Clayton Kershaw had an encouraging return from the injured list but the Los Angeles Dodgers suffered a 3-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants that has them facing the prospect of being swept at Oracle Park.
Working on a pitch count in his first Major League start since May 7, Kershaw held the Giants to two runs and collected four strikeouts over four innings. He threw 71 pitches and was hurt in part by a Freddie Freeman miscue in the second inning and Gavin Lux error in the fourth.
The Giants scored their runs on a Thairo Estrada home run and Luis González RBI single. Kershaw appeared to have González picked off but Freeman threw prematurely to third base as Austin Wynns began to take steps down the line.
Wynns and González were both safe, and although they were stranded, it took Kershaw extra pitches to strike out Austin Slater to end the second inning.
Lux’s error in the fourth put the leadoff man on base, which Kershaw followed with a walk. However, he again worked through the jam to keep the Dodgers close.
L.A. put at least one baserunner on in all nine innings, only to be turned away more times than not. Their biggest threat came in the seventh when they loaded the bases with nobody out.
Jarlín García was brought in to face Freeman, and despite falling behind in the count 3-1, battled back to get a strikeout. Trea Turner then grounded into an inning-ending double play on the first pitch he saw.
Will Smith’s third single of the game started another rally for the Dodgers in the eighth, which was aided by an Estrada error that put runners at the corners with one out. Cody Bellinger’s RBI ground-rule double got the Dodgers on the board, but they again went on to leave the bases loaded.
The Giants got the run back in the bottom of the eighth as Craig Kimbrel struggled in his first appearance since June 5 and failed to make it through the inning. That loomed large as Freeman led off the ninth with a solo home run that otherwise would’ve tied the game if not for Kimbrel’s wild pitch.
Further making it a frustrating sequence for L.A., the play should have been ruled dead due to Crawford swinging through a strike and the ball hitting off his leg. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was unsuccessful in his attempt to lobby the umpiring crew into a review.
Dodgers, Giants make MLB history
The Dodgers and Giants both wore Pride caps during Saturday’s game in support of the LGBTQ+ community. It marked the first time in MLB history two teams wore Pride caps in the same game.
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