Giants Baseball Insider

SF Giants shut out Dodgers 5-0 with stellar outings from Alex Wood, bullpen

Alex Wood threw 4.2 scoreless innings against his old team and the Giants iced the game with back-to-back homers in the 8th inning
Sean Keane|
SF Giants shut out Dodgers 5-0 with stellar outings from Alex Wood, bullpen
SF Giants shut out Dodgers 5-0 with stellar outings from Alex Wood, bullpen

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San Francisco GiantsLos Angeles Dodgers

The SF Giants got the scoring started in the first inning, when Dodgers starter Dustin May walked Lamonte Wade Jr. and Michael Conforto to start the game. After a J.D. Davis groundout, Joc Pederson doubled down the line to drive in two runs - a rare moment of offensive success against his old team.

Alex Wood gave up only one hit in his start, but he was effectively wild. He walked three batters and beaned two more, but was only in real trouble twice.

In the second, Wood hit J.D. Martinez and with one out, walked Miguel Vargas. Then, after an eight-pitch battle, Wood struck out Chris Taylor with his fifth sinker of the at-bat, and induced Sacramento State's James Outman to ground to first.

It was the first of Taylor's three strikeouts on the night. He's now struck out in over 40% of his at-bats this season. Since signing a $60 million contract before the 2022 season, he's whiffed in 35.7% of his at bats.

In the fifth a walk to Outman and a walk to Mookie Betts on a borderline pitch put two runners on with one out, and infuriated Wood, though replay confirmed it was a ball. Wood recovered to induce a groundout from Freddie Freeman before Gabe Kapler wisely limited Wood's third trip through the lineup at two batters.

Swingman Jakob Junis came in and got Will Smith to fly out, the most brutal takedown of a Will Smith since the reviews for "After Earth."

Junis got into big trouble in the sixth, when back-to-back singles by Martinez and Splash Hit Brother Trayce Thompson were followed by a catcher's interference call on Blake Sabol. 

But as watching the San Francisco Giants makes abundantly clear, having the bases loaded with no one out is no guarantee of scoring runs. Taylor struck out again, and then Scott Alexander replaced Junis and put out the fire.

He got an out at home on a comebacker and then struck out Mookie Betts to end the inning.

In the seventh, the Giants returned the favor by leaving the bases loaded. But in the eighth, the offense finally gave the bullpen some breathing room.

Mike Yastrzemski doubled off Evan Phillips, then David Villar hit his first-ever home run at Oracle Park, crushing a two-run shot to center.

Then Brandon Crawford hit the first pitch he saw into the right field bleachers.

Camilo Doval came in to close things out in the ninth, and despite another pitch clock violation, he escaped with just a walk to Mookie Betts before whiffing Freddie Freeman to end it. Perhaps he was inspired by his new entrance music, "Bailar" - accompanied by water cannon action.

Special credit goes to Michael Conforto for some excellent right field defense and to Gabe Kapler for clutch bullpen use. The Giants wrap up the series tomorrow night, which should give the skipper plenty of time to sunbathe.

Published
Sean Keane
SEAN KEANE

Sean Keane (he/him) is a writer, stand-up, and co-host of the Roundball Rock NBA podcast. He wrote for Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” his work has appeared in McSweeney's, Audible.com, and Yardbarker, and he's performed at countless festivals, including SF Sketchfest, the Bridgetown Comedy Festival, RIOT LA, and NoisePop. In 2014, the San Francisco Bay Guardian named Sean an “Outstanding Local Discovery,” and promptly went out of business.

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