Giants Get Crushed by Dodgers 15-0 to Cap 2018 Season

Photo credit: @SFGiants

By: Joe Lami

The season finally came to an end for the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. They did so in perfect fashion, to sum up, the 2018 season, losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers 15-0 at AT&T Park.

Fans came to say a final goodbye to Hunter Pence, the emotional leader of two of the franchise’s three titles in recent years. 2018 was a struggle for Pence, as he finished batting .229 with 24 RBI and four homers in the 96 games he played. It wasn’t the sunset ending Pence, who has wished for either, as he finished the day 0-for-4, including three strikeouts from the lead-off spot.

Andrew Suarez was handed the loss, surrendering six runs on six hits in 2.1 IP as the Dodgers delivered a seven-run blow in the third to make it 9-0. They continued to pour it on with three runs in the fourth and two runs in the fifth.

The Dodgers had everything to play for, as the win secured a one-game playoff with the Colorado Rockies to decide who wins the NL West tomorrow at Dodger Stadium. The winner takes the division with the loser having to play in the Wild Card Game on Tuesday.

The Giants could’ve played spoiler for their rival. A Dodgers’ loss would have secured them the Wild Card spot, but instead, LA swept the Giants capped off by the second-worst shutout in rivalry history

Giants fans will wake up tomorrow when September is finally over, looking back at a 5-21 record for the nightmare month. The worst month in franchise history since 1958 pushed them eight games below .500. They finished 73-89, the eighth-worst record in the big leagues.

The off-season will begin for San Francisco, including the search for a general manager after Bobby Evans was relieved of his position for the unacceptable season. Once a general manager is placed, it will bring attention around who will stay and who will go for next season.

Dodgers clinch final playoff berth with 10-6 victory over the Giants

Photo credit: @Dodgers

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — With the last playoff spot on the line, all the Los Angeles Dodgers needed to do was to defeat their longtime rivals, the San Francisco Giants, on their home field.

Manny Machado, who was acquired by the Dodgers near the trade deadline gave them the hit that they were looking for, as he hit a triple with two outs in the top of the eighth inning and the Dodgers defeated the Giants 10-6 before a sellout crowd of 41,768 at AT&T Park on Saturday.

With the victory, the Dodgers clinched their sixth consecutive playoff appearance. According to STATS, LLC., it is the third longest such in Major League history.

Only the Atlanta Braves, who made it to 14 consecutive postseasons from 1991-2005, and the New York Yankees, who went to 13 straight from 1995-2007, have longer streaks.

Machado tripled off of Mark Melancon to give the Dodgers a 6-5 lead and then Max Muncy hit a two-run double in the top of the ninth inning, as the Dodgers blew the game wide open to take a 10-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning.

Bay Area native Joc Pederson got the Dodgers on the board in the top of the first inning, as he hit a leadoff home run off of Giants Starter Derrick Rodriguez.

It was the eighth leadoff home run of the season for Pederson, breaking the record of seven that was set by Davey Lopes back in 1979.

Pederson now has 11 leadoff home runs in his career, tied for the third most in Dodgers history with Johnny Frederick, trailing Rafael Furcal, who hit 14 and Lopes, who hit 28 in his career.

Yaisel Puig extended the Dodgers lead up to 2-0 in the top of the second inning, as he launched a Rodriguez pitch into the left field seats.

Gorkys Hernandez cut the Dodgers lead in half in the bottom of the second inning, as he singled in Brandon Crawford.

Joe Panik gave the Giants the lead in the bottom of the third inning, as he singled to score Gregor Blanco and Hunter Pence.

Enrique Hernandez doubled to center field to score Puig in the top of the fourth inning to tie up the game.

Clayton Kershaw helped out his own cause in that fourth inning, as he singled to right field to score Yasmani Grandal and Hernandez to give the Dodgers a 5-3 lead.

Hunter Pence got the Giants within one in the bottom of the fifth inning, as he doubled off of Kershaw to score Abital Avelino, who singled.

Panik tied up the game in that fifth inning, as he hit a sacrifice fly to score Pence from third base.

Rodriguez lasted just three innings, allowing five runs on six hits, walking and striking out one in his final start of the season.

