Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager was back in the lineup Saturday night against the San Francisco Giants, who sent Johnny Cueto to the mound. He was opposed by Scott Kazmir, making the second time in six weeks the two pitchers started against each other.
Whereas the Dodgers scored five runs on Cueto in the first inning on April 10 at AT&T Park, the right-hander carried a perfect game into the fifth. Yasmani Grandal broke it up with a one-out double to right-center field, but he was stranded and the Giants held a 4-0 lead.
Cueto eventually gave up a run on an RBI single hit by Kiké Hernandez in the seventh inning. After striking out pinch-hitter Charlie Culberson to start the bottom of the eighth, Cueto turned the ball over to Javier Lopez.
The Giants’ reliever walked A.J. Ellis, then allowed a two-run home run to Seager on a full count:
The home run was Seager’s first of the season and his first hit off a left-hander in 12 plate appearances. Last season, Seager batted .325/.426/.500 over 47 plate appearances against same-side pitching.
Seager was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against Cueto on the night, and said facing the right-hander was “uncomfortable” given his unorthodox delivery and arsenal of pitches. As for his home run, the 21-year-old shortstop was trying to jumpstart the Dodgers.
“We just needed runs at that point, you needed guys on base to get them across,” Seager said. “It was just trying to get good pitches and make good swings. “I haven’t had very much success with [Lopez] in the past, it’s just one of those at-bats where you’re grinding out pitches, trying to see as many as you can to figure out his angle.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called Seager’s at-bat against Lopez “fun to watch.” Unfortunately for the Dodgers, their late rally fell short, with the tying run stranded at third base in the ninth inning.
