The Los Angeles Dodgers began their last series of the regular season with a win on Friday night, defeating Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants, 3-1, to keep pace with the Colorado Rockies in the National League West.
The Dodgers are still one game behind the Rockies with two games to go, but they are two games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals for the second Wild Card spot. Thus, their magic number to clinch a postseason berth is just one.
Kiké Hernandez, who has hit Bumgarner well in the past, continued to wear him out on Friday night as he went 3-for-3 with three singles. Hernandez scored two of the Dodgers’ three runs on the night, with the first coming in the top of the third inning on a game-tying single by Manny Machado.
The big swing of the night came in the fifth inning off the bat of Justin Turner. With Hernandez on base, Turner launched a two-run home run to left-center field off Bumgarner to give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead, which held up.
Hyun-Jin Ryu had another strong outing on the mound for Los Angeles to close out his 2018 regular season. He tossed six innings of one-run ball, allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out three.
Overall, the Dodgers pitching staff induced five double plays on the night, which tied a season-high. Kenley Jansen got the last one in the ninth inning to complete the victory and earn his 38th save.
