Photo credit: Los Angeles Dodgers’ J.D. Martinez, second from right, heads to first for a solo home run as San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Kyle Harrison, left, watches along with catcher Blake Sabol, second from left, and home plate umpire Erich Bacchus during the fourth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

By: Mary Anne

The San Francisco Giants began a four-game series with their biggest rival, the Los Angeles Dodgers, on Thursday night. The Giants lost a 7-2 heartbreaker to the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

John Brebbia (3-1, 3.41 ERA) took the loss for the Giants. San Francisco fell to 76-77, while Los Angeles improved to 94-58.

The Giants’ starting lineup featured LaMonte Wade Jr., Wilmer Flores, Joc Pederson, Michael Conforto, Thairo Estrada, Mike Yastrzemski, Marco Luciano, Blake Sabol, Tyler Fitzgerald, and Kyle Harrison. Harrison pitched for 5 1/3 innings and gave up three hits, two earned runs, one walk, two strikeouts, and one home run.

After two scoreless innings, Los Angeles got on the board first. Enrique Hernandez was out on a sacrifice fly to Mike Yastrzemski. Chris Taylor scored for a 1-0 Dodgers lead in the bottom of the third inning with two outs.

The Dodgers doubled their lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. J.D. Martinez homered on a fly ball to right field for a 2-0 lead.

The Giants finally got on the board in the top of the fifth inning. Tyler Fitzgerald walked, and Mike Yastrzemski scored to cut the Dodgers’ lead to 2-1. Marco Luciano went to third base, while Blake Sabol went to second base.

The Giants tied the ballgame in the top of the sixth inning. Joc Pederson homered on a fly ball to center field to even the score 2-2.

The Dodgers regained their lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. J.D. Martinez was out on a sacrifice fly to Mike Yastrzemski. Will Smith scored for a 3-2 lead with two outs.

Fast forward to the bottom of the seventh inning as the Dodgers extended their lead, thanks to a wild pitch by Luke Jackson. Chris Taylor scored first for a 4-2 lead. James Outman went to third base. Outman later scored to make it 5-2.

The Dodgers expanded their lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. J.D. Martinez singled on a sharp line drive to Tyler Fitzgerald. Freddie Freeman scored for a 6-2 lead. Chris Taylor singled on a ground ball to Michael Conforto. Max Muncy scored to make it 7-2. Miguel Rojas went to second base.

Notes
Tyler Fitzgerald made his MLB debut with the Giants on Thursday. Fitzgerald’s family cheered after he walked to record his first MLB RBI.

The Giants recalled Tristan Beck and Marco Luciano from Triple-A Sacramento while selecting Tyler Fitzgerald after optioning Sean Hjelle to yesterday’s Triple-A Sacramento postgame, placing Brandon Crawford on the ten-day injured list with a right hamstring strain, and placing Paul DeJong on unconditional release waivers.

Up Next
The Giants and Dodgers will meet again Friday night at 7:10 p.m. Pacific. The Giants will start Sean Manaea (6-6, 4.82 ERA). The Dodgers haven’t announced tomorrow’s starter yet.