It was also a rough day for Kershaw, who went just five innings, allowing five runs on eight hits, not walking a batter and striking out four.

Alex Wood pitched 1.1 innings in relief, as he won for the ninth time this season and Melancon took the loss, as his record fell to 1-4 on the season.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Dodgers will wrap up their regular seasons with a Sunday matinee finale at 12:05 pm PT.

Andrew Suarez will close out the season for the Giants, as he goes for his eighth win of the season, while Walker Buehler goes for the Dodgers.

Turner’s home run wins it for the Dodgers 3-1

Photo credit: @DodgerBlue1958

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — Justin Turner may have missed the first 40 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers due to a broken left wrist, and then 10 more games in July with a right groin injury; however, he came through when he was needed the most.

Turner hit a two-run home run in the top of the fifth inning, helping the Dodgers to a 3-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants before a sellout crowd of 41,167 at AT&T Park.

On the season, Turner is hitting .357 (10-for-28) against the Giants and has hits in all seven games he has played against the Giants this season.

With the victory, the Dodgers stayed one game behind the Colorado Rockies in the fight for the National League Western Division Championship.

Hyun-Jin Ryu pitched six strong innings, as he gave up just one run on four hits, walking two and striking out three and finished the 2018 season with a 7-3 record.

Ryu’s first and only mistake came in the bottom of the second inning, as he gave up a solo home run to Nick Hundley that gave the Giants an early 1-0 lead.

It was the 10th home run of the season for Hundley, and his sixth at home this season. It was his first home run since July 28 versus the Milwaukee Brewers.

Unfortunately, Madison Bumgarner was unable to hold onto the lead, as Manny Machado singled to left field to score Enrique Hernandez from second base to tie up the game in the top of the third inning.

The Hernandez single in the third inning, was the second of three straight hits for him, he then went to second on a David Freese walk and then Machado tied up the game with his single off of Bumgarner.

Hernandez ended up going three-for-four on the evening, but he did go three-for-three against Bumgarner and is now 19-for-39 (.487) in his career against him. That is the second highest batting average among active players in the majors against Bumgarner (minimum 15 at-bats).

Once again, the Achilles heel was the double play ball, as they grounded into five in the second, fourth, sixth, eighth and ninth innings that put a stop to five huge rallies.

Austin Slater grounded into a double play with runners on first and second, and nobody out and then Gorkys Hernandez flew out to Chris Taylor to end the inning.

With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the fourth inning, it was Slater again put the end to a Giants rally, as he grounded into his second double play in three innings.

Evan Longoria grounded into the third one of the night in the bottom of the sixth inning after Joe Panik led off the inning with a single, but was then erased on the double play ball hit by Longoria.

Once again, in the bottom of the eighth inning, Longoria grounded into a double play to end the inning. Panik singled with one out, but was then retired for the second out of the inning.

Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen got Hundley to fly out for the first out of the inning, but Jansen hit Crawford; however, he was able to get Aramis Garcia to ground into the fifth double play of the night for the Giants to end the game.

Bumgarner, who started the season on the disabled list with a broken left finger suffered in his last start of spring training on March 23, went six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out six and he finished the 2018 season with a record of 6-7.

Slater was forced to leave the game with elbow soreness in his throwing arm, and will undergo an MRI on Saturday.

NOTES: This was the 250th career start of Bumgarner’s career, and only five pitchers who have reached that plateau since divisional play began in 1969, this according to STATS,LLC.

Giants closer Will Smith was named the 2018 Willie Mac Award winner. The award is given to the player who best exemplifies the inspiration, character and leadership that Willie McCovey demonstrated during his playing days for the Giants from 1959-1974, and then 1977-1980.

Smith, who missed all of the 2017 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was one of the Giants top relievers this season. He posted a record of 2-3 with 1.90 ERA, while saving 14 games in 18 opportunities.

Joining Smith on the field at the ceremony were past winners, Mike Krukow, who was the Master of Ceremonies, Jack Clark , Darrell Evans, Chris Speier, Dave Dravecky, Mike Felder, Shawon Dunston, Ellis Burks, Mark Gardner, Buster Posey, Hunter Pence, Bumgarner, Crawford and Hundley.

