LOS ANGELES — Carlos Rodón, the linebacker with a Mike Tyson uppercut of a four-seamer. Julio Urías the deceptive magician whose sleight of hand disguises his fastball, curveball and changeup.
For 2022’s first iteration of the Giants-Dodgers, the two clubs pitted elite left-handed starters against each other. It was Rodón’s first entry into the rivalry and Urías’ 23rd. The last time the Giants saw Urías, he shut them down for four one-run innings in their season-ending Game 5 of the National League Division Series.
Urías continued his domination Tuesday, throwing six scoreless innings in a duel with Rodón. The only thing that made Urías vulnerable was his manager, Dave Roberts, taking the ball out of his hands after 65 pitches. But the Giants (14-9) squandered their chance after the starter departed by scoring just one run on two hits against LA’s back-line relievers in a 3-1 narrow defeat.
The only damage Los Angeles was able to create against Rodón came in the second inning.
After chucking an 0-2 slider up, away and all the way to the backstop, the two Dodgers Rodón walked advanced to second and third. The southpaw took a long walk back to the rubber, brushed some sweat off his brow with his sleeve and then delivered a low 98 mph fastball.
Chris Taylor smacked it the other way for a two-run single. Just like that, the Dodgers led and Rodón’s night held much less promise. It was only the second inning, and Rodón had allowed more than a single run for the first time as a Giant.
But Rodón (6IP, 3H, 2ER, 3K, 2BB) was spotless from there. He retired the Dodgers side in the third and fourth inning, finishing the latter by fanning Justin Turner with three pitches. His last inning, the sixth, included two flyouts to the warning track — reminiscent of Gavin Lux’s loud out from last year’s NLDS — but a runner stranded at third.
Both offenses were aggressive early in counts. The Giants’ impatience allowed Urías, who averaged roughly six innings per start in 2021, to work incredibly efficiently. After Thairo Estrada led off the top of the fifth with a single, the Giants let Urías off easily; both Luke Williams and Joey Bart only saw one pitch in their outs.
Urías again sat the Giants down in order in the sixth, needing just nine pitches to do so. He got through six innings in 65 pitches, 52 of which he threw for strikes. Estrada and leadoff man Austin Slater were the only players to reach base against LA’s starter.
Then Brusdar Graterol, not Urías, jogged out to the mound for the top of the seventh. It was a curious decision from manager Dave Roberts; this is the team that yanked Clayton Kershaw at 80 pitches during a perfect game this year. But Urías was just at 65 pitches, not 80.
Surely Urías had more to give Los Angeles. He delivered 81 pitches six days ago in his last start and 75 the turn before that.
But Roberts went to his bullpen. Immediately, it felt like the game could flip. The Dodgers had an 82% win probability at the start of the seventh inning. It dipped to 68% after Graterol allowed a Wilmer Flores infield single and walked Brandon Crawford.
Roberts again tapped his wrist and went to Alex Vesia for a favorable matchup. Luis González halved LA’s lead with a sacrifice fly anyway.
The runs stopped there for San Francisco, though. And Los Angeles added an insurance run in the eighth to make it 3-1. From there they showed off their new closer Craig Kimbrel. Roberts’ questionable, bold, inspired call to yank a cruising Urías, in the end, worked.
Seemingly all of last summer, the Giants and Dodgers jockeyed for first place in the NL West. No matter how many games San Francisco won, the Giants didn’t earn a secure place atop the division until the very last day of the regular season. The teams were so evenly matched, a now-infamous, subjective call on a matter of inches was the deciding moment of their epic playoff battle.
“Two teams that, in my opinion, deserved to win,” Wilmer Flores, check-swing victim, told KNBR Tuesday. “The whole series was close. Nobody had the advantage, so any of us could have won.”
Nothing could possibly top last year’s drama.
But San Francisco entered Los Angeles half a game behind the Dodgers in the standings. The teams had each won six of their last 10 games. They were first and second through the first month of baseball in runs scored per game, separated by .09 runs. They owned the first and second best run differentials in the NL.
Then on Tuesday night, both starters went six innings. Both had three walks. The Giants had six hits to LA’s five, but left four more runners on base.
After meeting one of 19, there’s slightly more separation between the Giants and Dodgers. One questionable managerial decision didn’t prevent the Dodgers from widening the gap. But again, like last season, nobody really had an advantage.
