The Los Angeles Dodgers renewed their rivalry with the San Francisco Giants on Monday and came from behind to earn a 6-4 win in 10 innings at Oracle Park.
The Dodgers took an early lead but quickly relinquished it when Luis Matos hit a three-run homer off Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the second inning.
L.A. would eventually tie things up before the Giants reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the sixth. The Dodgers quickly tied the score in the seventh and never looked back from there.
Manager Dave Roberts noted that the teams usually have close games, which he attributed to their rivalry, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“I think there’s something to the rivalry,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think the fans here really get into it. And we seem to be pretty well represented when we come up here. But you know, regardless of records, it seems like we always have tight ballgames.”
Kiké Hernández, who tied the score with a pinch-hit solo home run in the seventh, believes there have been a lot of crazy endings to games between the Dodgers and Giants:
“When I started with the Dodgers, it was AT&T (Park) and it felt like the first two or three years I was here, a lot of weird stuff tends to happen in this stadium, especially late in games,” Dodgers utility man Kiké Hernandez said of the Dodgers-Giants rivalry.
Will Smith, who had the go-ahead two-run double in the 10th, agreed that the teams seem to play more exciting games against each other:
“It’s always intense games. Fans are into it,” Smith said. “We’re trying to beat them, they’re trying to beat us. It comes down to who executes and tonight we were able to get them.”
The Dodgers improved to 28-15 with their win and now hold a nine-game lead over the Giants in the National League West standings.
L.A. is a perfect 4-0 against San Francisco this season and will look to keep it going when the series resumes on Tuesday.
Shohei Ohtani returns to Dodgers lineup
After sitting out Sunday’s game due to back tightness, Ohtani returned to the Dodgers lineup in the series opener against the Giants. He went 2-for-5 with an RBI.
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!