Once again, the Giants topped the three million mark in attendance, as this was the 17th time in the 19 years since AT&T Park opened that they have eclipsed that mark and it is the ninth consecutive year that they accomplished the feat.

The five double plays hit by the Giants are a season high, and it was the first time since July 30, 2017, also against the Dodgers that the Giants hit into at least five double plays in a game.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Dodgers face each other again on Saturday afternoon at 1:05 pm PT.

Dereck Rodriguez makes his final start of the 2018 season on Saturday, as he looks to the finish the season on a high note and the Dodgers will send Clayton Kershaw to the mound.

Giants can knock Dodgers out of the playoffs

Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

By Jeremy Harness

We’ve seen this a few times before in the long history of these two teams.

There was 1982, when Joe Morgan’s homer knocked the Dodgers out of the playoffs on the final day of the regular season. However, the Giants also suffered heartbreak at the hands of the Dodgers in 1993, as the Dodgers blasted them 15-1 on the final day to keep them out of the postseason.

Compelling, potentially season-altering moments like these are exactly why the Giants and Dodgers engage in a three-game series to end the regular season year in and year out.

The Giants have been out of the playoff picture for quite some time, but the Dodgers are right in the middle of it. In fact, the three-game weekend series – the final three games of the regular season for both teams – is a make-or-break one for LA in every sense of the word.

The Dodgers are currently sit one game behind the Colorado Rockies for the National League West.

However, they are only one game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals for the NL’s final playoff spot. In other words, the defending National League champs are hanging on by a thread.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals end the season with a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs, a team that has already clinched the top spot in the National League and will most likely look to rest its key players in order to get ready for the league’s Division Series next week.

To start the three-games series at AT&T Park, the Dodgers will send Hyun-jin Ryu (6-3, 2.00 ERA) to the mound against Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner (6-6, 3.20 ERA).

Ryu enters this matchup in fine form, as he did not give up a single run in each of his last two outings, giving up a total of eight hits over 13 innings in wins over the Rockies and San Diego Padres. Bumgarner has not been too bad himself, as he shut out the Rockies on Sept. 15 but gave up three runs over six innings in a no-decision against the Cardinals last Saturday.

Dereck Rodriguez (6-4, 2.50 ERA) will take the ball for the Giants on Saturday against Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw (9-5, 2.53 ERA). Rodriguez has lost each of his last two decisions, while Kershaw has won each of his last five.

To end the season, there will be a pair of rookies who take the mound, and this could very well decide the Dodgers’ season. Walker Buehler (7-5, 2.76 ERA) will go for the Dodgers against Giants lefty Andrew Suarez (7-12, 4.22 ERA).

Giants starting to play out the string in upcoming series against the Brewers

Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Harness

It’s quite evident that the Giants are not going to make the playoffs – Buster Posey having season-ending surgery and the team trading Andrew McCutchen after a little more than half a season more than showed they have waved the right flag – so they might as well mess things up for teams that are still contending.

They can start with this weekend’s three-game series in Milwaukee against the Brewers, which starts Friday night at Miller Park. The Giants just got finished getting their heads handed to them by the Rockies in Colorado (what else is new?) in getting swept in a three-game series at Coors Field.

So if they are going to play spoiler–or if they think they actually have a chance in grabbing a wild-card spot in the National League–they will need to get things back on track very quickly.

The Giants’ Derek Holland (7-8, 3.56 ERA) will take the ball Friday night against the Brewers’ Chase Anderson (9-7, 3.96 ERA).

Anderson has won each of his last three decisions, and in his last outing, he went five innings and gave up only a run on four hits in a loss to Washington, although he got a no-decision. Holland, meanwhile, has won each of his last two decisions, while he has spent some time in the bullpen this season.

The left-hander went six innings in a loss to the Mets at home–he got a no-decision–and he also gave up only a run and surrendered only four hits in the process.

Chris Stratton (9-8, 4.90 ERA), who has spent some time in Triple-A Sacramento this year, will go Saturday afternoon, and he will face Milwaukee lefty–and former Nationals and A’s standout–Gio Gonzalez.

