Tit For Tat: Dodgers Defend First Place and Tie Up Series in San Francisco

Everything usually balances out in life, right? The Dodgers retaliated on Saturday evening for the 9-0 drubbing they endured against the Giants on Friday night at AT&T Park. They played aggressively, almost as if they were playing with urgency! In defense of first place, the Dodgers came out swinging against Tim Hudson. Hudson couldn’t get an out in the second inning, and his performance was even worse than Hyun-jin Ryu‘s the night before. Ryu was injured, what was Hudson’s excuse?

Isn’t it beautiful? Photo: Stacie Wheeler

Dodgers 17 24 1

Giants 0 5 2

WP- Greinke (15-8)

LP- Hudson (9-11)

HR- Uribe (9), Greinke (1), Van Slyke (11)

Hudson is pretty old. Yet it never gets old to beat the Giants in a big game like Saturday’s clash. With three four-run innings plus five additional runs, the Dodgers sent a message to San Francisco that they will not roll over and allow the Giants to overtake what is rightfully theirs… first place in the N.L. West.

17 runs are the most runs scored by any opponent at AT&T Park. If you remember, Scott and I attended the awful 19-3 game back on September 14, 2013. Perhaps this was a little bit of payback for that disaster of a game.

Almost to the day:

Giants 19

(68-81, 30-43 away)

Dodgers 3

(86-62, 46-31 home)

9:10 PM ET, September 14, 2013

Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California

Fast forward to nearly a year later…The Dodgers scored a slew of runs. 17 hits and 24 hits were both season highs for the Boys in Blue. Greinke hit one out, Matt Kemp cannoned a throw to get Pagan out at home and drove in three runs, Greinke dealt, and Puig looked like his old self. It was a great night to be a Dodger fan. Did I mention that the Giants only had 5 hits against the Dodgers?

The Dodgers had a lot to think about last night. They were aggressive in the top of the first inning versus Tim Hudson. Yasiel Puig

Sep 13, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach Lorenzo Bundy greets third baseman Juan Uribe (5) after his solo home run in the fourth inning against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports

legged out a double on a flare to center field. Run, Wild Horse, run! The shift was on, and Adrian Gonzalez‘s grounder up the middle is scooped up by Brandon Crawford. Puig advanced to third on the play. Matt Kemp came up big with a RBI double to left field. Then Hanley Ramirez followed suit, and he hit a RBI double to left. Carl Crawford continued the Blue onslaught, and his single to right scored Hanley.  Juan Uribe joined the hit parade with a single to left. It didn’t end there! A.J. Ellis singled on a ball that dropped right in front of Pagan’s glove. Crawford scored. 4-0 Dodgers. The inning finally ended when Zack Greinke struck out, but the Dodgers returned the four-run first inning favor from Friday with a four spot of their own!

Hudson made 32 pitches in the inning, and he allowed 4 runs on 6 hits. Bruce Bochy‘s face was priceless after the shocking inning.

The Giants tried to strike back right away, but Matt Kemp’s arm saved a run. Angel Pagan opened up the bottom of the first with a double to right field off Greinke. Buster Posey‘s single to right was supposed to easily cash in Pagan from second, but Matt Kemp had something to say about that. While blowing a bubble, Kemp made a laser throw to the plate to get Pagan by a lot! A.J. Ellis also made a good tag, and the Dodgers looked like they were finally playing with urgency and fire.

Dee Gordon led off the second with a single. The Giants got Tim Lincecum up warming already. Puig collected his second base hit off Hudson, a line drive single to left. Bochy would get the hook, and Tim Lincecum came in to relieve the battered Hudson. Adrian Gonzalez greeted Timmy with a single to center. Matt Kemp then came up with his second double of the night. Hanley singled to right, and the Dodgers took a 7-0 lead in just one inning span. An eighth run came in when Matt Kemp tagged up and scored on a sacrifice fly by Crawford. The inning ended on a Ellis strikeout, but a 8-0 lead is nothing but joy.

Tim Hudson pitched 1 inning and allowed 6 runs on 8 hits with 2 strikeouts and no walks on 35 pitches.

The Bison had a huge night at the plate and in right field for the Dodgers. Photo: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports

Greinke had been sitting in the Dodger dugout for awhile during the two four-run innings, but he pitched a perfect frame in the bottom of the second.

