Although the Los Angeles Dodgers jumped on Johnny Cueto early to take a 5-0 lead in first inning, they were unable to hold off the San Francisco Giants and suffered a third loss in the four-game series.
After the offense put together a strong first inning, it was up to southpaw Scott Kazmir to maintain the lead. However, whereas Kazmir was sharp in his regular-season debut, his start at AT&T Park was a different story.
The 32-year-old southpaw surrendered two runs in the bottom of the first inning, three more in the third, and a sixth and final run in the fourth. Four of the Giants’ runs came via the long ball, as Kazmir allowed home runs to Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, and Angel Pagan.
It marked the ninth time in Kazmir’s career he’s allowed at least three home runs in a game; doing so in 2006, 2008 (four home runs, twice), 2010 (three times), 2013, 2014 and 2016. After the disappointing outing, Kazmir discussed what went wrong for him, via ESPN’s Doug Padilla:
“They didn’t miss,” Kazmir said. “When you look back at the three home runs, two were a changeup, one was a cutter and they were up. The cutter, [I] just didn’t have a feel for it today. There were a lot of pitches right down the middle, no spin, and they hit them all.”
With the Dodgers sweeping the San Diego Padres and then playing a back-and-forth series against their rival, Kazmir added the confidence doesn’t lack confidence:
“It’s been a roller coaster this past week,” Kazmir said. “But I think I speak for all of us in this clubhouse when I say that we are a confident group and we know what we are capable of doing. We just have to get it done.”
While the Dodgers’ lone win at AT&T Park came after Kelby Tomlinson botched a routine grounder that had the makings of a game-ending double play, Los Angeles can also take some solace in the fact that they held a lead in all three losses.
Next for Kazmir is another scheduled date with Cueto and the Giants on Saturday, though at Dodger Stadium.
