The Los Angeles Dodgers bounced back from having their five-game winning streak snapped by defeating the San Francisco Giants, 7-2, in the opener of their series.
That guaranteed the Dodgers would not be swept in the four-game series and left the Giants as the only team to do so this season when they won all three contests at Dodger Stadium from June 16-18.
Emmet Sheehan dominated the Giants once again as he didn’t allow a hit over 4.2 innings. Sheehan was perfect through three innings and had seven strikeouts up to that point.
Chris Taylor helped the Dodgers take a lead in the bottom of the third inning when he hit a leadoff double and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Kiké Hernández.
Emmet Sheehan, K'ing the Side in the 2nd.
5Ks thru 2. pic.twitter.com/65tMhJYyFa
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 22, 2023
Emmet Sheehan's 2Ks in the 3rd.
7Ks thru 3. pic.twitter.com/JFzM43hnIw
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 22, 2023
How many homers for J.D.? 30 and thriving. pic.twitter.com/K6DPffsaC8
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 22, 2023
Giants are fighting for their playoff lives, btw. pic.twitter.com/rKBgXtEL2X
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) September 22, 2023
J.D. Martinez extended the Dodgers’ lead to 2-0 in the fourth inning with his 30th home run of the season. Sheehan then found himself in trouble in the fifth inning after retiring the first two batters.
He hit Mike Yastrzemski with a pitch and issue consecutive walks that loaded the bases. Alex Vesia began to warm up in but the Dodgers stuck with Sheehan, who issued a third walk in a row that brought a run in and ended his night.
Wild pitches on back-to-back pitches provide a pair of insurance runs. pic.twitter.com/QI72pqXol4
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) September 22, 2023
Freddie singled and stole second (21-for-22), then J.D. drove him in for insurance. pic.twitter.com/Fy5caLihKB
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) September 22, 2023
CT3 singles to add yet another run. pic.twitter.com/1pGfoZ3D1a
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) September 22, 2023
Alex Vesia struck out pinch-hitter J.D. Davis to end the fifth inning but surrendered a game-tying home run to Joc Pederson in the sixth. The homer was Pederson’s first off a left-hander this season.
The Dodgers quickly pulled back ahead as Will Smith led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a triple thanks to Tyler Fitzgerald seeing the ball pop out of his glove on diving catch attempt. Mike Yastrzemski then lost track of outs on a fly ball to right field that Smith tagged on.
The Giants continued to help the Dodgers in the bottom of the seventh on back-to-back wild pitches from Luke Jackson that both allowed a run to score.
Freddie Freeman sparked a rally in the eighth with a single — tying a career high with 199 hits this season — and promptly stealing second base. Martinez collected his third RBI of the night with a single. Taylor added an RBI base hit to further break the game open.
Dodgers magic number
The Dodgers’ magic number to clinch a bye in the postseason and spot in the National League Division Series is down to two. They mathematically can pass the Atlanta Braves for the best record in the NL but remain 3.5 games back.
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