Tag: Los Angeles Dodgers

Giants Beat Dodgers In 11 Innings 7-5

San Francisco Giants’ Wilmer Flores, right, rounds second after hitting a two-run home run as Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Miguel Vargas watches during the seventh inning at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Fri Jun 16, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Friday night the San Francisco Giants (37-32) took on the Dodgers (39-31) down at Dodger Stadium with the opportunity to make a move in the NL West and make a move they did defeating the Dodgers 7-5 in the opening game of the series. This three game series is only one of two three game series coming up for the Giants that could make a huge impact.

Following the Dodger series, the Giants will play the Padres for four games starting Monday night and a three-game meeting against the Arizona Diamondbacks starting Friday night. Only 4.5 games separate these three clubs with San Francisco currently in third place with Arizona in first and the Dodgers in second.

Friday night’s game show cased one of the longest, fiercest rivalries in baseball; a 131—year history between these two storied franchises. It all began in the late 19th century when both of these clubs were based in New York City.

Fast forward and this long-standing rivalry that got underway Friday night to continue that tradition. The Dodgers won the last series they played back in April. The difference in this game; the Giants are playing a whole lot better then the last time these two clubs met coming off a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Emmet Sheehan was on the mound for the Dodgers in his first MLB start. Sheehan pitched six innings walking two and striking out three. The Giants featured John Brebbia who threw for one inning, for one walk and one strike out as an opener.

Friday night game recap: The first four innings of this game were quiet for both clubs. In the fifth inning the Dodgers put four runs up on the board. Will Smith singled, J.D. Martinez doubled and James Outman had another single. Left fielder Michael Conforto had a fielding error and when the dust had settled Los Angeles had built a 4-0 lead.

In the seventh inning an errant hit off the bat of Wilmer Flores threatened to put him out of the game. The ball hit him on the foot which brought him down in obvious pain but he was able to stay in the game. After the mishap Flores went on to knock a home run into the left field seats with Thairo Estrada on base and the Giants were back in this game 4-2.

Victor Gonzalez took over on the mound for the Dodgers in the eighth inning. The Los Angeles bullpen has been struggling terribly of late. Gonzalez walked one runner and gave up a couple of hits. Joc Pederson singled Brandon Crawford home and this was a one run game 4-3.

The Giants didn’t have a hit through six innings but really turned things around in the seventh and eighth. Thairo Estrada hit a sacrifice fly and Austin Slater scored to tie up this game 4-4. San Francisco took the lead 5-4 when Pederson scored off a Casey Schmitt infield single.

Once again we saw more come from behind play from San Francisco; from being down 4-0 to taking the lead 5-4. Dodger Stadium had grown silent.

Camilo Doval would come in and try to close out this game for San Francisco in the bottom of the ninth inning. Singles from Miguel Rojas, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman tied up the game 5-5.

The game would go into extra innings. The Dodgers have not lost an extra innings game this season and the Giants were hoping to hand them their first. Neither team could score and this game went into the 11th inning. Crawford who had been quiet all night really stepped up with a single.

Patrick Bailey scored from third and San Francisco took the lead 6-5. A Slater single drove Luis Matos home for a 7-5 lead. After a very messy bottom of the 11th San Francisco held on for the two run win.

Game two of this series will be played at Dodgers Stadium on Saturday with first pitch at 6:10 PM. The Giants will start lefthander Alex Wood (1-1 ERA 4.80) he’ll be opposed by the Dodger righthander Bobby Miller (3-0 ERA 0.78)

San Francisco Giants starter John Brebbia will go against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium on Fri Jun 16, 2023 (USA Today 2021 file photo)

Giants Gear Up For Series With Rival Dodgers

By Barbara Mason

Thursday the San Francisco Giants (36-32) took a well-deserved day off after sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals, their third sweep of the season. It was yet another come-from- behind win the Giants have seen from this team, winning by the score of 8-5.

You just cannot count this team out these days. Mike Yastrzemski hit a two-run homer in the ninth with two outs and two strikes to tie up the game. Thairo Estrada put the finishing touches on in the tenth inning to give San Francisco the win and the sweep. The Giants are riding on a four game winning streak right now.

The Giants bullpen was terrific with a combined five relievers turning in seven scoreless innings. Tyler Rogers got the win with a perfect ninth inning. Camilo Doval got his 18th save in 19 games. It gets very tough for the team when they go down early and have to play from behind but, San Francisco has gotten very proficient in these situations and this has been huge for the Giants.

