The always entertaining matchups between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants had extra flare on Wednesday as the two clubs met for their respective first night game of the spring. For Scott Kazmir, it marked an important hurdle as he focused on refining mechanics during camp.
Matt Cain, looking to rebound from a subpar 2016 season in his own right, worked around a Yasmani Grandal one-out single in the first to toss a scoreless inning. Kazmir made quick work of the Giants in the bottom half, setting the side down in order on a trio of grounders.
The Dodgers got to Cain in the second inning, beginning with a Cody Bellinger two-out base hit. Bobby Wilson also singled, and Charlie Culberson’s RBI base hit gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead over his former club. Henry Ramos followed with a two-run triple.
As sharp and efficient as Kazmir was in the first, his second inning of work was an entirely different story. Aaron Hill was hit by a pitch with one out, and he advanced to second base soon after on a wild pitch.
Jarrett Parker’s rocket of an RBI double got San Francisco on the board. Gordon Beckham walked on four pitches, and after both runners advanced on a passed ball, Kelby Tomlinson’s RBI groundout trimmed the Dodgers’ lead to one.
That marked the end of the road for Kazmir, who gave way to Josh Ravin after allowing two runs in 1.2 innings and throwing 36 pitches. Ravin finished out the inning after walking Tim Federowicz.
Eduardo Nunez hit a leadoff single in the bottom of the third, only to be caught stealing. A Hunter Pence walk and Brandon Belt base hit put runners on the corners with one out. Madison Younginer inherited the baserunners and allowed a three-run homer to Parker, which gave the Giants a 5-3 lead.
Ty Blach worked a 1-2-3 fourth to give him a second scoreless inning on the night. Yasiel Puig was the lone batter to reach on Blach, doing so on a Beckham error with two outs in the third. George Kontos walked Ramos and Chase Utley to put two on with nobody out in the fifth.
Two batters later, Joc Pederson lined a three-run homer to right field to give the Dodgers a 6-5 lead. Ralston Cash struck out a pair and worked around a walk in the bottom of the fifth inning.
After drawing a leadoff walk in the seventh, Brett Eiber went first to third base on Chris Taylor’s single to right field. Taylor, however, was caught between first and second base for an out. Eibner later scored on a wild pitch, extending the Dodgers’ lead to 7-5.
Shea Spitzbarth allowed a two-out double in the bottom of the seventh inning, but nothing else. Puig led off the eighth with a double, showed good awareness by tagging on a fly ball to center field, but then was easily thrown out on a grounder to third.
Juniel Querecuto’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth trimmed the Dodgers’ lead to 7-6. Los Angeles held on to win, improving to 4-1 in Cactus League play this year. The loss was San Francisco’s third straight after opening Spring Training with three consecutive wins.
