Tag: Los Angeles Dodgers

San Francisco Giants pitcher Logan Webb delivers against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the top of the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed May 15, 2024 (AP News photo)

Los Angeles (29-16) 000 000 010.  1. 7. 1

San Francisco (20-25) 002 001  01x.  4 7.  0

Time: 2:23

Attendance: 36,027

Wednesday, May 15, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–The San Francisco Giants avoided being swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in Wednesday night’s finale to their three game series, defeating their rivals from the south, 4-1,  in an exciting contest that wasn’t decided until the last out.

 San Francisco’s for the time being ace, Logan Webb, was on the hill for the hosts and began his evening with a respectable earned run average of  3.38 in spite of poor performances in his April 30 and May 5 starts, which he followed on May 10 with an acceptable but losing effort against the woeful Cincinnati Reds.

Webb was throwing tonight to Curt Casali, with whom the Giants had signed a one year contract earlier in the day in an effort  to buttress the team’s injury plagued catching corps. Casali had been hitting .362 for the Iowa Cubs. This is his second stint with San Francisco. He was a Giant in the wildly successful 2021 season and part of ’22.

The Dodgers certainly didn’t choose anyone from the top of their rotation. Dave Roberts and Company took its time deciding who would be on the mound  in Wednesday night’s game before settling on Eliéser Hernández, a five year veteran with a lifetime mark of 10-21, 5.04 with the Marlins, as their starter.

The 28 year old righty was signed by the Dodgers in January and invited to spring training but assigned to Oklahoma City before being placed on the Dodgers’ 26 player roster today. Although Hernández has been used primarily as a starting pitcher, the Dodgers’ thumbnail sketch of him in their game notes appears in the “Bullpen” section

Logan had control issues in the early going, throwing 67 pitches while holding the Dodgers scoreless in the first three frames. Hernández, on other hand, held San Francisco hitless until Casali singled to right with one down in the third.

Mike Yastrzemski immediately converted that hit into a run, two runs, in fact, with a 345 foot home run over the brick facing in right field. When the inning was over, Hernández had delivered only 45 pitches, but he and his team were trailing, 2-0.

That almost became 2-1 when  Teoscar Hernández led off the fourth with a towering drive over the fence in front of the visitors’ bullpen in right center, Over the fence or not, the ball came down in Luis Matos’ glove, a spectacular catch that preserved the Giants’ lead.

The score remained 2-0 stayed until the bottom of the sixth, when, after Estrada’s lead off single to left, Hernández retired Chapman and Wade, bringing up Héctor Ramos, He whacked a 3-2 pitch into left center field, splitting the outfielders and bouncing off the 391 foot marker, driving in Estrada and increasing SF’s lead to 3-1..

Hurling six innings was enough work for Hernández. He had reached a pitch count of 91 that included 63 strikes and allowed three runs, all earned, on four hits, one of them yard, and a walk. He was the losing pitcher, making him 0-1, 4.50 in his return to the show. Eduardo Salazar followed him on the mound. Salazar  kept the Giants off the board in the seventh but coughed up a tally in the eighth

Webb didn’t come out to pitch the seventh either.  He’d thrown 103 pitches, 62 for strikes, in his six frame exercise and held the Dodgers to three hits, three bases on balls, and a hit batter, He stood in line for the win and got it, evening  his won-lost balance sheet to 4-4 and 

dropping  his ERA to 3.03. Sean Hjelle replaced him, retired Andy Pages  and James Outman before allowing Betts to single to right.

That was it for Hjelle. Southpaw Erik Miller was assigned the tough task of facing Ohtani. Miller struck him out looking at a four seam fastball.

Tyler, the torpedo tossing Rogers twin, had to face the heart of the Dodgers order in the eighth.  He was, at best, moderately successful. Freeman and Smith started things with back to back singles that put runners on the corners. Muncy’s sacrifice fly to the warning track in left diminished the Giants’ lead to 3-2. 

Matos came through again in the penultimate frame. He tacked on another tally with a broken bat single to right that plated Wade, who ha walked and  advanced to second on a passed ball.

The stage was set for Camilo Doval, in search. of his seventh save.  He struck out Pages and Outman but walked Betts. This brought up Ohtani, who dropped a 2-2 pitch into left for a single that moved Betts up 90 feet. Freeman was now at bat, representing the potential tying run. The count reached 2-1. Doval threw a cutter. Freeman swung … and grounded out to second.

