While the Los Angeles Dodgers entered Friday’s contest against the San Francisco Giants just 2-5 at AT&T Park this season, they had won all four of Madison Bumgarner’s starts, with the left-hander suffering a pair of losses.
Bumgarner was the victim of weak contact early, with Justin Turner and Corey Seager combining for back-to-back bloop singles with one out in the first inning. However, Turner was thrown out attempting to go first to third base on Seager’s hit.
That set the stage for the evening’s first matchup between Bumgarner and Yasiel Puig, with the latter getting the better end of it, on an RBI double.
Carlos Ruiz’s flare into shallow center dropped for an RBI single and the Dodgers were out to a 2-0 lead before Bumgarner could get out of the inning.
The Giants quickly answered back in the bottom of the first. Gorkys Hernandez hit leadoff double, Brandon Belt, and Buster Posey hit an RBI single. After a force out left runners on the corners with one out, Angel Pagan’s sacrifice fly tied the game.
The Dodgers’ aggressiveness on the bases cost them again in the second inning. After working a leadoff walk, Kiké Hernandez beat the throw to second base on a grounder to the left side but seemingly thought the ball went into right field, made a wide turn and was tagged out.
Hill struck out on a sacrifice bunt attempt and Howie Kendrick grounded out to end a scoreless inning. Puig reached with two outs in the third on a slow roller to third base and was stranded by Ruiz. Belt jumped on the first pitch he saw and lined a leadoff double to right field in the bottom of the third.
Puig made a sliding catch to rob Posey of a hit, and Hill retired the next two batters faced to keep the game locked in a tie through three innings. Brandon Crawford flipped a single into left field to open the bottom of the fourth.
It was the third inning in which the Giants had the lead off man reach. But he was stranded by Kelby Tomlinson, Beckham, and Bumgarner, who struck out swinging. Bumgarner set the Dodgers down in order in the fifth, giving him seven consecutive batters retired.
Hill navigated more traffic after allowing a one-out single to Belt in the bottom of the fifth. He struck out Posey swinging, who appeared to take issue with something Hill said. Posey and Ruiz exchanged words, and Posey appeared to tell Pence, “He said, ‘Get out of here to me.'”
Pence flied out to right and the game remained tied at 2-2. After retiring Seager and Puig, Bumgarner ran into trouble in the sixth. A trio of singles to left field from Ruiz, Segedin and Hernandez gave the Dodgers a 3-2 lead.
Brandon McCarthy’s audition as a relief pitcher was an unmitigated disaster. He walked Pagan on four pitches, then gave up back-to-back singles to Crawford and Tomlinson to load the bases with nobody out.
Conor Gillaspie’s pinch-hit, two-run double gave the Giants a 4-3 lead. Bumgarner then followed with a two-run double of his own, which finally prompted the Dodgers bullpen to get moving. Denard Span singled to left and that knocked McCarthy out of the game.
He didn’t retire any of the six batters faced (five hits, one walk), allowed four runs, and was responsible for runners on the corners. Bringing in Josh Ravin didn’t amount to any relief as he promptly gave up a three-run homer to Belt.
The Dodgers didn’t generate any offense over the late innings and lost to the Giants, 9-3. Their loss again dropped them to two games back of the Washington Nationals for home-field advantage in the National League Division Series.
For the Giants, they remained one game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals for the second Wild Card spot.
