The Los Angeles Dodgers entered Saturday’s matchup with the San Francisco Giants riding a modest three-game winning streak, and looking for a third straight win over the Giants. Just as Clayton Kershaw and Madison Bumgarner were rematch of a game last week at AT&T Park, Scott Kazmir and Johnny Cueto dueled a second time this season.
Kazmir got off to a rocky start as he bounced multiple pitches well short of home plate after giving up a leadoff single to Denard Span. Kazmir’s second ball in the dirt was a wild pitch that allowed Span to advance to second base. The Giants center fielder then scored on a chopper that went into center field, by a diving Chase Utley.
Joe Panik took second base on Kazmir’s second wild pitch of the inning. He was stranded as Buster Posey flied out, and Hunter Pence and Brandon Belt struck out swinging.
Cueto needed all of nine pitches to retire Utley, Corey Seager and Justin Turner in the first inning. The Dodgers tagged Cueto for five runs in the first inning back on his April 10 start. Both pitchers retired the side in order in the second inning.
Angel Pagan led off the third with a base hit, but he was erased on a force out at second base. Span easily stole second base, where he remained as Kazmir retired Panik and Posey. The Dodgers again didn’t manage a baserunner in the third, with Cueto ending the inning on a strikeout of Kazmir.
Pence and Belt drew back-to-back walks with no outs in the fourth. After Matt Duffy hit into a force out, Brandon Crawford drove an RBI ground-rule double over Kiké Hernandez’s head in left field. With two outs and first base open, Pagan was intentionally walked. The decision didn’t cost the Dodgers as Span grounded out to end the inning.
CONTINUE READING: Yasmani Grandal breaks up Johnny Cueto’s perfect game
Utley, Seager and Turner went retired in order in the bottom of the fourth, as Cueto keeping his perfect game intact. Kazmir ran into more trouble in the fifth, with Panik’s single, a Posey walk and Pence single loading the bases with no outs.
Belt’s RBI base hit to left field extended the Giants’ lead to 3-0, and knocked Kazmir out of the game. Adam Liberatore induced a double play ball and struck out Cueto to limit the damage to only one more run across.
Yasmani Grandal ended Cueto’s perfect game with a one-out rocket double to right-center field in the bottom of the fifth. However, it didn’t amount to anything as Hernandez was called out on strikes and Joc Pederson hit a broken-bat grounder.
Liberatore remained in the game for the sixth and matched his longest Major-League relief appearance by completing a second inning of work. Aside from a two-out walk issued to Utley, Cueto easily got through the bottom of the sixth to keep the Giants lead at 4-0.
Yimi Garcia entered in the seventh and worked around hitting Pence with a pitch to complete a scoreless inning. Cueto gave up a leadoff double to Turner in the bottom of the seventh, and Turner was then moved to third base on Gonzalez’s groundout.
Hernandez followed a Grandal walk with an RBI single to get the Dodgers on the board. Pederson struck out swinging and Trayce Thompson grounded out to end the inning with the Dodgers trailing, 4-1.
Cueto struck out pinch-hitter Charlie Culberson to open the bottom of the eighth, then gave way to Javier Lopez. The left-hander walked pinch-hitter A.J. Ellis, then gave up a two-run home run to Seager. Grandal led off the bottom of the ninth with a double, but Santiago Casilla shut the door to convert the save in the Giants’ 4-3 win.