The Giants will have a well earned day off tomorrow and return to work on Friday the 17th for the first game of three against Colorado.

The Rockies will throw Ryan Feltner (1-3, 5.20) against San Francisco’s Kyle Harrison (3-1, 3.42) on Friday night at Oracle Park with a 7:15pm PT first pitch.

Los Angeles Dodgers Shohei Ohtani (right) crosses the plate and is greeted by teammate Freddie Freeman (5) in the top of fourth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tue May 14, 2024 (AP News photo)

Los Angeles (29-15). 000 410 104. 10 13 0

San Francisco (19-25). 000 001 001. 2. 9. 2

Time: 2:36

Attendance: 33,575

Tuesday, May 14, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–The most important news concerning the San Francisco Giants’ travails wasn’t the 10-2 shellacking they suffered at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park tonight. It was María Guardado’s report that the results of Jung-Hoo Lee’s MRI showed possible structural damage to his left shoulder that could require season ending surgery. Lee will see Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Thursday for a second opinion.

The Giants’ terrible performance tonight served to underline the severity of the threat posed by the impending loss of Lee’s. contributions and those of the other occupants of the injured list.

San Francisco’s starting pitcher had not looked good in his previous start last Thursday, where he took his second straight loss, this time to Colorado at Coors Field, where he one hit the Rockies for three innings before allowing seven runs on as many hits in the fourth. Hiis performance tonight parallelled that. Although he shut the Dodgers out on no hits in the first third of the game, the 26 year old righty left after throwing 78 pitches, 49 for strikes, in 4+ innings, in which he allowed five runs, all earned, one of which was posthumous, and three walks while notching four Ks. With the loss his record declined to 3- 6,6.17.

25 year old Gavin Stone, the Dodgers’ fifth round draft choice four years ago, broke into the show last May, was 1-1, 9.00 after going 18-12, 3,19, with a 1.21 WHIP in his minor league career. He was a post-season All Star in the PCL in ’23. He was tonight’s winning pitcher, having held San Francisco to one run, earned, on five hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out a couple opf batters and had a pitch count of 90 with 58 strikes. His redcord now stands at 4-1, 3.27.

The rivals traded zeros for the first three frames, which. were notable for at least two plays. One was Luis Matos’s three base error on Freddie Freeman’s first inning drive to deep center, a premonition of what might happen if Lee’s diagnosis is confirmed. An optimist might have observed that Winn pitched out of the jam. The other was the nifty double play that shut down LA in the top of the third. With James Outman, who had walked, stole second, and advanced to third on Blake Sabol’s throwing error (another example of the perils of a bulky injured list) on second, Matt Chapmans snatched Mookie Betts bouncer down the line, tagged Outman, and threw the speedy Betts out at first.

But Los Angeles asserted itself in the next few innings. Their designated hitter, 大谷 翔平, AKA Shohei Ohtani, powered the Winn’s initial offering in the fourth, an 88 mph slider, into the right centerfield bleachers, 446 feet from home to give him an even dozen homeruns for the season and the Angelinos a 1-0 lead. Back to bak walks to Freeman and Will Smith, followed by a double to center by Teoscar Hernández and Max Muncy’s sacrifice fly, and the Giants were reeling from a 4-0 deficit

Two batters into the fifth and Winn was out of the game. Back to back singles to center by Betts and Ohtani brought Randy Rodríguez to the mound. A one out single to left by Will Smith drove Betts in with an inherited run, which was charged to Winn

The Giants staged a comeback of sorts in the sixth on a walk to LaMonte Wade, Jr. and, after Wilmer Flores popped out to short, two wild pitches while Héctor Ramos was at bat, Ramos, when he got a hit he could pitch, drove Wade in with the Giants’ first tally, a run that LA responded to in their next turn at with a leadoff triple to right by Betts and Ohtani’s automatic double to left.

Nick Avila, a right handed rookie who was recalled from Sacto yesterday, set the Dodgers down in order in the eighth.

The home team hit Gus Varland, LA’s third pitcher of the fray, Gus hard – line outs to left by Estrada ahd Wade, and Chapman’s double into the right field corner, but he escaped unscathed when Ramos lined out to second.

