By Morris Phillips

For a team with 50 wins under its belt at the season’s halfway point, the Giants are clearly acting like they still have something to prove.

And they came that close to proving it at Dodgers Stadium on Monday… as close as a hand safely avoiding a swipe tag at second base.

Unfortunately, Mike Tauchman’s decision to stretch his single into a double opening the ninth inning failed, according to replay officials in New York who reviewed the call of out on the field. Had Tauchman been ruled safe, the Giants would have been set up with a runner in scoring position with three, capable hitters on deck with no outs.

Instead, they were reminded of a slow start, and an unforgettable 0 for 13 night hitting with runners in scoring position.

“I felt like I kept the team in the game and we were in it until the last inning,” said Anthony DeSclafani, summarizing the Giants’ evening of trying to overcome an early 2-0 deficit, but unable to come up with a big hit at any juncture. “We had a lot of runners on base. We just weren’t able to cash in on those.”

DeSclafani allowed home runs to Mookie Betts and Max Muncy, the first two batters he faced, and the Giants were in an early hole, down 2-0. But they answered with solo shots of their own from LaMonte Wade Jr. and Brandon Crawford, only to have DeSclafani give up a third shot to Will Smith in the fourth that ultimately became the deciding run.

Allowing three home runs had to be frustrating for the Giants. Only Alex Wood–also against the Dodgers–had allowed three in a game this season, and the statistic is one of a list that have catapulted the Giants to the top the standings. Coming into Monday, the team had allowed just 79 in 77 games, well below the league average for allowing home runs, and a nice counterpoint to the club’s MLB leading 116 homers hit.

The Dodgers managed just five hits, and the two that didn’t leave the yard didn’t amount to much. They also struck out 10 times against DeSclafani and three relievers, but it was enough. Meanwhile, the Giants piled up the hits and walks (11 hits, two walks) but it didn’t get them anywhere. They stranded all their baserunners when one breakthrough would have made the difference.

“Our guys just made pitches when they needed to,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

The win was the Dodgers’ fourth straight following the no-hitter they suffered at the hands of the Cubs last week. They’re within 2 1/2 games of the Giants atop the NL West, but there’s plenty of baseball left. The two teams currently sporting the best records in baseball will meet 11 more times, including Tuesday night, and the stakes will be high. But with half a season remaining, both clubs know they have to pace themselves.

“We did a good job of not adding any extra pressure” Betts said. “We haven’t got hot yet, but we’ve done a good job of staying steady.”

The Giants offer All-Star starting pitcher candidate Kevin Gausman on Tuesday in a star-studded pairing with the Dodgers’ Walker Buehler at 7:00pm on ESPN.