SAN FRANCISCO — Turns out there’s a simple solution to a streaky, strikeout-prone offense: sensational pitching. That is the formula, at least, that worked for the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night.
Before back-to-back home runs padded their lead in the bottom of the eighth, the Giants only had to cash in once behind starter Alex Wood and a lights-out effort from their bullpen to beat the Dodgers, 5-0, only their second win in their past 15 tries against their archrivals.
Left-hander Scott Alexander successfully walked the tight rope put in front of him in a pivotal sixth inning, escaping a bases-loaded jam with a soft dribbler and a strikeout, to back up 4 2/3 shutout innings from Wood, who struck out five and surrendered only one hit. With more solid relief work from Jakob Junis, Tyler Rogers, John Brebbia and Camilo Doval, the six Giants pitchers combined for their first shutout of the season.
Joc Pederson gave the Giants an early lead, which they clung to as they traded zeros for the ensuing six innings, until back-to-back blasts from David Villar and Brandon Crawford put the game away in the eighth inning.
Dodgers starter Dustin May walked the first two Giants batters he faced — including a nine-pitch battle with leadoff man LaMonte Wade Jr. — and Pederson made him pay for both free base runners. After seeing two high fastballs, Pederson golfed a cutter breaking toward his knees past first baseman Freddie Freeman. As it rolled around the right field corner, there was ample time for Wade and Michael Conforto to score the Giants’ first runs and for Pederson to comfortably chug into second base with a two-RBI double.
That was all San Francisco would need behind Wood and the escape artistry Alexander and Jakob Junis.
Wood was animated in the top of the fifth when home plate umpire Brian Knight ruled his borderline 3-2 pitch to Mookie Betts a ball off the plate inside. Despite making it through four shutout innings, his pitch count was climbing and his velocity dipping. With Junis warming in the bullpen, Wood likely understood that Betts and the left-handed hitter after him, Freeman, would be his final batters.
While Wood coaxed a groundout from Freeman, earlier walks to James Outman and Betts meant that he left runners on second and third for Junis to clean up in relief. Junis needed only two pitches — two high sliders — to get the Dodgers’ No. 3 hitter, catcher Will Smith, to fly out to right and end the inning.
Junis was right back in trouble in the sixth after a leadoff single from J.D. Martinez, a bloop hit by Trayce Thompson and a catcher’s interference by Blake Sabol, which put Miguel Vargas on first and loaded the bases with nobody out. Junis used his signature slider to get Chris Taylor swinging then handed the jam off to Alexander with the lefty Outman stepping up with one out. There was a collective sigh of relief from the 30,768 on hand as Alexander retired Outman and Miguel Rojas — using nothing but his power sinker — to escape the inning unscathed.
Since joining the Giants’ bullpen last September, Alexander has thrown 20 innings and allowed two runs (a 0.90 ERA). He hasn’t allowed a run in his last 14 games (12 2/3 innings), including all four appearances this season, dating back to last Sept. 12.
Although Villar already had two home runs this season and 10 since he was called up last September, he had yet to homer at Oracle Park. That changed in the bottom of the eighth, after Mike Yastrzemski doubled to lead off the inning. Villar clubbed a 1-0 slider from reliever Evan Phillips into the visitors bullpen, extending the Giants’ lead to 4-0, and Crawford followed with a home run into the arcade on the next pitch — the 54th of his career at the Giants’ waterfront ballpark.
The Giants’ win was their first against the Dodgers this season and only their second in 15 games since a three-game sweep at Oracle Park last June.
