San Francisco – The nightmare weekend is finally over, the Giants fall 11-5 to the Los Angeles Dodgers Sunday afternoon. The win marks the seventh straight win for the Dodgers as they sweep the series.
The loss puts San Francisco a game behind L.A. in the division and two behind the division-leading San Diego Padres. Entering the weekend series the Giants were top of the National League West.
“We got beat every which way in this series,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “They made more pitches than us, they got more big hits than us, they played better defense and converted more plays into outs than we did. When that happens, the only thing to do is to get back up quickly off the mat and quickly turn the page and get ready for the next game.”
“That’s a good ballclub and we have a good club too,” said outfielder Austin Slater. “I don’t think that’s the standard of play that we’re going to see the rest of the season.”
Anthony DeSclafani had his worst career start in the orange and black. The Dodgers rocked DeSclafani for 10 runs on nine hits through 2 ⅔ innings on the mound. The 10 runs allowed surpasses his then career-worst start at nine runs that he allowed against the Pittsburgh Pirates last summer with the Boston Red Sox. He’s now the first Giants pitcher since Ty Blach in 2017 to allow 10 or more runs in a game.
“I don’t think he had his best command,” Kapler said. “When he’s at his best he can put the ball where he wants to put it and there were too many balls left in the middle of the plate today.”
DeSclafani allowed 12 runs total this season and no more than six hits in each start entering today’s game, he also won two of his last three starts.
LA’s lineup got off to an aggressive start in the second and third innings. Yoshi Tsutsugo’s RBI single drove in both Will Smith and Matt Beaty, who singled and walked to open the frame. The Dodgers starting pitcher Julio Urias helped his own cause by lining a double toward the right field wall to score Tsutsugo to give LA an early 3-0 lead.
Then in the third, Gavin Lux blasted a grand slam to right center to cap the Dodgers seven-run inning, putting the game away early. DeSclafani never found any rhythm throughout that third inning and allowed four straight batters to reach base after retiring Justin Turner to lead off the inning. DeSclafani got Tsutsugo to ground out to second for the second out with a pair of runners on, but after walking Urias to load the bases, Lux punished him with the grand slam.
Urias’s day at the plate was only half of his story. He briefly flirted with a no-hitter into the sixth inning until Mike Tauchman’s infield single with one away as Lux couldn’t handle the grounder up the middle. He then allowed a home run to Slater two batters later in the bottom of the sixth as the Giants avoided the shutout, 11-2.
Overall, much like Trevor Bauer and Walker Buehler the last two nights, Urias easily handled the San Francisco’s lineup. He allowed just two runs on three hits with 10 strikeouts through six frames. The 10-strikeout performance is his third of the season and his career. He’s now won four of his last five starts.
“They’re spinning the ball well, better than they ever have,” said Slater. “They were attacking the zone early. If you find yourself behind those guys, it’s gonna be a tough day.”
“He had a really good breaking ball working, his fastball was carrying, and he was attacking the strike zone,” Kapler said of Urias. “I just think he executed his pitches.”
Once again, the Giants lineup started off slow, but tried to rally in the later innings, and, once again, fell short. After the two-run spark in the sixth inning, San Francisco struck for three more off LA’s reliever Edwin Uceta to attempt some sort of late-game rally.
Steven Duggar’s double sparked the eighth inning rally after Tauchman walked to lead off the frame. After Slater walked to load the bases, Donovan Solano hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Tauchman. Then Yastrzemski, who struck out three times earlier in the day, lined a double down the right field line, scoring both Duggar and Slater to make it a 11-5 game.
The Giants bullpen once again held their own, holding the Dodgers to just one run on a combined two hits with a walk through a combined 6 ⅓ innings. That one run allowed was a Max Muncy home run in the fourth inning off of Sam Selman, who was just called up from Triple-A Sacramento.
San Francisco has a much needed off day tomorrow before going on a two-city, six-game road trip, highlighted by a four-game weekend series at the Dodgers. But first they’ll take on the Arizona Diamondbacks for a two-game set starting Tuesday.
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