Skubal's Three-Hit Gem Lifts Dodgers Past Giants 2-0
The short version
- Dodgers beat Giants 2-0 Friday at Oracle Park behind seven shutout innings from Tarik Skubal (12-7).
- Teoscar Hernandez and Andy Pages hit solo homers off Yunior Marte (0-2) in the second inning.
- Giants relievers Sam Hentges, Joel Kuhnel, Dylan Smith and Tristan Beck each threw a scoreless inning.
- Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts; game time was 1:53, San Francisco's fastest of the season.
- Los Angeles has a playoff berth and first-round bye; San Francisco could deny the Dodgers 100 wins by winning once more.
Tarik Skubal needed just 75 pitches over seven innings as Los Angeles blanked San Francisco on solo homers by Teoscar Hernandez and Andy Pages.
Tarik Skubal threw seven shutout innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants 2-0 on Friday night at Oracle Park. The left-hander allowed three singles, walked none and struck out 10, throwing 60 strikes among his 75 pitches. The loss dropped Marte to 0-2, while Skubal improved to 12-7.
All the scoring came in the second inning against Yunior Marte, who was pitching in Double-A as recently as last month. Teoscar Hernandez connected for his 16th home run and Andy Pages followed with his 22nd, each a solo shot. Marte otherwise turned in a solid final start of the season, allowing two runs on five hits over five innings and putting himself in contention for a big-league job next year.
The Giants managed little offense beyond three singles, two of them off Skubal. Victor Bericoto was thrown out trying to stretch a hit into a double in the first, and rookie left fielder Scott Bandura threw out baserunners attempting to stretch singles in both the second and third innings. Manager Tony Vitello praised Bandura's quickness to the ball and his arm.
San Francisco's bullpen kept the game close, with Sam Hentges, Joel Kuhnel, Dylan Smith and Tristan Beck each tossing a scoreless inning. The pitching staff also held Shohei Ohtani hitless in four at-bats with three strikeouts. Will Smith had three of Los Angeles's seven hits.
Vitello credited the overall effort on the mound. "I thought our pitching was outstanding," he said. "The guys attack … the whole group's effort was great." He added that Skubal "got to admit that was pretty damn good outing even by the highest of standards," noting the Giants could have done a better job fighting off two-strike pitches and being aggressive early.
Skubal faced a lineup made up largely of rookies and waiver-claim pickups and worked so quickly that the game finished in 1:53, the fastest Giants game of the year. Roki Sasaki and Tanner Scott covered the final two innings, with San Francisco getting no hits against the relievers. Los Angeles has now won each of Skubal's past seven starts, and Friday's attendance was 40,770 at a sold-out Oracle Park.
The Dodgers have already clinched a postseason spot and a first-round bye, though the Giants could keep them from reaching 100 wins by taking one of the final two games of the series. "The best way to win is to throw the first punch and we weren't able to do that, but maybe the way those guys pitched supports our efforts the next two days," Vitello said.
The Dodgers and Giants meet again Sunday, September 27 at 3:05 PM EDT at Oracle Park, with coverage on MLB.TV, NBC Sports BA and SportsNet LA.
