The Los Angeles Dodgers were held in check early by Alex Wood but put together rallies in the fourth and seventh innings to earn a 9-1 win and series sweep of the San Francisco Giants.
Spotted a lead thanks to Brandon Crawford’s solo home run, Wood held the Dodgers to one walk and faced the minimum through three scoreless innings. His no-hitter was broken up by Mookie Betts’ leadoff single in the fourth, which sparked the Dodgers.
After Freddie Freeman followed with a walk, Trea Turner hit a blooper into shallow left field for a game-tying RBI single. Will Smith added a go-ahead RBI base hit before Wood managed to record an out.
He limited the Dodgers to just the two runs thanks in large part to Justin Turner grounding into an inning-ending double play. Turner has been mired in a slump to begin the season and his at-bat in the fourth inning was a microcosm of it as he nearly hit a double.
Betts provided some insurance by ambushing Wood’s first pitch in the bottom of the sixth for his fourth home run of the season.
L.A. wound up breaking the game open against the Giants bullpen, aided by a miscue with the bases loaded that resulted in a run scoring. Betts followed with a sacrifice fly and Freddie Freeman hit a two-run triple. Max Muncy added a two-run homer in the eighth for good measure.
While the Dodgers failed to generate much offense against Wood, Tony Gonsolin did his part to keep the game tight and validated the team’s decision to start him. L.A. had been considering multiple options leading up to the series finale, including a potential bullpen game.
Beginning with Crawford’s home run in the second, San Francisco had the leadoff man reach in three consecutive innings. Gonsolin managed to pitch through the traffic as he completed five innings.
Dodgers bullpen shuts door
Evan Phillips was first to enter after Gonsolin, making his 10th appearance of the season. Phillips wasn’t overly sharp but pitched a scoreless inning.
Tommy Kahnle also faced the minimum, and Phil Bickford and Reyes Moronta combined had the benefit of combining to toss the final two innings with a comfortable lead.
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