Stratton has been stellar in his past two starts, although he lost his last outing in a 4-1 loss to the Mets four days ago, when he gave up only a pair of runs on three hits over six innings. The outing before, he shut out the Diamondbacks over eight innings, giving up only five hits and striking out six in a 2-0 win.

On Sunday, Madison Bumgarner (5-5, 3.07 ERA) will take the hill for the Giants and opposite the Brewers’ Zach Davies (2-5, 4.88 ERA).

Story blasts Giants 5-3 with 3 HR’s

Photo credit: @SportingGreenSF

By Jeremy Harness

Trevor Story blasted three home runs on Wednesday, and that proved to be the difference as the Colorado Rockies beat the Giants, 5-3, inside Coors Field.

One of those, which was in the bottom of the fourth inning, traveled 505 feet and was the longest ball ever to be hit in the history of the Rockies’ home field.

With the loss, the Giants fell to five games under .500 and are now 10 games behind the National League West lead. That, to go along with the fact that the Giants just cannot beat the Rockies in Coors Field, particularly when it matters.

The first bomb by Story gave the Rockies a 2-1 lead, but the Giants came right back in the third when Austin Slater’s run-scoring single tied the game at 2-2, and they took the lead when Aramis Garcia slammed a home run of his own in the fourth.

Slater comes through with an RBI single to tie this one up ☝️

#SFGiants pic.twitter.com/PepCZIvNgq

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) September 6, 2018

Aramis Garcia…for the lead!

#SFGiants pic.twitter.com/qV1DJp173b

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) September 6, 2018

However, Colorado took over the game from that point on, and this time, the Giants could not recover.

In the bottom of the fourth, Story struck again and re-tied the game at 3-3 with his record-breaking home run the cleared the bleachers in left field. He left the ballpark one last time in the bottom of the sixth to give the Rockies a 4-3 lead.

D.J LeMahieu added some insurance in the seventh when he singled to score Carlos Gonzalez, and the Colorado bullpen slammed the door on the Giants the rest of the way, as they keep their hopes alive for the postseason.

Meanwhile, the Giants’ playoff hopes are long gone at this point. That was hammered home when catcher Buster Posey elected to have hip surgery a month ago, and then the team traded away right fielder Andrew McCutchen.

Moronta blows lead in Giants’ 6-2 loss to Rockies

Photo credit: mlb.com

By Jeremy Kahn

It seems that Dereck Rodriguez can never get a break after he pitches yet another great game in his rookie season.

Ryan McMahon hit a pinch-hit home run and Carlos Gonzalez hit a bases clearing triple, as the Colorado Rockies scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on their way to a 6-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field on Monday night.

The Giants are 1-7 at Coors Field this season, and an abysmal 2-16 since the 2017 season, where the Giants went 64-98 and ended up 40 games behind the eventual National League Champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

Gorkys Hernandez hit a solo home run in the top of the seventh inning that gave the Giants a short-lived 2-1 lead, as he hit his second home run of the series and it looked like Rodriguez was going to get the win, but that did not happen.

Reyes Moronta came on to replace Rodriguez got the first out, but McMahon hit a 0-1 pitch over the center field wall to tie up the game. It was the second home run of the season for McMahon.

Then things got even worse, as Charlie Blackmon reached on an infield single, for his third hit of the game, and Moronta walked D.J. LeMahieu and Nolan Arenado to load the bases and then Gonzalez hit a triple to give the Rockies 5-2 lead. Gerardo Parra drove in the final run of the inning, as he walked with the bases loaded to give the Rockies the final margin of victory.

Rodriguez went six innings, allowing one run on six hits, walking one and striking out six, as he did not fare in the decision, despite the quality start.

The Giants took the lead in the top of the first inning, as Joe Panik singled to left field to score Gregor Blanco to give the Giants a short-lived 1-0 lead; however, David Dahl tied up the game in the bottom of the second inning with his ninth home run of the season.

German Marquez shut the Giants down after that, as he went 6.2 innings, as he struck out 11 and was in line for the loss after the Hernandez home run; however, McMahon changed all that with his solo home run. Chris Rusin retired the final batter of the seventh inning to get his second win of the season.

