first season for the Giants and is playing for his fourth team in the last three years.