Alex Wood teamed with five relievers on a three-hitter, David Villar and Brandon Crawford smacked consecutive pitches for home runs, and the San Francisco Giants bounced back from a series-opening thumping to beat the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0 Tuesday night.
Wood allowed just one hit in 4 2/3 innings before turning the ball over to Jakob Janis, who was followed by Scott Alexander, John Brebbia, Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval to complete the Giants’ first shutout of the season.
The San Francisco pitchers worked most of the night with a lead after Joc Pederson produced the game’s only scoring before the eighth inning with a two-run double in the first off Dodgers starter Dustin May (1-1). LaMonte Wade Jr. and Michael Conforto, who had led off the inning with walks, scored on Pederson’s hit.
The Giants busted the game open in the eighth when Mike Yastrzemski doubled ahead of Villar’s third homer of the season. Crawford then drilled Evan Phillips’ next pitch for his second home run of the year, making it 5-0.
Wood, who also started a Giants victory in his first start but didn’t go the required five innings to qualify for a win, got within one out when, with San Francisco leading 2-0, the left-hander retired Freddie Freeman with two on and one out in the fifth.
Junis, a right-hander, took over at that point and got Will Smith to fly out, stranding the potential game-tying runners.
Wood walked three and struck out five in his 4 2/3 innings.
May worked 5 1/3 innings, limiting the Giants to just two runs and two hits. He walked four and struck out three.
The Dodgers threatened again in the sixth, loading the bases with no outs on singles by J.D. Martinez and Trayce Thompson, and a catcher’s interference infraction on the Giants’ Blake Sabol.
But Junis struck out Chris Taylor before the left-handed Alexander came on to get James Outman to ground into a fielder’s choice at the plate and then strike out Miguel Rojas.
Alexander (1-0) was rewarded with the win.
Yastrzemski had a double and a single for the Giants, who out-hit the visitors 7-3.
The Dodgers, who had totaled 23 runs in their previous three games, were shut out for the first time this season. All three of their hits were singles.
–Field Level Media