SF Giants rare sweep of Dodgers completed in LA
San Francisco Giants’ Joc Pederson (left) celebrates with LaMont Wade Jr. (center) after scoring on Sunday of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Sunday, June 18, 2023. Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images
2023.06.18 – The San Francisco Giants haven’t had many visits to Los Angeles comparable to this weekend, completing a rare rivalry series sweep on the road with a 7-3 win over the Dodgers on Sunday.
It was the sixth time San Francisco swept Los Angeles in a three-game series at Dodger Stadium since both teams moved to California in 1958 and something they hadn’t done since Aug. 20-22, 2012.
Despite doing it in impressive fashion, outscoring the Dodgers 29-8, what stood out to Giants pitcher Logan Webb is how routine these performances have become during a seven-game winning streak, with the past six coming on the road in St. Louis and Los Angeles.
“I think we’re more excited about the road trip in itself than the three games here,” Webb said. “Just thought we played really good baseball. Keep it going.”
LaMonte Wade Jr. and Luis Matos each had two RBIs, Webb (6-6) allowed two runs in seven innings, and the Giants have won 10 of 12.
San Francisco continued to pile up runs in bunches, hammering Tony Gonsolin (4-2) for a career-high seven runs in 5 2/3 innings. While the lineup couldn’t get a read on Gonsolin through three innings, they figured things out with a second look.
Wade Jr. started the fourth inning by drawing a walk and Joc Pederson was hit by a pitch. Wade would score from third on a long foul out by Michael Conforto to make it 1-0, and the Giants went up 2-0 on Mike Yastrzemski’s single that drove in Pederson.
San Francisco picked up another run in the fifth before breaking the game open in the sixth.
Matos pushed the lead out to 5-2 with a two-run double down the left field line, and added the sixth run of the afternoon on Sabol’s double.
Wade then capped off the weekend by collecting his seventh RBI in the past two games.
2023.06.18 (SF Giants @ LA Dodgers) See Full Highlights
San Francisco Giants’ Joc Pederson collides with Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith while scoring a run in the fourth inning Sunday of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Sunday, June 18, 2023. Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images
2023.06.18 (SF Giants @ LA Dodgers) See Full Highlights
2023.06.18 (SF Giants @ LA Dodgers) See Full Highlights
On Tuesday, the Giants lost their top free-agent acquisition, outfielder Mitch Haniger, when he was struck on the right forearm by a pitch that broke his ulna, requiring surgery.
The Giants’ outfield already was much improved this season, but with Matos getting called up after Haniger’s misfortune, S.F. might be even better defensively. Matos is a plus defender in center field, which means Yastrzemski can move to right, where he is stellar, and Conforto moves to left. That gives the Giants strong arms on both corners. One scout called the current outfield alignment “sneaky good.”
“I think it’s one of the better ones,” Matos said. “Everyone out there plays good defense, and we always help each other. We always communicate.”
Kapler likes the alignment a lot, but he’s going to take a little bit of a long-view approach.
“Tony’s a really good pitcher, and to be able to manufacture some runs and do some good things was really cool,” Webb said.
Though the Dodgers had chances to tie it up, getting within 2-1 in the the fourth on James Outman’s RBI single and 3-2 in the fifth when Freddie Freeman legged out a double with one out and scored on David Peralta’s single up the middle, Webb always came back with the right responses.
“He’s becoming one of the more durable and dependable starting pitchers in baseball,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “Every time out, he’s kind of making us feel (we can win), so that’s what a horse does.”
For the slumping Dodgers, who have dropped four of their past five and 10 of 15 since the start of June, they couldn’t seem to get out of their own way.
It started with Los Angeles’ first trip to the plate ending with Outman striking out looking with the bases loaded, and continued with a series of near-misses at the plate and in the field.
“You can poke holes in what Tony did or didn’t do, but I think today across the board we just did some things that have come back to haunt us,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
2023.06.18 – SF Giants @ LA Dodgers (95.7 TheGame – pre-game)
Giants starter Logan Webb limited the Dodgers to two runs in seven innings to help San Francisco extend its winning streak to seven on Sunday of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Sunday, June 18, 2023. Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images
2023.06.18 – SF Giants @ LA Dodgers (95.7 TheGame – pre-game)
2023.06.18 – SF Giants @ LA Dodgers (95.7 TheGame – pre-game)
Los Angeles made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth by loading the bases with one out. Camilo Doval hit Will Smith to make it 7-3 before striking out Peralta and getting Martinez to fly out to right.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Giants: RHP Alex Cobb (left oblique strain) was put on the injured list Sunday. He was placed on the 15-day IL retroactive to Thursday. … LHP Scott Alexander left in the ninth because of left hamstring tightness. … 3B Casey Schmitt had X-rays taken after being hit by a pitch in the right arm. They did not reveal any broken bones, Kapler said.
Dodgers: LHP Julio Urías (hamstring) is trending toward returning at the end of June during a three-game series at Kansas City, Roberts said. Urías, who made his last start on May 18, is set to face live hitters on Tuesday.
2023.06.18 – SF Giants @ LA Dodgers (Locked On post game)
San Francisco Giants’ Luis Matos (29) doubles during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Sunday, June 18, 2023. Michael Conforto and Mike Yastrzemski scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
2023.06.18 – SF Giants @ LA Dodgers (Locked On post game)
2023.06.18 – SF Giants @ LA Dodgers (Locked On post game)
The Giants were in negative run-margin territory last month, but they’re now at a division-best +48 after winning 22 of the past 31 games.
“I just think you’re starting to see a cohesive unit, one where one batter passes the torch to the next batter, believes in the guy behind him,” Kapler said. “From a pitching perspective, we’re really beginning to trust our bullpen arms in the biggest moments — not just one or two guys, but the entire bullpen, which I can’t say it was true all the way through this season is definitely true now.”
UP NEXT
Giants: Cobb had been scheduled to start Monday to open a three-game series at the San Diego Padres, leaving the rotation to be determined.
Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw (8-4) will get the nod on Tuesday to start a two-game series against the Angels in Orange County. Kershaw has two wins in his past three starts, allowing four earned runs in 20 innings this month.
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SF Giants 2014 World Series Champions