The Los Angeles Dodgers completed a four-game series sweep of the San Francisco Giants with a 5-3 win, but now have to navigate another Clayton Kershaw back injury.
Kershaw was removed while warming up for the bottom of the fifth inning, and the initial diagnosis from the Dodgers was he exited with lower back pain. Kershaw spent one month on the 10-day injured list this season due to right SI joint inflammation that caused discomfort in his back.
Kershaw left the game with the Dodgers ahead thanks to a home run from Mookie Betts. They initially took a lead when Gavin Lux cashed in Max Muncy’s double with a two-out RBI single in the second inning.
However, the Giants immediately responded behind J.D. Davis lifting a Kershaw changeup the other way for a go-ahead, two-run homer in the bottom of the second. San Francisco remained ahead until the fourth inning when Betts hit his 25th home run of the season.
One day after having his 20-game hitting streak snapped, Trea Turner provided insurance with a solo homer in the seventh inning.
Joey Gallo went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts in his Dodgers debut.
Craig Kimbrel gave up a pinch-hit double to Brandon Belt in the ninth inning, nearly gave up a home run on a fly ball that stayed in play because of a deep center field, and allowed a run to score on a wild pitch before converting the save.
The Dodgers swept the Giants in a four-game series played in San Francisco for the first time since July 1-4, 1977. They have eight consecutive victories against the Giants, which tied the Los Angeles franchise record for longest winning streak in their head-to-head meetings.
The 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers hold the franchise record with 10 consecutive wins over the New York Giants.
Jarlin García mocks Dodgers’ head-tap celebration
Tempers flared in the sixth inning due to Giants relief pitcher Jarlin García mocking the Dodgers’ head-tap celebration after striking out Cody Bellinger and James Outman. García stared at Betts while doing so after the second instance.
Umpires kept the two players separated, but Giants manager Gabe Kapler stormed out of the dugout and got ejected. The ejection was Kapler’s first during his tenure as Giants manager.
Considering Turner is who brought the celebration to the Dodgers, which was taken from “The Wolf of Wall Street,” it was fitting he hit a home run in the seventh inning.
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