It’s official. In the historic rivalry between the Giants and the Dodgers (or Bridegrooms, or Superbas, or Dodgers, or Robins, or back to the Dodgers again), spanning a continent, two cities, nearly 140 years, the Dodgers are back ahead: 1,293 wins to the Giants’ 1,292.
After building a sizable lead during the New York era, the Giants have seen their lead dwindle over the decades in California.
This most recent era has obviously been lopsided towards LA, and it’s possible, after ending the 2025 season in a dead-lock (1287 – 1287), that 2026 could be the first season since 1895 to end with the Dodgers leading in overall head-to-head wins.
So, if we’re leaning into the dramatics of this clash, was Saturday’s 10-4 loss the 21st century hinge-point? The moment in which the balance shifts, with our Giants stuck on history’s down-slope, increasingly left in the dust, huffing and puffing after a vanishing point on the horizon that is the Dodger machine?
For LA fans, this interpretation is not only attractive, it just makes sense. This era of 13 division titles, back-to-back championships, a roster stuffed with future Hall of Famers certainly feels like a pinnacle, the culmination of a century-long project. How could you not believe that history has a direction? And if that truly is the case for us Giants fans, it’s somewhat laughable that after all these years, our beloved club’s final fingernails, desperately holding onto rivalry relevance, was made, quite unsuccessfully, by a 24-year old scrap reliever, Philip Abner.
Yup, the man who’s name you learned on Friday when he was shelled for four home runs in the 8th inning of Friday’s loss was somewhat surprisingly called on to take the mound again in another fraught scenario. And just as he did in Friday’s loss, a ballgame became a bust when Abner was introduced to it.
With two outs in the bottom of the 5th, the Giants and Dodgers were knotted at four runs a piece. The San Francisco offense had done their part against Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.
Victor Bericoto, in his return from the IL, reached base three times against the lefty. His 2-run homer — a no-doubter to dead center — lifted the Giants back into the game in the 3rd. He led off the 5th with an opposite field double and knotted the game back up at four runs apiece on Jung Hoo Lee’s double.
San Francisco had kept pace with a Dodgers offense, led by a 4-for-4 night by Mookie Betts, into the 5th. LA had scored in each one of their frames against starter Yunior Marte, but that pattern looked primed to end after Max Muncy grounded into a double play. The young right-hander had the bases-empty and two outs in the 5th, but couldn’t find a way to get the third. Teoscar Hernandez kept the inning going with an opposite field single. Marte walked Kyle Tucker next, and with his pitch count nearing triple-digits, Tony Vitello decided to go to his bullpen.
There was certainly an argument for pulling Marte at that point. Command of the zone was clearly waning. Bagging that third out and closing out a frame had been a challenge all evening. When more grit and a finer touch on his pitches was needed, Marte acquiesced to his opponents.
With two outs and Betts on third, Marte served up a 2-strike fastball right over the heart of the plate for Muncy to rip for an RBI double. Another fastball was served up to Betts with two outs and two runners on in the 2nd. He again allowed number-9 hitter Alex Freeland reach base with two outs in the 4th before hanging a slider to Betts, who doubled the runner home from first.
Marte’s night was certainly done, but it was a bit surprising that Vitello went to Abner to help close out the inning. Abner was really the only southpaw available, and Vitello wanted the left-on-left advantage against Josue De Paula, so much so that he played deaf to the echoes of those home runs still bouncing around Chavez Ravine.
The first pitch Abner — a spiked curveball — allowed both runners to advance. Down early in the count, he couldn’t get De Paula to chase after elevated fastballs. Five pitches into his outing, the bases were loaded. Five more pitches, and the tie was broken. Behind in the count, Tommy Edman got another fastball and dropped it into shallow left for a two-run single. A pitch later Miguel Rojas punched in one more run and would’ve brought in another if not for Turner Hill’s perfect assist throw to the plate.
LA went 7-for-18 with runners in scoring position (compared to SF’s 2-for-12), logging six two-out RBIs. The three runs scored on Abner’s watch (two attributed to Marte, and one unearned for the lefty for some ticky-tack reason) proved to be the burst of energy needed for the Dodgers to edge out in front and never look back.
The question is, now with the head-to-head rivalry record in their favor, will they ever look back?