Friday night the Giants travel to Los Angeles to take on the rival Dodgers (38-30) in a three-game series.

The Giants will assign John Brebbia (2-0 ERA 3.25) to start on Friday night. Alex Wood (1-1 ERA 4.80) had been mentioned. Wood has been out with a lower back injury and will not start on Friday, but may be able to take the mound for this series. The Dodgers might start Matt Andriese (0-0 ERA 0.00) on the hill for Los Angeles.

The Giants defense will be dealing with the likes of Max Muncy with 18 homers, Freddie Freeman with a .331 batting average and J.D. Martinez with 47 RBIs.

The Giants have a lot of fire power of their own in their line-up. Michael Conforto leads the team in not only homers with 12 but also RBIs (36). Thairo Estrada comes in with a .296 batting average. San Francisco has a multitude of offensive weapons with Austin Slater, Joc Pederson, Wilmer Flores, LaMonte Wade Jr., Casey Schmitt and Mike Yastrzemski. Bottom line, the Dodgers will have their hands full in this one.

First pitch is scheduled at Dodger Stadium for 7:10 PM.

Los Angeles Dodgers’ Max Muncy hits a three-run home run against the San Francisco Giants during the sixth inning  at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Apr 12, 2023 (AP News photo)

Giants Drop Series to Rival Dodgers 10-5

By Barbara Mason

Wednesday evening the San Francisco Giants (5-7) played the rival Los Angeles Dodgers (7-6) in the rubber game of their three game series. The Dodgers won the first game of this series by a landslide 9-1 on Monday but the Giants came roaring back in game two winning a 5-0 shut out on Tuesday. Wednesday night San Francisco couldn’t get to .500 in this series losing to Los Angeles 10-5.

The Giants faced Dodger ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw who pitched six innings giving up five hits and improved his record to 2-1. San Francisco sent Alex Cobb to the mound who lasted 3.2 innings and gave up eight hits and two runs but was not the pitcher of record in Wednesday’s loss.

Game recap: The Giants got on the scoreboard early 2-0. J.D. Davis hit a sacrifice fly driving Thairo Estrada home for the first run of the game. The Giants would score a second run in the first inning when Darin Ruf doubled and Michael Conforto scored for the 2-0 lead.

Wilmer Flores singled in the second inning extending the Giants lead 3-0 when Joey Bart scored from third base. Alex Cobb had three good innings but ran into some trouble in the fourth inning.

The Dodgers had a couple of hits that got them up on the scoreboard. James Outman singled driving in J.D. Martinez for their first run.

Their second run came when Mookie Betts doubled and David Peralta scored. The Dodgers had snuck right back into this game trailing by a single run 3-2. At this point Cobb was pulled after allowing eight hits and two runs. Scott Alexander took over on the mound relieving Cobb.

In the fifth inning the Giants lead evaporated when slugger Max Muncy homered to center field and this game was tied 3-3. Scott Alexander was relieved by Taylor Rogers.

After walking two runners in the sixth inning Rogers had loaded the bases with no outs. He then faced Freddie Freeman in a pitching battle that ended with a walk after 15 pitches. Trayce Thompson scored and Los Angels had taken the lead 4-3.

It was back to the bullpen and Rogers was out; John Brebbia was in. It was a tough inning for the relief pitcher. Will Smith sacrificed, Chris Taylor scored and this game had turned around 5-3.

San Francisco was struggling to get out of the sixth inning but Dodger Max Muncy had other plans hitting his second home run of the game with two runners on base. Los Angeles had an 8-3 lead after six innings.

Relief pitcher Ross Stripling would take the mound in the seventh inning. More struggles for the Giant’s pitchers as Stripling walked the first at bat and gave up another Dodger home run. The Trayce Thompson homer gave the Dodgers a 10-3 lead.

The Giants got a rally going in the bottom of the seventh. Wilmer Flores singled in a run with a lot of work still for San Francisco. The Giants had two runners on base and two outs but left those runners stranded going into the eighth inning.

The Giants Thairo Estrada knocked one out of the park in the ninth inning. It was just too little too late as San Francisco lost this game and the series.

Stripling closed out this game. The Giants bullpen struggled mightily in this loss. The Giants had ten hits to the Dodgers 13 but they left runners on base and the pitching did the team no favors tonight. The home runs from Los Angles really hurt especially the second Muncy bullet with two runners on base.

This will be the last time these two teams will meet in San Francisco until the final three games of the 2023 season.