NOTES: Rookie Steven Duggar underwent season-ending shoulder surgery on Tuesday to repair a torn labrum in his left labrum that he suffered on August 28 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Jeff Samardzija was transferred to the 60-day disabled list with inflammation in his right shoulder, and rookie Abiatal Avelino got his contract purchased from Sacramento. Avelino was acquired from the New York Yankees in the Andrew McCutchen trade on Thursday.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Rockies conclude their series on Wednesday night at 5:40 pm PDT.

The Giants’ Andrew Suarez will be looking for his seventh win of the season, as he takes the mound on Wednesday. Suarez is also going for his third straight win, as he is coming off an outstanding game where he pitched seven innings of two-hit ball in a 7-0 victory over the New York Mets on Friday night.

The Rockies will send Antonio Senzatela to the mound, as he attempts to even his record at 5-5 on the season.

Giants bullpen gives up sure win in late innings

by Michael Martinez

SAN FRANCISCO – Johnny Cueto (13-3) appeared to have his first win since the All Star break in the bag after he threw a solid six and two thirds innings, allowing just three runs on eight hits with four strikeouts. Cueto also had a nice day at the plate putting together two hits and driving in a run. However, the Giants bullpen fell apart in the late innings and allowed the Orioles to make things competitive.

Hunter Strickland came in to relieve Cueto and got out of a seventh inning jam but gave up two runs in the seventh to let the Orioles back into the ball game, which included a solo shot by Mark Trumbo. The blast was Trumbo’s was number 34 of the season he still leads the AL in that category.

Derek Law replaced Strickland in the eighth and was able to limit the damage as the Giants still held a 7-5 lead heading into the top half of the ninth.

Then Santiago Casilla came into the game and not only let two runners get on base, but threw a hanging curveball right over the heart of the plate to Baltimore second baseman, Johnathan Schoop. Schoop made Casilla pay as he crushed the hanging breaking ball into the left field bleachers to give the Orioles the lead, eight to seven. The homer marked Casilla’s fifth blown save of the year.

“I have confidence in all my pitches,” Casilla said through interpreter Erwin Higueros. “I threw the curveball, and I just made a mistake. The ball didn’t break.”

The Giants then tried to make something happen off Orioles closer Zach Britton in the bottom of the ninth, but unfortunately could not get a run across the plate to push the game into extra innings. Britton added to his league leading save total, 37, as Baltimore sits just a half game behind the Toronto Blue Jays for first place in the AL East.

For San Francisco, its their 18th loss since the Mid Summer Classic and a real bad one after they held a six run lead heading into the top of the seventh.

The orange and black hit their stride at the plate, tallying 14 hits for seven runs and forced Orioles skipper, Buck Showalter,  to remove starter Wade Miley in the fifth inning.

Giants back up catcher Trevor Brown got the scoring started with an RBI single in the second inning. Brown got the start behind the dish after Buster Posey was a last minute scratch due to back tightness. The injury could have been sustained from the flight back and has gradually worsened, according to Posey.

Before Sunday’s ball game, Brown had been hitless in his last seven at bats, with just three hits in his last 19. But Brown made the most out of his start and was a huge spark for SF’s offense. He finished the game three for five with three RBIs.

“He’s been great,” Posey said about Brown’s performance this year. “He gave us a chance to win the game.”

Outfielder Hunter Pence also had a good game and it appears his swing could be coming into form. Pence hit a bomb to center field, 436 feet to be exact, and added a single during the Giants big fifth inning. Pence’s dinger was his first since returning from the disabled list. Prior to today’s game, Pence had not put one into the seats dating all the way back to May 18.

Fortunately, the Dodgers (65-52) lost to Pittsburgh on Sunday, 11-3, keeping the Giants a game ahead in the NL West.

After blowing a huge lead and taking a loss in what looked to be the Giants first back-to-back wins since July 30 and 31 as well as their second consecutive series victory, San Francisco will take on the Pittsburgh Pirates at home tomorrow night at 7:15 p.m. PT as Matt Moore takes the mound.

“I think everyone knows what’s at stake. I don’t think there’s really any motivation needed,” Posey said. “This time of the year, this is when it’s fun. Each game as we get further and further along will have a little more importance on it. I think the group of guys in here generally thrive in these situations.”

