*Photo from True Blue LA*
Another edition of one of the infamous baseball rivalries is in the books. Justin Turner homered, Max Muncy hit a homer of his own, and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Francisco Giants with a 7-3 victory on Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles.
After dropping the opening game of the series, the Dodgers responded by picking up their second straight win, winning the series with their archrival Giants. They've won 6 of their last 10 games, and sit at a 94-42 record. The magic number to clinch a playoff spot for the Dodgers is at 6 wins.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the team's condition that "We're obviously winning a lot of baseball games, but we still got to get some guys back to health, number one, and we're still in the mode of trying to get some guys on track."
The scoring didn't start until the 5th inning. David Villar started it for the Giants, blasting a two run home run to make it a 2-0 Giants lead. In the bottom of the 5th, Turner gave the Dodgers the lead with one swing, hitting a 3 run home run to center field, giving the Dodgers the lead by a 3-2 score after 5 innings.
When the 7th inning hit, Villar did it again. He hit his second homer of the day, this one a solo shot to center field, tying the game at 3-3. In the 8th, Trea Turner got the eventual game winning hit, doubling home Austin Barnes to give the Dodgers a 4-3 lead. Muncy then delivered insurance in the form of a 3 run home run, putting the Dodgers ahead by a 7-3 score.
Getting the start for the Dodgers was Clayton Kershaw, who returned from the IL with a strong showing. Kershaw allowed two runs on 5 hits, striking out 8 hitters in 6 innings pitched. Justin Bruihl only got two outs in the 7th while giving up one run, forcing Evan Phillips to go 1 1/3 innings. Alex Vesia took care of the 9th to seal the win.
Kershaw said of his start that "I probably had three bad pitches today and they were all hits. One of them is a homer, which is frustrating, but overall felt great. I thought my fastball command was actually pretty good overall. So another good step forward."
Starting for the Giants was Alex Cobb, who didn't have a long outing. Cobb pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks. Yunior Marte came on for one inning, followed by appearances from Alex Young, Zack Littell, and Luis Ortiz.
Giants manager Gabe Kapler talked about Villar's two homer game, saying "We’ve talked for the last couple of days about how instrumental David could be to the future of this franchise. We see him as a guy who is kind of setting the stage for what might happen next season. He’s got a lot of work to do and a long way to go, but today is an indication that he can handle some of the best around the game."
Up next, the Dodgers have a day off on Thursday before facing the San Diego Padres on Friday night, with Dustin May in line to start. The Giants are back in action on Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers, with Scott Alexander starting.
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