Mookie Betts swung the bat well in his return to the lineup, which helped lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 7-2 win over the San Francisco Giants. It improved the Dodgers to 10-4, which is tied with the Colorado Rockies (three losses) for the most wins in the National League West.
With a right-handed starter on the mound, Betts hit second in the Dodgers’ lineup, following Joc Pederson. He doubled off Jeff Samardzija in his first at-bat, which came after Pederson’s leadoff walk. Samardzija retired the next three batters faced to keep the game scoreless.
That marked the start of Samardzija retiring eight consecutive batters, which Betts snapped with a solo home run to left-center field in the third inning. The blast further supported Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ confidence that Betts had recovered from a sore middle finger on his left hand.
The Dodgers got to Samardzija again in the fourth inning, behind home runs from Max Muncy and Will Smith. He was removed in the fifth after a leadoff walk followed by hitting the next two batters. Sam Selman induced a potential inning-ending double play but Donovan Solano lost the grip on his throw to first base, resulting a run scoring on Chris Taylor’s force out.
The Dodgers scoring in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings helped them overcome a small deficit and short start from Julio Urias. He struggled with command and didn’t retire the side in order until the fourth, which was his final inning of work.
To Urias’ credit, he limited the Giants to just one run despite allowing three hits and issuing two walks. Dennis Santana surrendered a solo home run in the sixth, and was the only of five Dodgers relief pitchers to allow a run.
Edwin Rios’ solo home run in the eighth inning provided an added bit of insurance.
Seager injured
Having just overcome separate calf and quad issues within the past week, Corey Seager was removed in the third inning due to what preliminary has been diagnosed as lower back discomfort.
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