It wasn’t what you would call a prolific performance but Los Angeles Dodgers awoke from their offensive just enough slumber to defeat the San Francisco Giants, 5-0, for their first win of the regular season. Entering play Saturday night, the Dodgers had yet to so much as score.
That changed in the bottom of the first when a Chris Taylor leadoff walk and Kiké Hernandez double off the right-center field wall set the table for Yasiel Puig. Hernandez’s double was the Dodgers’ first extra-base hit of the season, and Puig’s sacrifice fly scored their first run.
Matt Kemp tacked on an RBI single before Giants southpaw Derek Holland could get out of the inning. Holland’s defense then didn’t do him any favors in the third and fourth innings.
Taylor wound up with a triple when Andrew McCutchen came up empty on his diving attempt at a sinking line drive. Hernandez’s sacrifice fly extended the Dodgers’ lead to 3-0.
And just when it appeared Holland would strand a pair of walks in the fourth, McCutchen crossed in front of Gregor Blanco, causing the center fielder to drop a routine fly ball and allowing both runners to score.
McCutchen atoned for his plays by making two impressive catches in the sixth inning, but they ultimately made little difference other than playing a role in the Dodgers only finishing the night with four hits.
While the offense may have been more opportunistic than proving to have awoken from a slumber, Kenta Maeda added to an impressive display from the Dodgers pitching staff. He issued a one-out walk in the first inning but otherwise struck out the side, setting the tone for the night.
Maeda stranded back-to-back two-out singles in the second inning by striking out Holland, and left another pair on base in the third by getting Evan Longoria swinging. Maeda fought through what appeared to be back tightness or discomfort to complete five shutout innings on 90 pitches.
He finished with 10 strikeouts against just one walk, and allowed five hits. On the season, Clayton Kershaw, Alex Wood and Maeda have allowed a combined one run on 14 hits and three walks, while racking up 22 strikeouts in 19 innings pitched.
Ross Stripling worked around Buster Posey’s leadoff double in the sixth and back-to-back two-out flare singles in the seventh to toss two scoreless innings out of the bullpen. He was aided by Logan Forsythe’s terrific backhanded stop on a grounder hit up the middle for the third out in the seventh.
It was a bit of redemption for Forsythe, considering his first of three errors at third base on Friday night ended Wood’s perfect game.
Pedro Baez and Scott Alexander combined to finish out the game, with each throwing a scoreless inning.