Thursday the Giants will have a day off before heading to Detroit for a three game series with the Tigers on Friday starting for San Francisco Sean Manaea (0-0, 4.50) and Detroit no starter has been announced. First pitch is scheduled for 3:40 PM at Comerica Park in Detroit.

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Alex Wood, middle, hands the ball over to manager Gabe Kapler, left, as he exits during the fifth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tue Apr 11, 2023 (AP News photo)

Los Angeles. 000 000 000 – 0 3 0

San Francisco 200 000 03x – 5 7 1

Time: 2:38

Attendance: 30,768

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–Hoping to reverse their dismal start that left them 4-6 for the nascent 2023 season, San Francisco’s Gentle Giants sent southpaw Alex Wood to the mound against their long-time arch rival Los Angeles Dodgers this evening.

Wood, who brought a record of 0-0, 3.00 with him, could boast of the second best ERA in San Francisco’s starting rotation, trailing only the other Alex on the front five, Cobb. Wood was up against a formidable opponent. Dustin May pitched 18-1/3 innings in spring training this year, going 5-4, 2,95 with 20 strike outs.

Between opening day and game time, the 25 year old righty had started two games, winning one, and compiled an ERA 0.69 over 13 frames.

When hostilities ceased (if you can ssay that about a Giants-Dodgers game), the Giants had burst open a close glame with a three run eighth inniing to defeat the visitors, 5-0, in a combined three hitter.

May’s impressive showings this year didn’t keep the Giants from jumping on him for an early 2-0 lead. Back to back walks to LaMonte Wade, Jr. and Michael Conforto set the stage for a productive ground out to third by JD Davis that moved both runners up 90 feet.

Joc Pederson’s resounding double to right brought both of them home. Wood held the Dodgers at Bay forr 4-2/3 innings, but his control wavered in the top of the fifth. Walks to James Outman and Mookie Betts allowed right handed number three batter Will Smith to come to the plate.

SF needed a right handed pitcher to counter him. Enter Jakob Junis. Outman launched a tremendous drive to deep right field, sending Conforto to the back of the warning track to haul in the blast. Wood had thrown 75 pitches during his tenure; 42 of them considered strikes.

No runs were scored against him, and he surrendered but one hit. He walked three batters and hit another two. Wood’s performance brought his ERA down to 1,17.

Junis had escaped by the skin of his teeth in the fifth. He had enough trouble in the sixth to require his replacement by Scott Alexander. Junis issued a leadoff single to center off the bat of JD Martíhez, followed by a Texas League single to right by Trayce Thompson.

Miguel Vargas stuffed the sacks with Dodgers when a catcher’s interference error was called on Blake Sabol, who still is learning that position. Alexander pulled a Houdini, getting a force 0ut at home on Outman’s nubber in front of the plate and fanning Miguel Rojas.

May was removed prophylatically after retiring Davis, the Giants’ leadoff batter in their half of the sixth, yielding to Caleb Ferguson, who closed out the frame, giving up[ a harmless single to Mike Yastrzemski.

It was the on again, off again John Brebbia on the hill for SF in the top of the seventh, facing the top of the Angelino order. He held them scoreless in spite of a leadoff walk to Betts.

Shelby Miller hopped on the reief merry-go-round after the seventh inning stretch. He managed to retire a couple of Giants but also surrendered a single too Sabol, who stole second, and a two out wak to Wade.

So it was Briusdar Graterol who walked Conforto to clog the basepaths FOG, Full of Goats. He also got Davis to ground out to second to end the inning.

Submariner Tyler Rogers came on to torpedo the Dodgers in the eighthh on, setting them down in order on 15 pitches (11 strikes).

Another inning, another pitcher. Evan Phillips on the mound for Los Angeles. With one down, Yastremzski whacked a two bagger into the right field corner and trotted home on Villar’s booming round tripper 403 into right field that left his bat at 102.9 mph. Not to be out done, Crawford sent a splash hit 366 feet into McCovey Cove off of a 93.7 mph cutter. In the twinkling of an eye, San Francisco was ahead, 5-0. Sabol’s and Johnson’s striking out was anticlimactic.

Camilo Duval, with a little help from a great play at second by Thairo Estrada, who entered the game in the top of the eight, closed the book on LA, allowing only a walk in the ninth.

Alexander got the win; May, the loss.

It will be the mighty Clayton Kershaw (3-1, 3.75) will start for the Dodgers against the formidable Alex Cobb (0-1, 2.53) for the Giants Wednesday, evening at 6:45.