Dodgers – Giants Live Game Thread

The Los Angeles Dodgers look to keep the good times rolling as they head up to San Francisco to battle the Giants in one of the game’s premier rivalries. The Dodgers are off to a 3-0 start while the Giants began the year 2-1 after facing the Milwaukee Brewers. On the mound this afternoon will be Alex Wood. It’ll be his first action of the regular season.

There are two notable changes in the team’s lineup this afternoon as third baseman Justin Turner will get the day off in favor of Kike Hernandez taking his spot, and left fielder Carl Crawford will also get an off day as Scott Van Slyke takes over for him in the outfield. Continuing the trend of rotating the catchers, Austin Barnes is behind the plate for Alex Wood today.

Utley 2B
Seager SS
Puig RF
Gonzalez 1B
Van Slyke LF
Pederson CF
Hernandez 3B
Barnes C
Wood P

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 7, 2016

Let’s start this season off with another win! IT’S TIME FOR DODGER BASEBALL!

FIRST INNING

Chase Utley begins the game with a flyout to center field, and Corey Seager then smashes a single up the middle. It had an exit velocity of 109 MPH. Good grief. Unfortunately, Yasiel Puig grounds into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play. It was just a four-pitch inning for Jake Peavy. Alex Wood is on the mound next.

Denard Span nubs a ball back to the mound, and Alex Wood fields it but throws it right into the back of Span! However, rather than reaching base, Span is called out because he was inside the baseline! One out. Wood then gets Joe Panik to pop out to short left field as Corey Seager fields it. And it’s a 1-2-3 first inning for Wood as Buster Posey grounds out softly to third base. Three balls put into play, three weak outs. We head to the second, scoreless.

SECOND INNING: TIED AT 0-0

Adrian Gonzalez SMASHES a leadoff double off the top of the wall in dead center field. It went 411-feet. Missed a home run by inches. Scott Van Slyke then flies out weakly to center field for the first out. Joc Pederson then gets an infield single a grounder into the shift. Great play by Brandon Crawford behind second base keeps a run off the board, but the Dodgers now have runners on the corners with one out as Kike Hernandez steps into the box. RBI single for Kike Hernandez, and it’s 1-0 Dodgers! Runners on first and second with one out now. Austin Barnes then singles to left field, and the bases are loaded with one out for Alex Wood. However, Wood grounds into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play and the side is retired. But the Dodgers do get a run on the board. 1-0. BUT WAIT! THERE’S A CHALLENGE! Dave Roberts challenges the neighborhood play at second base, and Panik did NOT have his foot on the bag. It’s now second and third with two outs, and the runner from third did score. It’s 2-0 Dodgers! Chase Utley is then called out on strikes on a 3-2 pitch, but Los Angeles does get two runs.

Wood gets Hunter Pence to fly out to Puig in right field to begin the bottom half of the inning. Brandon Belt then tattoos a baseball damn near where Gonzalez hit it, and it’s a 414-foot double. But then Wood gets Matt Duffy to fly out to center for the second out, and then Wood strikes out Brandon Crawford swinging to end the inning! 29 consecutive scoreless innings for the Dodgers!

THIRD INNING: DODGERS LEAD 2-0

Corey Seager flies out to left, but then Yasiel Puig ROPES a one-out single to left. Batted ball speed of 109 MPH. Adrian Gonzalez then lefts a fly ball to left field, and Angel Pagan can’t make the jumping grab! Puig scores! Double for Gonzalez! 3-0 Dodgers! Van Slyke then has a repeat of his first at-bat, flying out weakly to center field for the second out. Joc Pederson then puts together a MONSTER 10-pitch at-bat before striking out on a foul tip. What a battle by Pederson. We head to the bottom half, Dodgers up by three.

Jake Peavy helps himself with a leadoff single. Wood then gets Angel Pagan to go down looking on strikes. Second strikeout for Wood, first out in the third. Span then grounds out to Gonzalez at first, but Peavy takes second base on the groundout. Two outs. Wood then gets Panik to groundout to first! That’s three outs. 30 straight scoreless innings!

FOURTH INNING: DODGERS LEAD 3-0

Kike leads off the frame and works a 3-0 count before grounding sharply to shortstop. Austin Barnes then follows suit with his own groundout to shortstop for the second out. Wood then gets called out on strikes for a 1-2-3 inning for Jake Peavy. He’s at 58 pitches through four.

Grounder up the middle by Posey is snagged by Seager, but the rookie has issues getting the ball out of his glove in time and makes a late throw. Posey’s on with nobody out. Pence then grounds into a 5-4 putout that gets Posey at second, but the turn on the double play doesn’t get Pence in time. Runner on first with one out now. Wood then gets Belt to go down swinging for the second out! Duffy then flies out to right field. 31 consecutive scoreless innings! One shy of tying the record, and two from breaking it!

FIFTH INNING: DODGERS LEAD 3-0

Chase Utley leads off the fifth with a single to right field. Laced it at 105 MPH. Seager hits a ball to first, and it takes a weird bounce that Belt snags. He throws down to second for the force out, but Seager reaches base. One on, one out for Puig. Yasiel Puig then rips a single to left field. Batted ball speed of 108 MPH. He hits it hard. Gonzalez lines out to left field for the second out. Runners still on first and second, now with two outs. Van Slyke with a double high off the left field wall! Seager scores, Puig to third, Van Slyke into second. 4-0! Pederson grounds out to end the frame, but the Dodgers tack on another run. They can tie the record in the bottom half of this innings for most consecutive scoreless innings to start a season.

