After taking last Thursday’s opener at Dodger Stadium, the Los Angeles Dodgers dropped three consecutive games to the San Francisco Giants to lose their first series since May 7-9.
The Dodgers fell to third place in the National League West standings and now trail the Giants by two games. San Francisco boasts an overall record of 33-20, which is good for second-best in the NL and only a half-game behind the San Diego Padres.
“Good team. Swinging the bats well, obviously,” Clayton Kershaw said after allowing five runs en route to his fourth loss of the season on Sunday.
“You get Buster back, and Buster is playing maybe better than he ever has. That’s a big addition. Their starting pitching has been really good as well. Saw Gausman today, Woody has been throwing the ball well, got Cueto back, DeSclafani is throwing the ball well.
“They’ve got a lot of pieces over there on both sides of the ball.”
The Giants’ fast start has them eyeing their first postseason berth since 2016. The club finished last in the NL West as recently as 2017 but has been on an upward trend ever since.
“They’ve always had good players,” Max Muncy said when asked to share his thoughts on the Giants being a contender in the NL West. “I’ve said it before, for whatever reason they couldn’t put it together the last couple years but they’ve had good players.
“They’re playing well right now, they’re pitching well, they’re matching up well, they’ve got good bullpen pieces. It’s just one of those things where they’re going to hit mistakes. They’re a good team. They were never a bad team, they just couldn’t put it together.”
Roberts praises Giants
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts agreed with Kershaw’s and Muncy’s assessments of the Giants, deeming them a team that’s here to stay. “It’s a good club. They can really pitch,” Roberts said.
“They didn’t really defend this series, but they can defend. They match up, whether it’s guys out of the ‘pen, carrying five position players. For the most part they’re going to get their matchups. They’re playing good baseball.You’ve got to give credit to those guys.”
Roberts also believes the Giants’ improved play this season can help revive their rivalry with the Dodgers. “Absolutely,” he said when asked if San Francisco’s resurgence is good for baseball.
“I think a lot of people might’ve counted the Giants out; we didn’t. We know they’ve got a lot of very good veteran players that have won championships, and they can pitch. That’s a really good combination.
“As far as baseball, I think the National League West is as good as any division, if not the best division in baseball; you could argue the AL East. As far as baseball, Giants-Dodgers, absolutely it’s a good thing.”
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 more!