Giants Go Deep To Steal Series Finale From Dodgers

By Shawn Whelchel

AP photo: San Francisco Giants Joe Panik hits for a double in the sixth inning of Sunday’s game versus the Los Angeles Dodgers

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.-The Giants entered Sunday’s series finale against the Dodgers just one home run short of leading the MLB. They used three of them to take three-of-four games from their rivals from down south over the weekend, completing yet another comeback with a 9-6 win.

Buster Posey, Brandon Belt and Angel Pagan all went deep for the Giants on Sunday, leading to their fifth come-from-behind victory on the season that showcases the lineups old scrappiness with their newfangled depth throughout the order.

The 2016 are now the first team in franchise history to hit home runs in their first seven games, and the power surge has not gone unnoticed by skipper Bruce Bochy.

“It’s a team that’s gonna hit with more power. That doesn’t always mean home runs but I think if you look at the doubles, that’s gonna pick up, and throughout the lineup we have guys who can drive the ball. We’re not gonna rely on the long-ball but it certainly helps, particularly when you’re down five runs, it’s usually something that you need.”

Starter Johnny Cueto might have wished he was still in the confines of Miller Park after his second outing with his new team didn’t go over nearly as well as his first start of the season.

The quirky right-hander got knocked around for six runs on the day-including five in the first inning alone- but was picked up by his teammate’s at the plate. Despite his early struggles, Bochy kept faith in his new starter, and Cueto would rebound from a torrid start to give up just one more run over the next six innings before leaving with a chance at the win.

Although Bochy noted the tough first inning, the manager was ultimately impressed with Cueto’s resiliency and ability to bounce back after getting knocked around early.

“For him to end up going seven innings says a couple things. How tough he is, he’s a problem and he comes in there and gets a win after that. He was just a different pitcher after the first inning.”

Dodgers starter Scott Kazmir may not have given up runs in a bunch like Cueto, but the southpaw faired no better than Cueto, getting tagged for six runs over just four innings on seven hits. He was the first Dodgers pitcher to give up three home runs to San Francisco since 2004.

The Dodgers bats and the soggy AT&T turf dampened Cueto’s first start at home as a member of the Giants. After holding Los Angeles to 15 runs in eight career starts prior to Sunday’s game, the Dodgers tagged the 30-year old for five in the top of the frame.

Cueto allowed five hits, a walk and plunked one, while also slipping twice in the AT&T grass while attempting to field his position during that span.

But the Giants would showcase the power of their newfangled lineup, as they would erase Cueto’s miscues with the help of the longball.

Posey would kick things off in the third inning with a solo shot high into the left field bleachers to cut the Dodgers lead to just two. Two batters later, the newly-extended Brandon Belt would launch an equalizer of his own in the deep part of the yard, parking one over the center field wall near triples alley to tie the game.

Cueto, who had settled down after his wild first inning, would be tagged again by the Dodgers’ Corey Seager, whose ten game hitting streak would continue with a line drive single to plate Chase Utley in the top of the fourth to regain the lead for his club at 6-5.

The Giants would find an answer again, this time in the form of a blast from Pagan, whose ball would land just over the left field fence in the bottom half of the inning to notch things up again.

San Francisco’s bats stayed hot heading into the sixth, as Angel Pagan and Denard Span would reach base ahead of Joe Panik, whose seventh hit of the year was a two-rbi double that bounced on the center field warning track to give the Giants their first lead of the day at 8-6. Panik would come around to score on a deep sac-fly by Pence two batters leader to extend the margin.

Bochy’s continuing faith in his starter would be rewarded, as Cueto would settle in to strike out three batters while allowing just two hits and one walk over the next three innings. After escaping one last jam with a two-out liner to Pagan, Cueto would exit the game to a loud standing ovation from the AT&T Park crowd.

The Giants bullpen picked up where Cueto left off, with Sergio Romo and Josh Osich working a rather uneventful eighth inning before Santiago Casilla would down the heart of the Dodgers lineup in order to capture his second save on the season, giving his team a 9-6 final.

The win gives San Francisco sole possession of the NL West heading into a stint with the Colorado Rockies next week.