Avila wasn’t as effective in the visitors’ half of the ninth as he had been an inning earlier. Outman led off with a double to right. Miguel Rojas, who had replaced Betts at short, replicated Outman’s two bagger, driving in Rojas. He, in turn, was driven in by Freeman’s single down the line in right after Ohtani finished his three for five night’s work by grounding out to second. Will Smith then doubled to right, but Freeman stopped at third because Yaz almost made a spectacular catch before the ball glanced off his glove. Both Freeman and Smith crossed the plate on Hernández’s triple to right center.

And so it came to pass that Nabil Crismatt gave up an automatic double to Sabol, an RBI single to Matos, an another safety to Shmitt to preserve the Dodgers’ win with a final score of 0f 10-2.

We don’t yet know who will start for the Dodgers when the series is wrapped up tomorrow, Wednesday, 6:45. It will be Logan Webb (3-4,3,88) trying to get the Giants and himself back on track.

Los Angeles Dodgers Enrique Hernandez (8) is jubilant rounding the bases after hitting a solo home run in the top of the seventh against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Mon May 13, 2024 (AP News photo)

Los Angeles (28-15). 100 011 100 2 . 6 11. 0

San Francisco (19-24). 030 001 000 0. 4. 6. 1 10. innings

Time: 2:55

Attendance: 35,033

Monday, May 13, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–After their come from behind 10 inning defeat of Cincinnati gave them the series win over the Reds, the struggling home team lost a 10 inning thriller. The loss was one more blow to a team that has suffered some bad breaks in the past few days.

Jung-Hoo Lee today joined Jorge Soler, Blake Snell, Michael Conforto, Austin Slater, Nick Ahmed, Tom Murphy, Robbie Ray, Austin Warren, and Ethan Small on the injured list. The Giants recalled catcher Jackson Reetz, who barely had time to unpack his bags after he’d been optioned to the River Cats, to replace the injured Lee.

An article in Sunday’s Los Angeles times would have you believe that the Dodgers also were kind of beat up. Pain had caused Shoei Orhani to sit out yesterday’s loss to the Padres, who have won their last two series against the talent laden socal rivals.

Ohtani was in the lineup tonight, batting second, going two for five and driving in a run. The Times bemoaned Mookie Betts’ recent slump. He showed up at Oracle Park with a batting average of .339 and led off the game with a 363 foot home run to left and also went two for five. The Giants should have such troubles!

San Francisco’s starting pitcher, 27 year old Jason Hicks, with a game time record of 3-1, 2.3 was nothing to sneeze at. Hicks, who had gone five frames and allowed three earned runs to gain his third win of the season, in his last outing, Hicks acquitted himself well tonight, although he threw too many pitches, 93, in his five innings of work.

He surrendered seven hits, one of which was Betts’ long ball, and two runs, both earned. didn’t walk anybody and struck out four. He wasn’t involved in the decision although his earned run average rose to a still better than respectable 2.44

It’s not often that you get to see a 25 year old major league pitcher who’s won three consecutive most valuable awards, but that’s what we saw tonight when Yoshinobu Yamamoto took the mound for the Giants tonight.

He isn’t a household name in MLB–yet–but fans of the Nippon Pacific League know 1山本 由伸 as the winner of that major league’s MVP from 2021 through 2023. The right hander brought a lifetime record in Nippon Professional Baseball of 75-30, 1,72 with him when he signed his 12 year contract with Los Angeles, and added four wins and a loss, with an ERA of 2.79, before his no decision against San Francisco tonight.

Yamamoto wound up throwing 84 pitches, 55 for strikes, over 5-2/3 innings, in which he allowed four runs, all earned, on five hits, one a homer, and two bases on balls, and struck out six. His earned run average climbed to 3.21.

Luis Matos, recalled from Sacramento yesterday, got his first big league hit of the season and put the Giants ahead, 2-1, in the home second with a 385 foot blast over the center field fence with Blake Sabol, also recently recalled, on base.

LA almost caught up in the third when, after Ohtani who had reached first with one down on a force out was picked off first, Hicks to Wade. Unfortunately Wade’s throw to second bounced off shortstop Casey Schmitt’s glove and the Dodgers’ designated hitter made it to third.

Schmitt originally was charged with an error, but that was changed to an error on Wade’s throwl. In any case Hicks maintained his poise and got Freddie Freeman to ground out to second, ending the inning and preserving SF’s precarious lead.

