Photo credit: @SFGiants
By Jeremy Harness
Thursday night’s game at Dodger Stadium got off to a rather-funny start but finished in thrilling fashion indeed.
After some major-league trolling of Giants starter Madison Bumgarner by the Dodgers – more on that later – the Dodgers jumped out to a 6-0 lead, and it appeared to be a carbon copy of what the previous two games looked like.
The Giants, however, mounted a tremendous comeback in the last three innings but came up painfully short in a 9-8 loss that wrapped up a four-game series in Southern California that saw the Giants win only the opening contest.
They put four runs on the board in the top of the ninth and even had the tying run on second base with nobody out against closer Kenley Jansen.
That was when a bit of controversy took shape. Tyler Austin laid down a nice bunt down the first-base line, and first baseman Cody Bellinger whipped around and fired to third to nab Stephen Vogt. However, the play was reviewed, and replays appeared to show Vogt’s foot reaching third as the ball hit third baseman Justin Turner’s glove.
However, Vogt was ruled out, and the played a huge role down the stretch. The next batter, Buster Posey, hit a sharp liner that center fielder Alex Verdugo ran down near the warning track, and the runners were forced to retreat back to first and second, respectively.
Had Vogt been ruled safe, he would have likely tagged up from third and tied the game. As it stood, Brandon Belt’s liner to right found Kyle Garlick’s glove and ended the game.
Thursday night marked Bumgarner’s first start in Los Angeles since his blowup at Max Muncy after the latter touched him up for a home run at Oracle Park last week, and the Dodgers were clearly ready for him.
As Muncy stepped up to the plate against Bumgarner, the team was happy to show on its jumbotron screen in center field that the last time he had faced the left-hander resulted in a 426-foot shot that is now 25 feet under water in McCovey Cove.
The Dodgers’ PA staff went on to play “Under The Sea,” which was a hit song on the soundtrack of “The Little Mermaid,” before playing Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water.”
Muncy continued his ownage of Bumgarner, as he singled in a run in the first inning to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.
Sports Radio Service 