Alex Wood struggled with his command and the Los Angeles Dodgers failed to get out of their own way Saturday afternoon, resulting in a 5-4 loss to the San Francisco Giants. It snapped a six-game winning streak the Dodgers had against their longtime rival, which dated back to last season.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke highly of Wood in the hours leading up to first pitch, but it was immediately clear the left-hander lacked command of his pitches. Wood started the game with a walk that eventually came around to score on Darin Ruf’s RBI single.
Wood nearly stranded Mike Yastrzemski’s leadoff double in the second inning, only to issue back-to-back walks with two outs. That led to a wild pitch, which scored Yastrzemski and gave the Giants a 2-1 lead.
Wilmer Flores then hit a leadoff home run in the third, which wound up being Wood’s final inning. He allowed three runs on three hits and three walks, with the only positive takeaway being four strikeouts.
As Wood labored on the mound, the Dodgers continued to cut their legs out from under them. L.A. finished with nine hits, compared to seven for San Francisco. But what cost the Dodgers was running into a double play in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings.
Also in the fourth, Chris Taylor was thrown out at third base on Joc Pederson’s single into center field. Taylor, who led the inning off with a single of his own, rounded second to draw a throw. He then broke for third base when it briefly kicked away.
Justin Turner continued his hot start to the season, going 2-for-4 with two doubles and one RBI. He also reached on a two-out error by Donovan Solano, leaving a pair of runners in scoring position.
Corey Seager capitalized with a two-run single, and the Dodgers had an opportunity to tie the game or take the lead, only for Kiké Hernandez to leave the bases loaded. Will Smith pulled the Dodgers as close as they would get with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
McGee, Treinen impress; Kelly spins
While it came in a losing effort, the Dodgers received encouraging relief appearances from Jake McGee and Blake Treinen. Then there was the curious case of Joe Kelly, who entered in the sixth inning for his first game action — intrasquad and exhibitions included — since July 9.
Kelly uncorked 15 consecutive breaking balls before throwing a fastball. It was called a ball, and so was a second heater, but Austin Barnes threw out Austin Slater on a stolen base attempt to end the inning.
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