They lost that advantage in the fifth, but almost escaped that fate. Andy Pages led off with a double to left. After Hicks fanned James Outman, Betts sent a looping fly ball to right. Yastrzemski made a magnificent tumbling catch of the ball, racing 63 feet at 27.2 mph to grab the ball. Then Ohtani beat out a slow roller to second that Thairo Estrada fumbled. It was scored, correctly, as a hit, a game tying hitl

Los Angeles untied the knot against Luke Jackson, Hicks’ successor. After fanning Will Smith, he walked Max Muncy, heaved a wild pitch that allowed Muncy to take second before Teoscar Hernández whiffed, That brought up Gavin Lux, whose automatic double to center put the visitors ahead, 3-2.

The Giants knocked Yamamoto out of the box in the bottom of the sixth. It was Ramos who did it, driving in Chapman, who had walked and gone to second on a walk to Wade, with a single to left. That brought in Alex Vesia, who struck out Reetz, pinch hitting for Sabol to end the inning. Michael Grove set SF down in order in the seventh.

The pinch hitter LA sent to the plate to face Erik Miller, who took the mound in the top of the seventh, was Kike Hernández. The veteran did a lot better than the rookie Reetz. Hitting for Outman, Hernández hit it out of the park, 406 feet down the left field fence, just to the right of the foul pole. We were back to a tie game, 4-4.

The right handed Rogers, Tyler the submariner allowed a single to Will Smith in eighth, and that was it.

Daniel Hudson was the Dodger pitcher in the bottom of that frame. In spite of Wade’s drive to the back of the warning track in center field, he set the Giants down in order in their half of the eighth, which set the stage for Camilo Doval’s technicolor Hollywood epic entrance in the top of the ninth. He lived up to it, pitching a 1,2,3 inning that included a 102 mph cutter.

Blake Treinen, recently returned from the injured list, was the Dodgers’ choice to pitch the bottom of the ninth. He walked Flores Fitzgerald pinch ran for him and, in the twinkling of a eye, got picked off. Ramos then beat out a roller for an infield singer, 3-1, a call that was upheld after video review. But Treinen held firm and retired the next two batters, sending sending us into extra innings.

Tyler Rogers’ brother Taylor had to face Ohtani with Betts on second as the zombie runner. Ohtani whiffed, but Freeman walked ,and Smith smacked a two run double to the base of the center field fence. Both runners scored. Muncy took a called third strike, and Teoscar Hernández skied out to center.

Brett Wiselty pinch hit for Schmitt against JP Feyereisen, trying to wrap things up for LA, with Matos on second as the courtesy runner. Feyereisen fanned Wisely but walked Yastrzemski, bringing Estrada to the plate. He grounded into an around the horn double play, and that put an end to a game that was worthy of the Giant-Dodger rivalry.

Treinen was the winning pitcher. He now has a season record of 1-0, 0.00 over four innings. Taylor Rogers, now 1-2, 4,11, was charged with the loss.

Los Angeles hasn’t yet announced who they’ll send to the mound, Tuesday, at 6;40. The Giants will go with their struggling ace, Logan Webb (3-4, 3.38)

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani rounds the bases after Will Smith doubles Shohei home in the bottom of the third inning at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Wed Apr 3, 2024 (AP News photo)

Wednesday, April 3, 2024

Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles, California

San Francisco Giants 4 (2-5)

Los Angeles Dodgers 5 (7-2)

Win: Tyler Glasnow (2-0)

Loss: Kyle Harrison (1-1)

Save: Dinelson Lamet (1)

Time: 2:25

Attendance: 52,746

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants put up a fight, but Tyler Glasnow shined, and the Dodgers got to a flustered Kyle Harrison for four runs, as they completed their sweep of the Giants with a 5-4 win.

Kyle Harrison, who was coming off a great start in San Diego Friday, made the start tonight, as he looked to be the stopper. Tyler Glasnow made the start for the Dodgers in the first of what is expected to be many matchups between Harrison and Glasnow.

Glasnow started the game with a pair of 1-2-3 innings. Harrison pitched a scoreless inning after walking Mookie Betts, but he did have to throw 17 pitches. 