Zack Greinke drew a walk off Lincecum to start off the third. Gordon grounded into a force play, but his speed prevented the double play. With Puig at bat, Gordon stole his 60th base of the season. Puig apparently was auditioning for a Hollywood role, because he is awarded first base for getting hit on the wrist by Lincecum. It looked like Puig didn’t even get hit, but his reaction got him first base anyways. Gonzo grounded into a force out. The Dodgers squeaked out a ninth run on a groundball hit to Brandon Crawford by Kemp. Crawford couldn’t come up with the hard hit ball, and Gordon came home to score.

The Giants sure looked deflated. Greinke set them down 1-2-3 again in the bottom of the third.

The Dodgers scored another two runs in the fourth. Juan Uribe homered to left field. Zack Greinke almost hit one out against Lincecum, and he hit a big double off the center field wall. Dee Gordon’s RBI single brought home Greinke and the Dodgers’ 11th run of the game.

Mike Kickham took over for Lincecum in the fifth. Tim pitched 3 innings and allowed 5 runs on 7 hits. Hanley came up with his second hit of the night on a groundball to Brandon Crawford with two outs. Crawford reached safely on a fielding error by second baseman Joe Panik. Uribe grounded out, and the Dodgers failed to score in the inning. That was the first scoreless inning for the Dodgers of the game.

In the bottom of the fifth, Don Mattingly brought in Joc Pederson to replace Matt Kemp in right field. Kemp went 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs. Hopefully Kemp is okay, because he hit himself with a foul ball in his foot the previous inning before he struck out.

GREINKE BLAST. He barely missed hitting one out in the fourth. In the top of the sixth, Greinke hit his fourth career homerun, a two-run homerun to center field off Kickham, and the Dodgers took a 13-0 lead. Gordon reached on a fielding error by shortstop Matt Duffy who replaced Crawford. Puig came up with his third base hit of the night, a single on a groundball to Duffy. Joc Pederson drew a two-out walk, and Hanley Ramirez singled to load the bases up. The Dodgers challenged a play at first, and Crawford was called safe. Puig scored on the play, and the Dodgers were now up 14-0.

Bruce Bochy went to his bullpen again, and he brought in his son Brett Bochy for his Major League debut. The right-hander walked Uribe, and another run comes in. 15-0. Ellis popped out to end the inning.

Juan Perez doubled against Greinke with one out, but the Giants didn’t muster anything else against the ace.

Sep 13, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants center fielder Angel Pagan (16) is tagged out at home plate by Los Angeles Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis the first inning of their MLB baseball game at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports

That was all for Greinke’s night. He pitched 6 shutout innings and allowed 4 hits with 5 strikeouts and no walks on 84 pitches.

Roger Bernadina, pinch-hitting for Greinke, is hit by a pitch to begin the seventh. Then Scott Van Slyke came up with a huge two-run homerun to left field! Welcome to the Majors, Brett Bochy. 17-0 Dodgers.

Long, lost lefty Scott Elbert pitched for the first time since 2012 in the bottom of the seventh. It’s so great to see Elbert back! Elbert had a very good inning, and he only allowed a two-out single to Gregor Blanco. Having Elbert back in the bullpen will give Mattingly another great left-handed option down the stretch.

In the eighth, Alex Guerrero came up with his first Major League hit, a single to left with one out against Erik Cordier. Miguel Rojas followed with a base hit of his own. Poor Roger Bernadina is hit by a pitch again, this time in the knee. That’s the third Dodger hit during the game. Gordon flied out to end the inning.

Chris Perez was asked to pitch the bottom of the eighth. Duffy reached safely on an error by Erisbel Arruebarrena who went out too far in left field. The ball bounced out of his glove. Chris Dominguez grounded into a double play, so the error didn’t ruin the beautiful shutout. Juan Perez struck out against Chris Perez to end the frame.

Chris Heston, a righty, made his Major League debut in the top of the ninth for the Giants. Other than a walk to Young Joc, Heston pitched a scoreless inning for San Francisco.

Yimi Garcia pitched the bottom of the ninth. All of the starters are out of the game at this point for the Dodgers. Garcia sent the Giants down 1-2-3, and the Dodgers are victorious!

The Dodgers improve to 84-64, and they gain a game on the Giants in the standings. Sunday’s series finale will feature Clayton Kershaw and Yusmeiro Petit.