San Francisco Giants’ Matt Chapman hits a single during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Wednesday, April 22, 2026 in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

By Ryan Hannagan

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers faced off in Game 2 of a three-game set at Oracle Park, with the Giants coming off a 3-1 win in a pitchers’ duel the night before. At 10-13, the Giants were looking to keep building toward a better record, having won four of their last five. It turned into another pitchers’ battle, this time between Tyler Mahle and Shohei Ohtani.

Los Angeles threatened early in the first, putting runners on the corners after a bloop single from Freddie Freeman, but couldn’t push a run across. San Francisco created some traffic of its own in the bottom half with hits from Luis Arraez and Rafael Devers, but Ohtani struck out the side to keep the game scoreless. From there, both starters settled in. Mahle worked a clean second inning and matched Ohtani’s rhythm, as both teams went quietly through the second and third innings with back-to-back three up, three down frames.

The Dodgers applied pressure again in the fourth, putting runners in scoring position, but the Giants’ defense came through in a sequence that included a rundown finished by catcher Patrick Bailey to keep the game tied. Ohtani continued to deal on the other side, cruising through the middle innings and holding San Francisco hitless for a stretch while piling up strikeouts. The Giants’ best chance against him came in the sixth when Devers doubled and Matt Chapman reached, putting two runners in scoring position, but Ohtani worked out of it to preserve the scoreless tie.

Mahle matched him every step of the way. The right-hander, who entered the night 0-3 with a 7.23 ERA, was in complete control, keeping the Dodgers off balance and working efficiently through seven shutout innings. He allowed just three hits and struck out five, putting together his strongest outing of the season and giving the Giants exactly what they needed in a tight game.

The breakthrough finally came in the seventh, and it came quickly once Ohtani exited. After a pair of singles and a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third, Bailey jumped on a 1-2 pitch from reliever Jack Dreyer and sent it out for a no-doubt three-run home run, breaking the scoreless tie and giving the Giants a 3-0 lead.

From there, the bullpen took over. Caleb Kilian handled the eighth inning cleanly, and Ryan Walker closed it out in the ninth to secure the win. The Dodgers threatened late with a walk in the ninth, but couldn’t generate any real offense as the Giants locked down the shutout.

With the 3-0 win, the Giants secured the series and picked up their first series victory over the Dodgers since June 28-30, 2024, at Oracle Park. Mahle not only earned his first win with San Francisco, but also played a key role in ending Ohtani’s 53-game on-base streak, the longest in MLB since Shawn Green in 2000. He also became the first Giants pitcher since Sean Manaea in September 2023 to throw at least seven shutout innings against the Dodgers.

Ohtani was sharp as well, going six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, no walks and five hits allowed, lowering his ERA to 0.38 through four starts.

The Giants will look for the sweep Thursday with a 12:45 p.m. first pitch.