The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Francisco Giants on Thursday, backed by home runs from Mookie Betts and Trea Turner in a 5-3 win.
L.A. took an early 1-0 lead when Max Muncy doubled in the second inning and Gavin Lux drove him in with a two-out single. However, the Giants answered in the bottom half of the inning with a two-run homer from J.D. Davis, who they just acquired at the trade deadline, to take a 2-1 lead.
That score remained until the fourth inning when the Dodgers put up a three spot. Joey Gallo opened the inning with a single, his first hit with the team, but he was thrown out at the plate when Lux doubled to right field.
After Cody Bellinger struck out, James Outman drew a walk to put runners on first and second for Betts. In a 1-1 count, Betts lined the pitch into left-center field for his 25th home run of the season, putting the Dodgers up 4-2.
A Giant swing from Mookie! pic.twitter.com/qhvTVm7T8E
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 4, 2022
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 4, 2022
Back-to-back four-game sweeps of SF! pic.twitter.com/7LwFfCvZe8
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 4, 2022
While everything looked to be going well for the Dodgers, that quickly changed when Clayton Kershaw began his warmup pitches for the fifth inning. He was taken out of the game and the initial diagnosis from the Dodgers was he exited because of lower back pain.
Kershaw spent one month on the 10-day injured list this season due to right SI joint inflammation that caused discomfort in his back.
The Dodgers bullpen was up for the challenge of pitching six innings with a two-run lead. Phil Bickford, Chris Martin, Caleb Ferguson and Alex Vesia all pitched a scoreless inning to take them to the ninth with the lead.
Turner also gave the bullpen some extra insurance to work with by hitting his 18th home run of the season in the seventh inning, putting the Dodgers up 5-2.
In the ninth, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called on Craig Kimbrel for the second consecutive day, and although the right-hander allowed a run, he was able to convert his 20th save of the season.
Dodgers sweep Giants
The Dodgers swept the Giants in a four-game series played in San Francisco for the first time since July 1-4, 1977. They have eight consecutive victories against the Giants, which tied the Los Angeles franchise record for the longest winning streak in their head-to-head meetings.
The 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers hold the franchise record with 10 consecutive wins over the New York Giants.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
