Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) smiles as he walks to the dugout after San Francisco Giants’ Shay Whitcomb struck out during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept 25. 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

By Ryan Hannagan

San Francisco – The Giants (65–95) took on the Dodgers (98-62) for game one of the final series of their 2026 season Friday night. A tale of two sides: the Dodgers, who have secured the postseason in search of a three-peat, and the Giants, who have been eliminated from playoff contention for the fifth consecutive season.

Giants rookie right-handed pitcher Yunior Marte took the mound. The 23-year-old was making only his third career Major League start, his second against the Dodgers. On the opposing side, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts went with two-time AL Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal. Skubal pitched masterfully striking out ten hitters and throwing seven innings of shutout ball in the Dodgers 2-0 win.

The game lasted an hour and fifty-three minutes, which is the third-shortest MLB game of the season, due to it including a lot of defensive elements. Three outfield assists from the two teams in the first two innings kept the pace moving. Another major factor was the dominance of Skubal. Skubal threw seven scoreless on only 75 pitches (60 strikes). The Giants were only able to record three hits all night, all off Skubal, all singles.

Skubal came close to history in the bottom of the fifth, flirting with an immaculate inning after striking out the side on ten pitches. Given that the Dodgers are getting ready for the upcoming playoffs, it didn’t raise many eyebrows after Skubal was pulled following the seventh. Freshness and preparedness are priorities for pitching staffs in the postseason.

The two runs came both off solo shots. First, Teoscar Hernandez sent a no-doubter deep into the left field bleachers to lead off the second inning. Only two batters later, it was Andy Pages’ turn, sending a high-fly to left. No other offense came to be for either side.

As the orange and black’s season’s hour glass nears full, the Giants are looking to go into the offseason with a fresh start. No matter how many they win or lose of the remaining two, the Giants will have finished with their second-worst record over the last ten seasons, having only finished with fewer wins in 2017 (64-98). 

Game two of the three game series is scheduled for Saturday. First pitch, 1:05 p.m. PDT.

Starting pitchers for Los Angeles LHP Blake Snell (4-1 ERA 1.86) for San Francisco LHP Matt Wilkinson (1-3 ERA 3.65).