Harrison struck out Teoscar Hernandez to start the bottom of the second, but he then proceeded to walk Max Muncy; give up a base-hit to Kiké Hernandez; and walk Chris Taylor. That loaded the bases for Miguel Rojas, who hit into a 4-6 fielder’s choice in which Giants second-baseman Thairo Estrada made an impressive behind the back flip to shortstop Nick Ahmed to retire Taylor at second.

The Dodgers had struck first, but the Giants were ready to respond. Glasnow struck Mike Yastrzemski swinging to start the top of the third, and then Patrick Bailey hit a home run to the Pavilion in right field, his first of the year, to tie it up.

However, the Dodgers struck right back in the bottom of the third. Shohei beat out a ground ball to first-baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. after Harrison was late in covering the bag. Freddie Freeman struck out on a foul tip for the first out, but on back-to-back pitches, Will Smith lined a double down the left field line to put the Dodgers back again, and Teoscar Hernandez singled to left-center to knock in Smith and make it 3-1.

Wade walked to start the fourth, as the Giants hoped to bounce back, but Glassnow struck out the side, all looking, on 10 pitches. Harrison retired the first two men he faced in the bottom of the fourth, but Miguel Rojas hit a line drive home run to the Dodgers’ bullpen in left to extend Los Angeles’ lead to three at 4-1.

Patrick Bailey singled sharply on the ground up the middle with two outs in the top of the fifth, but Glasnow remained dominant with his fastball. Harrison continued to struggle, as he hit Freddie Freeman to start the bottom of the fifth. However, Harrison bore down, and he induced a 5-4-3 double play from Smith, as well as a fly out to right by Teoscar Hernandez.

Harrison had a rough time tonight, but he hung in there to throw five innings and prevent Bob Melvin from blowing through the Giants’ bullpen. 

The Giants made a game of it in the top of the sixth. Wade walked with one out, and Jorge Soler doubled Wade to third. The Giants had runners at second and third with one out against Glasnow, who was now starting to tire. 

Michael Conforto was now up, and he continued his hot start by lining a single to right to knock in both runners and make it a 5-4 game. Conforto did get to second on a wild pitch to put the tying run in scoring position, but Glasnow got out of it with the Dodger’s lead intact.

Melvin went to Erik Miller in the bottom of the sixth, and Miller continued his impressive start with a 1-2-3 inning. Miller, who is 6’5” tall and weighs 240 pounds, has also very quickly established a dominating presence on the mound.

Joe Kelly came in for the Dodgers and pitched a 1-2-3 top of the seventh. The lefty, Taylor Rogers, came in for the Giants in the bottom of the seventh, and he retired the first two Dodgers. However, Shohei Ohtani was not going to go this whole series without burning the team that tried so hard to sign him over the off-season. 

After the Giants fell short of signing Aaron Judge in December 2022, Judge homered off Logan Webb in his first at-bat on Opening Day at Yankee Stadium on Opening Day last season. It did take Ohtani nine games to hit his first home run this season, but like Judge, Ohtani did it against the Giants after they fell short of signing him, and he made it hurt too with a booming shot to right-center.

Ohtani’s home run was one final act of a real statement series for the Dodgers. Both teams made big free agent splashes over the off-season, but at the end of the day, the Dodgers are a much stronger team. The Dodgers asserted their dominance this entire series, but to the Giants’ credit, they put up a fight, and showed that they can hang in there with the Dodgers.

“We’re not at full strength yet, but [having] two games that you come back and you’re that close against a good team playing really well right now, it’s really nothing to hang your hat on,” said Melvin. “It’s more frustrating than anything else.”

The Giants put up one last fight against the veteran, Daniel Hudson, who succeeded Kelly in the top of the eighth. Soler took Hudson deep for the latter’s second home run in as many nights to make it 5-4, and Michael Conforto came close to tying it, but ultimately flew out to Teoscar Hernandez deep in right.

“You don’t get any prizes for close, so we gotta dig a little harder.” said Melvin.

Tyler Rogers came in for his brother Taylor, and pitched a scoreless bottom of the eighth, and Dinelson Lamet closed out the Giants with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Glasnow got the win with his strong performance; Harrison the loss; and Lamet the save.

“To get swept is not a great feeling,” added Harrison. “We’re gonna be back to the drawing board, and we’re going to be ready for these guys next time we come out. It gives us that much more motivation to want to get them.”

