SF Giants swept by Dodgers, dropping second straight one-run game
LOS ANGELES — If their first series against the fearsome Dodgers provided any indication, then no, the San Francisco Giants did not come close this winter to closing the gap between them and their deep pocketed rivals to the south.
The Dodgers completed a three-game sweep Wednesday, handing the Giants a 5-4 loss, and like the previous two, never trailed.
As parting gift, Shohei Ohtani slugged his first home run in Dodger blue, a 430-foot solo shot off Taylor Rogers in the seventh that proved to be valuable insurance when Jorge Soler answered with an even more impressive 452-foot solo shot the following inning.
Dropping the final two games of the series by just one run apiece, the Giants scratched and clawed again Wednesday, with a two-run single from Michael Conforto and another solo shot from catcher Patrick Bailey, but moral victories don’t count in the standings.
“You don’t get any prizes for close,” manager Bob Melvin said, referencing a deep fly ball off Conforto’s bat following Soler’s blast in the eighth inning that could have tied the game but fell just short, similar to Austin Slater’s close call the night before. “We’ve gotta dig a little harder.”
The Giants didn’t hold a lead for one inning of the three-game series, taking a four-game losing streak and a 2-5 record into their home opener Friday against the Padres.
“We’re certainly not at full strength yet. Two games that you come back and you’re that close against a good team playing really well right now, it’s really nothing to hang your hat on,” Melvin said. “It’s more frustrating than anything else.”
Kyle Harrison ran into trouble early and labored through five innings, a stark departure from his efficient six innings against the Padres in his first start.
Issuing three walks, Harrison was tagged for four runs on six hits, including a solo homer from light-hitting shortstop Miguel Rojas.
“I was just not getting ahead, not attacking guys as much as I should, falling behind in counts,” Harrison said. “Kind of a mixture of everything. … Definitely not good in my eyes and not good in our team’s eyes. The win’s all that matters. To get swept is not a great feeling. We’re going to be back to the drawing board and we’ll be ready for these guys the next time we come out. It just gives us that much more motivation to want to get them.”
It was a struggle to put away hitters and finish innings.
On all three of Harrison’s free passes, he held count leverage with two strikes, losing Max Muncy with a fastball and a changeup off the plate inside, Chris Taylor with a pair of fastballs above the letters, and Mookie Betts with two fastballs off the outside corner after he fouled off a tough two-strike changeup.
“They made him throw some pitches,” Melvin said. “That’s what they do.”
The Dodgers fouled off 17 of Harrison’s pitches and took another 33 outside the strike zone, running his pitch count up to 87, 11 more than he required to complete six innings in his previous start. It was a steady diet of fastballs and changeups from the 23-year-old lefty, throwing only eight breaking balls.
“Me and Patty weren’t happy with the slider shape early on. We figured we could use it in a way where we could maybe hide it, that way the second or third time through the order I could incorporate it. The changeup was feeling great today. Just left a couple of them up.”
The walk to Taylor loaded the bases, putting Muncy on third, in position to score the first run of the game on a fielder’s choice from Rojas, opening a 1-0 lead. Rojas made it 4-1 in the fourth when he deposited a high heater into the Dodgers’ bullpen, preventing Harrison from completing a 1-2-3 inning and turning the lineup over to Betts.
Despite the loss, it was quite a day for Harrison’s batterymate.
Bailey unloaded on a hanging slider from Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow in the third inning, sending the pitch deep into the right field seats for the Giants’ first run of the night and the switch-hitting catcher’s first home run of the season. Adding a single in his second at-bat, Bailey raised his batting average to .375 and OPS to 1.007.
Bailey also nabbed his first base stealer of the year, unleashing a laser from his three-quarter arm slot to get Teoscar Hernandez at second base. After throwing out 28% of runners as a rookie last year, Bailey had allowed four successful stolen bases to start this season.
Notable
Jung Hoo Lee failed to reach base in four trips to the plate, snapping a six-game streak to start his career.
Up next
Jordan Hicks, Keaton Winn and Logan Webb will get the ball in that order when the Giants return home for their first games on the shores of McCovey Cove. After hosting the Padres for three games, the Giants will welcome the Nationals to town, with Blake Snell set to make his debut Monday in the first game of that series.