After scoring one run on Tuesday, the Dodgers were shut out for the first time this season on Wednesday, with the San Francisco Giants silencing them 3-0.
The Dodgers once again had a two-out walk in the first inning against the Giants, this time with Tyler Mahle walking Will Smith. Freddie Freeman skied one to shallow center field, but Drew Gilbert travelled back initially and was unable to make the play to put two men on. Mahle got out of the jam unscathed by inducing a ground out from Teoscar Hernández.
The Giants threatened early against Shohei Ohtani on the mound in the bottom of the first inning with a pair of singles from Luis Arraez and Rafael Devers. Against Casey Schmitt, Ohtani got his third strikeout of the inning to strand the two baserunners, marking the sixth strikeout over his previous two innings on the mound dating back to April 15.
The Dodgers bats went down quietly against Mahle until Freeman recorded his second hit of the game to lead off the top of the fourth inning, with Max Muncy following with a single of his own. Freeman took third on the play, with Muncy taking second on the throw to third, but the Dodgers failed to deliver in the inning. Mahle got Pages to ground into a fielder’s choice which began the first of 11 consecutive hitters retired in order, as the Giants right-hander held the Dodgers scoreless over seven full innings.
Ohtani would set down 11 hitters in a row following the single from Devers—which included another strikeout in the second inning and a seven pitch third inning— before Heliot Ramos broke through with a one-out single in the bottom of the fifth to give the Giants their first baserunner since the first inning. Ohtani got his first strikeout since the second inning by getting Gilbert fanning at an outside fastball at 100 miles per hour, completing five scoreless innings by getting a groundout from Patrick Bailey.
Ohtani was one out away from another quick inning of work in the bottom of the sixth, but Chapman reached on an infield single and Devers lined a double down the right field line, with a quick ricochet to Kyle Tucker in right field holding Chapman at third base. Ohtani got Schmitt swinging for the second time to give him his seventh strikeout of the game, completing another scoreless six innings of work on the mound.
Jack Dreyer came in to try and keep the game scoreless, but he was immediately ambushed by a pair of singles from Jung Hoo Lee and Heliot Ramos. Gilbert moved both men over on a sacrifice bunt, and even though Dreyer was ahead of Patrick Bailey 1-2 in the count, he left a hanging slider that Bailey crushed over the left-field wall to produce the game’s first three runs. It was the first home run Bailey hit from the right side of the plate since his walk-off grand slam against Tanner Scott late last year.
The Dodgers were left with no response against right-handers Caleb Kilian and Ryan Walker, as the Dodgers were held scoreless for the first time since Sept. 3 against the Pittsburgh Pirates last season. It’s the Dodgers fourth loss over the last five games, as they fall to 16-8 over their first 24 games— the same record they had over their first 24 games last year. With the San Diego Padres falling to the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday, the Dodgers continue to share a tie with San Diego for first place in the NL West.
Game particulars
- Home runs— Patrick Bailey (1)
- WP— Tyler Mahle (1-3): 7 IP, 3 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
- LP— Jack Dreyer (1-1): 1 IP, 3 hits, 3 earned runs, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts
- SV— Ryan Walker (3): 1 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts
Up next
The Dodgers wrap things up against San Francisco and wrap up their seven-game road trip on Thursday (12:45 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA) before heading back home to open a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs. Tyler Glasnow makes his fifth start of the year against Logan Webb.