The Giants fall to 2-5, and they will now head back home to San Francisco for the Home Opener against the San Diego Padres on Friday afternoon. Jordan Hicks will be on the mound for the Giants, and first pitch will be at 1:35 p.m.

News and Notes:

• Blake Snell threw a simulated game prior to tonight’s game at Dodger Stadium, as he prepares to make his Giants debut next Monday against the Washington Nationals.

“This was important for him,” said Melvin. “I really do believe that he needed to face some big league hitters, and I know he felt much better about what he needs to do and where his stuff is facing this type of opponent.”

Los Angeles Dodgers Mookie Betts (5) circles the bases after hitting his Major League leading fifth home run in the bottom of the third inning at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles on Tue Apr 2, 2024 (AP News photo)

Webb suffers shortest outing in two years, and Dodgers beat Giants again 5-4

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles, California

San Francisco Giants 4 (2-4)

Los Angeles Dodgers 5 (6-2)

Win: Logan Webb (0-1)

Loss: Ryan Yarbrough (1-0)

Save: Evan Phillips (3)

Time: 2:57

Attendance: 49,365

By Stephen Ruderman

The Dodgers, led by Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, got to Logan Webb, and beat the Giants 5-4, as they have won the first two games of this series

Logan Webb, who came into tonight undefeated in his career at Dodger Stadium made his second start of the season, and hoped to be the stopper. The Dodgers opted to go with an opener, and it would be Ryan Brasier, who appeared last night.

Brasier pitched a scoreless top of the first inning, and Webb came out for the bottom first to face the Dodgers’ trio of superstars in Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. Last night, the three of them went a combined 6-for-11, and scored six of the Dodgers’ eight runs. 

Betts and Freeman have gotten off to torrid starts this season, and they would strike again in the bottom of the first. Betts singled to start the inning and stole second base. Ohtani struck out looking, but Freddie Freeman lined a base-hit to right to knock in Betts and put the Dodgers on the board first.

The lefty Ryan Yarbrough came in for the Dodgers in the top of the second, and immediately gave up a leadoff double to Wilmer Flores. Thairo Estrada grounded out back to the pitcher to get Flores to third, and Patrick Bailey struck out swinging for the second out of the inning. Nick Ahmed, who has had some RBI hits early in the season, lined a base-hit to left field to knock in Flores and tie it up.

Logan Webb responded by throwing a 1-2-3 bottom of the second, and Matt Chapman came up and doubled off Yarbrough to lead off the third. Jorge Soler flew out to left to get Chapman to third, and Michael Conforto continued his hot start to the season, as he lined a base-hit to right-center to knock in Chapman and give the Giants the lead.

The Dodgers responded in the bottom of the third when Mookie Betts hit a home run to left-center to re-tie it. It was Betts’ fifth home run of the young season, as well as his 1,500th-career hit. Betts is hitting .500 through his first eight games.

“Honestly, anything [Betts] does doesn’t surprise me anymore,” said Webb. “He’s the best player in Baseball, I think”

Yarbrough threw a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fourth to get the Dodgers right back in the dugout, and they would be ready to go against Webb in the bottom of the fourth. Max Muncy doubled off Webb to start the half-inning, and Teoscar Hernandrez walked. 

James Outman lined out to Flores at first, but Gavin Lux came up and hit a shot to left-center that fell in for a hit to knock in Muncy and put the Dodgers back ahead, and hustled his way into second for a double. Kiké Hernandez then came up and lined a single to left, which scored both Hernandez and Lux, and that made it 5-2 Dodgers. Webb got Betts fly out to right, but after walking Ohtani, Webb was done.

This was the first time Webb did not make through the fourth since April 19, 2022 when he went three and two thirds against the New York Mets in the second game of a double header at Citi Field in New York.

“His stuff looked pretty good,” said Manager Bob Melvin. “He [was] behind in some counts, and there [were] some two-strike hits. I don’t know if they were sitting soft late in the count, but [the Dodgers] have some guys with some decent numbers [who] made him work and throw a lot of pitches”

Yarbrough came back out and pitched a 1-2-3 shutdown inning, and Landen Roupp, who came in to relieve Webb in the fourth, pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth

Jorge Soler, whom Bob Melvin said he expects to get hot prior to the game, hit a home run to left-center to start the top of the sixth and make it 5-3, but the Giants were not done yet. Conforto reached on an infield single to third, and Flores lined a single to right-center that sent Conforto to third. 

