Tarik Skubal warmed up for the postseason with seven dominant innings, Teoscar Hernandez and Andy Pages provided all the offense with home runs, and the Los Angeles Dodgers opened a three-game road series against the San Francisco Giants with a 2-0 victory Friday night.
Making his 10th start since joining the two-time defending champs at the trade deadline, Skubal (12-7) allowed just three singles and no walks in winning his fourth consecutive start. He struck out 10, reaching double figures for the fourth time this season.
The Dodgers (98-62), who have clinched the National League West title and the No. 2 seed in the upcoming NL playoffs, provided the left-hander all the run support he would need in the second inning against Giants starter Yunior Marte (0-2).
After the right-hander had escaped a two-on, two-out jam in the first, Hernandez launched the rookie’s first pitch of the second inning into the left field bleachers for his 16th home run of the season.
After Max Muncy lined out to right field Pages followed Hernandez’s flight pattern, reaching the left field seats with his 22nd home run of the year and a 2-0 lead.
In his third big-league start, Marte was able to finish five innings with no further damage, leaving after allowing just the two runs and six hits. He walked one and struck out four.
Giants relievers Sam Hentges, Joel Kuhnel, Dylan Smith and Tristan Beck kept the hosts close with an inning of shutout relief apiece.
But the San Francisco offense couldn’t fire against Skubal and relievers Roki Sasaki and Tanner Scott. The trio combined to retire 20 of the final 21 Giants batters after Scott Bandura’s one-out single in the third.
Scott was credited with his 24th save after throwing a two-strikeout ninth, ending LA’s two-game losing streak.
The shutout win was the Dodgers’ 14th of the season and the first for Skubal since moving west from Detroit.
Will Smith had three hits and Pages a pair for the Dodgers, who out-hit the Giants 7-3. Every hit in the game other than the home runs was a single.
Victor Bericoto, who was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double in the first inning, Bandura in the third and Bo Davidson in the seventh got the only hits for the Giants (65-95), who lost their third straight overall and their sixth in a row to the rival Dodgers.