Wood walks Crawford to start the frame. Kelby Tomlinson is in as a pinch hitter, so Jake Peavy’s day is done. Tomlinson then bunts for a single! Runners on first and second with no one out for the Giants. Pagan then grounds out to third, but the runners move up to second and third with one out now. Scoreless streak is in great jeopardy now. Span then grounds out to second, but a run scores. The scoreless streak is over, but the Dodgers do record a second out. It’s now 4-1. Joe Panik then ropes a triple to center field that goes just out of the reach of Joc Pederson. It’s now 4-2. Buster Posey then doubles, and it’s 4-3 now. Little run for the Giants here, and Yimi Garcia gets up in the bullpen. Wild pitch sends Posey to third. Pence walks to put runners on the corners with one out. Wood gets Belt to ground out on a 3-2 pitch to second base. It ends the fifth, but the Giants pick up three runs.

SIXTH INNING: DODGERS LEAD 4-3

Kike Hernandez then flies out to center field to start the inning. Barnes then flies out to left field, and it looks like Alex Wood will be batting here. Wood then strikes out. It’s a 1-2-3 inning.

Matt Duffy starts the frame off with a single to right. Crawford follows that up with a single to left, and runners are on first and second with nobody out. Dave Roberts comes out for his first mound visit (and pitching change) of the season. Yimi Garcia coming in. Giants sac bunt, Garcia falls to his butt, but still throws out the batter. Second and third with one out now. Pagan then singles to right, two runs score, and the Giants take a 5-4 lead. Not ideal. Span tries to bunt for a hit, but Garcia fields it and throws him out. Two outs, runner on second now. Panik with a bloop single, and it’s 6-4 Giants now. Last two innings have been tough. Panik took second on the throw. Posey singles to left, and Panik scores. Posey takes second on the throw home. It’s 7-4 Giants now. Louis Coleman coming on now. Coleman fans Pence, but not before the Giants strike for four more runs.

SEVENTH INNING: DODGERS TRAIL 7-4

Utley begins the frame with a fly out to left. Seager follows him by grounding out softly to second. Puig pops out to second to end the inning, and it’s a 1-2-3 frame. Not an ideal way to rebound from a tough bottom of the sixth. Time to stretch!

Coleman walks Belt to start off the frame. Not ideal, either. Coleman gets Duffy to ground into a 4-6-3 double play, so there’s now no one on with two outs. Solid turnaround there. Crawford then flies out to Puig in right to end the frame. We head to the eighth!

EIGHTH INNING: DODGERS TRAIL 7-4

Leadoff single for Gonzalez, and the Giants will now be bringing in Sergio Romo to face Scott Van Slyke. Dave Roberts counters with Carl Crawford instead of Van Slyke. Smart. Crawford grounds out to the catcher, but Gonzalez moves up to second with one out. Joc Pederson up now. JOC PEDERSON THEN ROPES A 2-RUN HOME RUN TO RIGHT-CENTER FIELD! FIRST PITCHING SWINGING, AND HE CUTS THE DEFICIT DOWN TO ONE. 7-6 GIANTS. Exit velocity of 110 MPH. Home run traveled 426 feet. Kike Hernandez flies out to left field for the second out. Austin Barnes is up now. Barnes pops up to third to end the frame, but the Dodgers do get back into the game thanks to Joc Pederson’s two-run home run.

J.P. Howell is on to pitch here in the eighth. Jam shot for Gregor Blanco goes just over the reach over Corey Seager, and it’s a leadoff single. Pagan then punches one into left field, and runners are on first and second with nobody out. Bunt single for Span as Howell tries to get the runner at third, but can’t. Bases loaded with nobody out for the Giants. Dodgers have been dinked and dunked all day. Panik singles against the pulled in infield, and it’s now 8-6 as the bases stay loaded. Roberts pulls Howell, and Pedro Baez will be coming in. Baez fans Posey on a pitch in the dirt. Great pitch. Hunter Pence then hits a grand slam to left-center to push it up to 12-6 Giants, and this one is pretty much over with. Dodgers had a chance, just needed a shutdown inning. They didn’t get it. Still one out in the eighth. Matt Duffy then singles up the middle with two outs after Brandon Belt popped out to left field. Baez strikes out Crawford looking to end the eighth, but the Giants tack on five runs to make this one a rout. Dodgers down six going to the ninth.

NINTH INNING: DODGERS TRAIL 12-6

Hunter Strickland on to pitch for the Giants here. Charlie Culberson leads off the top of the ninth by flying out to center. Chase Utley then ropes a one-out single to left field, and Corey Seager is now up. But Seager can only fly out to left field for the second out. And the Dodgers are down to their final out of the afternoon. Yasiel Puig steps into the box, and Puig strikes out swinging to end the game. He finishes his day 2-for-5. The Dodgers lose after leading 4-0, and this one stings because of who they lost to. Dodgers move to 3-1 on the year.

FINAL SCORE: GIANTS 12, DODGERS 6