The Giants now had runners at the corners with nobody out and the tying run at first for Thairo Estrada, hit a ground ball to third and beat out the back end of a fielder’s choice, which scored Conforto to make it 5-4. Alex Vesia came in for Yarbrough, and escaped further damage.

The Dodgers had runners at first and second with nobody out against Roupp in the bottom of the sixth. Roupp then beared down to strike out Hernandez, and as well as Betts, who Roupp froze with a filthy curve on the inside corner. Roupp was then succeeded by the lefty, Taylor Rogers, to face Ohtani, and Ohtani grounded out to second to end the inning.

“[Roupp] is becoming a guy that we feel really good about,” said Melvin. “I even told him when I took him out, ‘There’s going to be a time when I’m not going to take you out there.’ For him to pitch the way he did, and [who] has continued to pitch for a guy that has very little experience, and then has to go through that order…..I think he’s gaining a lot of confidence going forward…..He’s got really good stuff, and that’s why he’s on the team” 

“Roupp is fun to watch,” added Webb. 

Michael Grove came in and set the Giants down 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh, Taylor Rogers got into trouble in the bottom of the seventh, and Ryan Walker came in to bail Rogers out and get the final two outs of the inning. 

“The whole staff definitely picked me up,” said Webb. “I try not to get in those situations where they have to throw a lot of innings, but they did a great job tonight.”

The Giants had runners at first and second with one out against Grove in the top of the eighth, but they were unable to come through, as Evan Phillips came in for Grove to get the final out. Phillips pitched a scoreless ninth to close it out, and the Dodgers won it 5-4.

“We had an opportunity to come back, and we had some guys on [to] potentially tie it or win it,” said Melvin. “[We] just couldn’t get that big hit again when we [got] guys in scoring position.”

Ryan Yarbrough got the win; Webb suffered his first-career loss at Dodger Stadium; and Even Phillips got the save.

As for Betts and Freeman, they went a combined 5-for-9 tonight, and have gone a combined 10-for-16 in this series

The Giants have now lost three-straight, and fall to 2-4. The Giants’ young left-hander, Kyle Harrison, will look to be the stopper tomorrow night, just as he was last Friday in San Diego, and  the Giants will try to avoid the sweep.

News and Notes:

• The Giants traded catcher Joey Bart, who they designated for assignment on Sunday, to the Pittsburgh Pirates for right-handed minor league pitcher Austin Strickland. Strickland, 21, was drafted by the Pirates last year.

As for Bart, this will be a new opportunity for him. Bart has shown his potential, and there seems to be a belief that he can stick in the big leagues and succeed with another team.

San Francisco Giants designated hitter Jorge Soler strikes out in the top fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Mon Apr 1, 2024 (AP News photo)

Monday, April 1, 2024

Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles, California

San Francisco Giants 3 (2-3)

Los Angeles Dodgers 8 (5-2)

Win: James Paxton (1-0)

Loss: Keaton Winn (0-1)

Time: 2:38

Attendance: 49,044

By Stephen Ruderman

Following an off-season of high-profile free agent signings by the Giants and Dodgers, the two rivals met for the first time in 2024, and the Dodgers and their superstars overpowered the Giants to beat them 8-3.

Following a split in their opening series in San Diego against the Padres, the Giants hopped on a bus, and headed north to Los Angeles to take on a Dodgers team that could have the highest of any in the history of the game. The Dodgers have these expectations because they added Shohei Ohtan and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to an already-powerful roster.

While the Giants may not have added the star power that the Dodgers did, the Giants still added Jung-hoo Lee, Jorge Soler, Matt Chapman and Blake Snell. The Giants and Dodgers made their splashes in the off-season, and now the bitter rivals would meet for the first time on the field here in 2024.

With the rotation short two men, Manager Bob Melvin has had to improvise. Yesterday, Daulton Jefferies was called up to make the start, and tonight, Melvin decided to go with Keaton Winn, who posted a 4.68 ERA in nine games and five starts with the Giants last season.

Winn got off to a rocky start when he came out for the bottom of the first. Mookie Betts hit a triple off the base of the wall in left-center field to start the inning. Betts was able to get to third, because the ball caromed completely away from Lee and the left-fielder, Michael Conforto, towards the left field line. Shohei Ohtani then grounded out to second to knock in Betts and give the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead.

