The Los Angeles Dodgers entered a rare Thursday afternoon game trying to avoid being swept by the San Francisco Giants after their offense let them down in the first two games.
The Dodgers received strong pitching performances from Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani, but they scored just one run total in the first two games. That put added stress not just on Tyler Glasnow, but also on the offense to avoid wasting another start from one of their aces.
Dodgers 3, Giants 0: key takeaways
Tyler Glasnow dominant
Glasnow turned in his best start of the season, and perhaps his career, by pitching eight scoreless innings. He allowed just one hit while striking out nine and walking one.
The only baserunners against him came on a walk in the first inning before Glasnow recorded back-to-back strikeouts, an error on Hyeseong Kim in the second inning before a double play, and a leadoff single in the fourth before another double play.
Glasnow ended his outing by retiring 14 straight hitters.
It was his second straight start of giving the Dodgers at least seven innings, and he went six innings in his prior three. He becomes the first Dodgers starting pitcher to record an out in the eighth inning this year, and only the second to do so since last season.
The right-hander now owns a 2.45 ERA in 33 innings this season.
Dodgers offense does enough
The Dodgers tallied only five hits as their offense continued to struggle overall. Still, they were able to capitalize on the opportunities they did have, unlike in their previous games.
The Dodgers scored their first run in the second inning when Dalton Rushing singled home Max Muncy, who reached base on a walk. They then added onto their lead with back-to-back doubles from Kyle Tucker and Max Muncy that made it 2-0, and Hyeseong Kim singled home Muncy, making it a 3-0 game.
That was all for the Dodgers, but it was also all they needed. They went 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position after going 0-for in each of the first two games.
Tanner Scott gets first save chance
With Edwin Díaz out after undergoing right elbow surgery, Tanner Scott got the first save chance without him. The Dodgers are primarily going to rely on a closer-by-committee approach, but Scott figures to receive the majority of opportunities.
Scott retired all three batters he faced to record the save.
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