A two-run first inning was enough for the Giants to beat the Dodgers on Tuesday. But a night later, the same watertight bullpen button-pushing didn’t materialize.
San Francisco built a 2-0 lead after one and added a run in the second off Clayton Kershaw, but then more Max Muncy bombs detonated in Oracle Park.
Muncy, who homered twice in the series opener, took Scott Alexander deep in the fifth inning and then drove in three more with a second homer in the sixth off John Brebbia.
Muncy’s second shot — a 367-foot moon shot into the arcade seats — built most of a five-run sixth inning for Los Angeles that broke open the game.
The Giants’ loss featured a spectacular defensive play in center field, two outfield injuries, Darin Ruf’s season debut and a commendable effort against Clayton Kershaw. But it featured a whole lot more of Muncy.
With the 10-5 defeat, San Francisco (5-7) has now lost five consecutive series against their rivals — a stretch that spans back to last July. In their last 22 meetings, the Giants are 5-17 and have been outscored 118 to 66.
Against the Royals and Dodgers, the Giants finished 2-4 in their first home stand.
“I mean, it’s disappointing,” starter Alex Cobb said postgame. “I think Kansas City series, we obviously feel that we should win that series undoubtedly. And then coming into the rubber match tonight one to one, felt pretty excited to go into that outing and make it a good outing, get us out of there with a series win. To see it start to kind of look like it was going to go that way and then just really got lopsided there in the middle of the game. Not ideal, obviously. Not what we were wanting to put together for the home stand. But we’re trying to not ride the rollercoaster this year.”
The odds were stacked against the Giants from the start because in practically any scenario this year, the Giants haven’t been able to hit left-handed pitchers.
As a team through 11 games, San Francisco was hitting .214 with a .552 OPS against southpaws. That’s just slightly better than Madison Bumgarner, whose career OPS from the plate is .524.
The situation Wednesday called for facing Kershaw, one of the greatest left-handed pitchers ever.
The Giants countered by selecting Ruf — who signed a minor league deal four days prior and had gotten 10 at-bats in extended spring training. The Dodgers had a future Hall of Famer. The Giants had a slugger who needed three years in Korea to rediscover his swing and most recently struggled so badly in New York that he received ruthless vitriol from Mets fans and eventually got released.
Kershaw had faced the Giants 56 times in the regular season before Wednesday. In those games, he’s been even more dominant than the surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer normally is.
Against the Giants in his career, Kershaw has a 2.01 ERA. His 24-15 record in the rivalry includes five complete game shutouts and a 0.902 overall WHIP.
“I think he’s one of the greatest pitchers who’s ever lived,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said prior to Wednesday’s game.
Ruf, in his first at-bat, nearly took Kershaw out of the park. After two wild whiffs on sliders, Ruf socked a double off the center field wall that made up half of SF’s two-run first inning.
San Francisco manufactured another run in the second, but then Kershaw put up four straight scoreless innings.
In the top of the fourth, a pair of defensive plays in the outfield preserved San Francisco’s lead.
Heliot Ramos, the prospect elevated to the Giants to face left-handed pitchers as Austin Slater and Mitch Haniger remain sidelined, cut off Mookie Betts’ double before it reached the wall in left field. His direct route to the ball saved a run.
Betts’ double still cut the Giants’ lead to 3-2 and chased Alex Cobb (3.2 IP, 8H, 2ER) out of the game. Scott Alexander, working on 14 consecutive scoreless appearances, entered with two outs and two on to face Freddie Freeman.
Freeman, in the left-on-left matchup, clocked the second pitch he saw 396 feet to straight away left field. If it was 397, it may have cleared the wall. But Bryce Johnson — who had just entered for Michael Conforto (left calf tightness) — leapt at the wall to rob Freeman of extra bases.
Johnson’s speed and athleticism has already made a difference this year, but in no bigger spot than that grab. The former high school wide receiver can take a hit, but had to leave the game for a concussion evaluation after crashing into the wall.
Alexander’s scoreless streak was intact thanks to Johnson, but not for long. Not with Muncy in town.
Muncy, who tore open the series opener, tied the game the next inning with a solo home run that left his bat at 107.3 mph.
The Dodgers designated hitter who once homered off Bumgarner and taunted him, said Monday “I don’t like this place.”
Muncy’s second home run of the night drove in three of LA’s five runs in the sixth inning. The exit velocities on his bombs: 107.3 and 106.6 mph.
Muncy dug in with traffic on the bases because reliever Taylor Rogers walked four batters in a row — including one on a pitch timer violation. When Brebbia — who surrendered the dinger — relieved him, Rogers threw his mit in the trash and repeatedly slammed his hand on the dugout bench.
And he didn’t even have to face Muncy. The 32-year-old’s second home run gave him 25 in his career against the Giants, second-most for a player in his first 75 games facing SF. His four RBI night got supported by a Trayce Thompson home run — off the homer-prone Ross Stripling — and four more LA scores.
Muncy drove in 11 runs in the three-game series, and that’s while only getting one at-bat on Tuesday night as a pinch hitter. No Giants opponent has reached 11 RBI in a three-game series since 2000, and the all-time record is 12.
Even if Muncy doesn’t like playing in Oracle Park, the place likes him. By the time Phil Bickford recorded the 27th out, much of the Giants cohort had fled for the exits, super bloom patches of Dodger blue in the stands.