James Paxton started for the Dodgers and struggled with his command, but the Giants were unable to take advantage of Paxton when he was in trouble. The Giants had base-runners in each of the first three innings, and runners in scoring position and the first and third, but they were unable to get a run across 

Despite his bumpy start, Winn was solid as he faced the Dodgers the first time through their order. However, Winn ran into trouble again when the Dodgers came up for the second time through the order in the bottom of the third. Betts walked with one out, and Ohtani doubled Betts over to third. Freddie Freeman singled up the middle to score Betts, but Ohtani was held at third. Ohtani would score on a sacrifice fly from Will Smith.

The Giants looked like they were finally going to break through in the fifth when Nick Ahmed and Jung-hoo Lee hit back-to-back singles to start the inning. However, Austin Slater, who got the start and hit second tonight, hit a ground ball to second for a 4-6-3 double play. Jorge Soler and Matt Chapman drew walks to keep the rally alive, but Wilmer Flores grounded out to second to end the inning. It was another wasted opportunity for the Giants, who stranded eight runners in the first five innings of the game.

Winn ended up going five solid innings against what is possibly the most powerful offense in Baseball. He gave up just four hits, struck out six and did exactly what the Giants needed him to do, which was to go long enough to prevent Melvin from having to blow through his bullpen.

“Keaton did a pretty good job,” said Melvin. “It’s a pretty tough line up to navigate, so I thought he pitched pretty well…..he kept us in the game.”

Winn relied heavily on his fastball and splitter last year, but he really used his slider to his advantage tonight.

“[I’m] definitely going to build off the slider,” said Winn. “That was the most I’ve ever thrown the pitch in a game, and I thought I did pretty good with it.”

Winn also lavished praise for his catcher, Tom Murphy, whom Winn was working with for the first time.

“I felt like we were on the same page pretty much the entire time,” said Winn. “It was nice to be able to trust him back there.”

Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts brought in Ryan Brasier for the sixth. Michael Conforto, who had gone 0-for-2 against the lefty, Paxton, hit a towering home run down the right field line to put the Giants on the board. For Conforto, it was his third home run of the season.

Erik Miller came in for the bottom of the sixth, and despite his two strong outings in San Diego, the young lefty would be tested by the Dodgers. Freeman singled, and Smith walked to start the inning. Max Muncy then hit into a fielder’s choice, and Smith was retired at second.

Melvin then decided to lift Miller for the submariner, Tyler Rogers. Rogers hung a slider to Teoscar Hernandez, who hit one bomb to left that may have ended up sailing all the way to the Grapevine to blow the Dodgers’ lead open to 8-3.

Joe Kelly came in for Brasier in the seventh. LaMonte Wade Jr. and Soler singled with one out. Chapman struck out looking for the second out, and Flores singled the other way to score Wade, but Soler was caught off second base and tagged out to end the inning. Since Wade touched the plate before Soler was tagged out, the run scored.

Nick Avila came in for the Giants in the bottom of the seventh to make his major league debut, and gave up a run over two innings. Dinelson Lamet pitched the final two innings for the Dodgers, and the Giants were able to plate a run against him in the ninth.

The Dodgers won it 8-3, as this was a game where the team with the superstars asserted their dominance. Betts, Ohtani and Freeman went a combined 6-for-11, and scored six of the Dodgers’ eight runs. 

“We can do better,” said Melvin. “They really have a good team. [The] top of [their] lineup is about as good as any in Baseball. We just gotta try and navigate it a little better.”

Paxton got the win, and Winn got the loss. The Giants fall to 2-3, but they will have their ace, Logan Webb, on the mound tomorrow night. First pitch will be at 7:10 p.m.

News and Notes:

• Mike Yastrzemski was activated off the Paternity List prior to tonight’s game, following the birth of his second child. Luis Matos and Daulton Jefferies were sent down to Triple-A Sacramento to make room for Yastrzemski and Nick Avila, and infielder Otto Lopez was designated for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot for Avila.

• Blake Snell, who some believed could make his Giants debut on Wednesday against the Dodgers, will pitch in one more simulated game, and will make his Giants debut on April 8 against the Washington Nationals at Oracle Park.