The San Francisco Giants have been bitter rivals with the Los Angeles Dodgers since both franchises’ early days in New York, which makes the Giants’ horrific loss to the Dodgers at Oracle Park on Saturday even more painful.
The game was weird from the start. The early innings were pure chaos as both sides scored early and often. At least one run came home in each of the first five innings, resulting in a 6-6 tie midway through the game. NL Cy Young candidate Tyler Glasnow was uncharacteristically awful for Los Angeles, exiting after three innings and finishing with more walks (two) than strikeouts (one).
Both offenses suddenly went cold, however, and the score remained deadlocked through the ninth. The game went to extra innings, and that’s when San Francisco lost control.
The Dodgers scored one in the top of the 10th, but the Giants quickly re-tied the game in the bottom of the frame. When San Francisco loaded the bases against Daniel Hudson with one out, the game seemed all but over.
The Giants have struggled in the clutch all year, however, and came up empty once again. Patrick Bailey struck out swinging and Matt Chapman popped out to the catcher, ending the inning and blowing a golden opportunity to win the game.
Los Angeles promptly erupted for seven runs in the top of the 11th following a walk, five straight hits and a sacrifice fly. By the time San Francisco finally got an out, the score had ballooned to 14-7. The Dodgers became the first team since the 1966 Houston Astros to score at least seven runs in an extra inning before recording an out.
The shell-shocked Giants went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 11th, sealing their 44th loss of the season. San Francisco is now four games below .500 and 12 games behind Los Angeles in the NL West standings.
The Giants will try to bounce back on Sunday afternoon and win the rubber game of the series. Spencer Bivens has been named the starter for this bullpen game as they face veteran southpaw James Paxton, who’s 7-1 with a 3.39 ERA in his first season with the Dodgers.