San Francisco Giants Friday game wrap: Brown, Crawford Go Deep To Down Dodgers In A Wild Comeback Win

By Shawn Whelchel

AP photo: No hitter going? That’s all for you, as Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts takes Dodger starter Ross Stripling out in the eighth inning despite pitching a no hitter vs. San Francisco Giants

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.-After nearly being on the receiving end of a historic no-hitter, the San Francisco Giants’ bats came alive late in the game to launch two home runs that would give the home team 2-0 series advantage over their rivals from the south.

After mustering just three baserunners through seven innings-all on walks- Trevor Brown’s homer in the eighth and Brandon Crawford’s long ball in the 10th would send the rain AT&T Park crowd home on a high note after the hometown squad would take both a no-hitter and a win away from the Dodgers on Saturday for a 3-2 victory.

Dodger rookie Ross Stripling put on a dazzling display of offspeed pitches mixed with solid fastball location that looked to put the Giants on the wrong side of a century old record for being no-hit by a debut pitcher.

But after completing 7 1/3 with a no-hitter in tact, a questionable move by manager Dave Roberts to pull the streaking youngster would lead another rookie to the spotlight instead.

The Giants first hit of the game would prove to be a crucial one, as C Trevor Brown’s first career home run would not only break up the Dodgers’ impending no-hitter, but would look to breathe new life into a stagnant Giants offense and send the game into 2-2 tie in the 8th inning.

Crawford would follow up the rookie’s display with an opposite shot of his own to lead off the 10th inning, launching his second career walk-off home run into the left field bleachers to hand his team the win.

The combination of home runs would see a Los Angeles kid in Brown hurt his hometown team, and a Bay Area native deal the finishing blow to his long-standing rival.

Lost in the fray of home runs and near no-hitters was Matt Cain’s impressive return to the mound. After a pair of injury marred seasons that saw the former ace hit the disabled list, the workhorse made a triumphant comeback in his first start of the season, surrendering just six hits over six innings of work while giving up just two runs.

The back of the rotation for both clubs saw strong outings from the returning ace in Cain and the newcomer Stripling. Both pitchers worked through the opposing lineups masterfully, while holding each team to just three runners in scoring position through the first five innings.

The duel was an encouraging sign for both clubs, as the former ace in Cain looked to rebound from injury-marred and ineffective seasons for the Giants, while Stripling looked to add some back-of-the-rotation punch for the Dodgers. But the Dodgers gained the advantage after five innings, as an RBI single from catcher A.J Ellis ended Cain’s scoreless streak after Joc Pederson came around to score following a leadoff double.

The Dodger’s young shortstop Corey Seager would pile on the damage with a two-out RBI single up the gut to make it a 2-0 deficit for Cain before he would escape the inning with a flyout to Justin Turner.

Meanwhile, Stripling continued his strong effort by mixing using an effective mix of offspeed pitches and fastball control to keep Giants runners off the base path, with just  two runners coming on consecutive walks through six innings.

The 26-year old looked to run into trouble heading into the 7th inning after issuing a leadoff walk to Hunter Pence, only to fall behind to Brandon Belt 0-3. But the Texas native rebounded by inducing a double-play ball from Belt, which was followed by a weak grounder from Matt Duffy to keep the no-hitter in tact.

Stripling looked to continue his quest to become the first rookie to throw a no-hitter in over a century during his debut, but after issuing a one-out walk to Angel Pagan, new Dodgers manager showed his short leash by yanking the youngster after an impressive debut.

The questionable move by manager Dave Roberts would come back to haunt the Dodgers, as Brown-who got his first start of the young season- would launch a two run home run off of RP Chris Hatcher to tie the game in the bottom of the 8th just moments after Stripling’s departure.

The Giants would work another runner into scoring position, before Hatcher would end the threat. But not before Brown’s longball would breathe new life into the ballgame.

Just as they had done the day before, the Giants would complete their comeback with a dagger of a homerun, as Crawford would connect with a 1-0 pitch from reliever Joe Blanton to secure the second straight win for the Giants against their NL West rivals.

The Giants look to make it three straight over the Dodgers tomorrow, as aces Madison Bumgarner and Clayton Kershaw square off in an afternoon start.