Fresh off a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres and with a 27-inning scoreless streak in two, the Los Angeles Dodgers began a four-game set against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park on Thursday afternoon. The series opener pitted Jake Peavy and
The Dodgers attacked Jake Peavy early in the count, with Corey Seager lining a one-out single to center field in the first inning. Yasiel Puig then grounded into a double play, with Peavy getting through the inning on just four pitches.
Alex Wood wasn’t as efficient, but he got through the first frame without allowing a runner to reach base. Adrian Gonzalez led off the second inning with a double to center field. He then advanced to third base with one out on Chase Utley’s infield single.
While Brandon Crawford prevented the Dodgers from taking a lead on Utley’s hit, it was all for naught as Kiké Hernandez lined an RBI single to right field. Following an Austin Barnes base hit that loaded the bases, Peavy appeared to escape the jam by getting Wood to ground into a double play.
However, the Dodgers successfully challenged the out call at second base on the neighborhood play, which earned them another run. Wood worked around a Brandon Belt one-out double in the bottom of the second by retiring Matt Duffy and Crawford.
The Dodgers added to their lead in the third behind a Puig base hit and Gonzalez RBI double. Peavy led off the bottom of the third with a base hit, though nothing came of it as Wood retired the next three batters faced.
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Peavy tossed his first 1-2-3 inning of the game in the fourth. The Giants again had their leadoff man reach as Buster Posey opened with an infield single. However, he was erased on a force out at second base, and replaced at first by Hunter Pence.
Pence was stranded as Belt struck out swinging and Duffy flied out. The Dodgers to that point had 31 consecutive scoreless innings to start the season. With one out in the fifth and Corey Seager on first base, Puig pulled a single into left field.
Scott Van Slyke’s RBI double extended the Dodgers’ lead to 4-0 before Peavy managed to get out of the inning. Wood issued a leadoff walk in the bottom of the fifth, then couldn’t get to a Kelby Tomlinson bunt single.
After Pagan advanced both runners on a slow grounder, Denard Span’s RBI groundout snapped the Dodgers’ scoreless streak and cut their lead to 4-1. Joe Panik’s RBI triple tacked on another run, and so did Posey’s RBI double.
Wood walked Pence before getting out of the inning with the Dodgers clinging to a 4-3 lead. The southpaw hit for himself in the top of the sixth, going down swinging for the third out. Duffy and Crawford reached on back-to-back base hits in the bottom of the inning, knocking Wood out of the game.
Yimi Garcia entered, but the floodgates opened as San Francisco scored four runs to take a 7-4 lead. Louis Coleman came on in relief of Garcia and struck out Pence to end the inning. Joc Pederson crushed a two-run home run off Sergio Romo in the eighth to pull the Dodgers within one run of the Giants.
Pence added a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth off Pedro Baez, cementing the Giants’ 12-6 win. The loss snapped the Dodgers’ three-game winning streak.