Tag: Los Angeles Dodgers

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.