SAN FRANCISCO — The only team to interrupt the Dodgers’ run of division titles over the past 12 seasons, the San Francisco Giants have faded as a threat in the three years since that 2021 season.
But the rivalry is still strong. The home crowd still shows up to chant, “Beat L.A.” with gusto, shouting down the contingent of Dodgers fans who find their way behind enemy lines.
The sellout crowd got its wish Friday night. But it took awhile before Brett Wisely’s two-run home run in the ninth inning gave the Giants a 5-3 walk-off win against the Dodgers and sent them home happy.
It was the Giants’ 31st walk-off home run against the Dodgers in the California era of the rivalry.
The Dodgers’ bullpen came into the game with a 13-inning scoreless streak and two days of rest thanks to Gavin Stone’s complete game in Chicago on Wednesday and an off day on Thursday. But veteran relievers Daniel Hudson and Blake Treinen each gave up a costly home run.
“Our guys have pitched extremely well all year,” Treinen said of a group that has the lowest bullpen ERA (3.08) in the National League, second in the majors. “It sucks losing. That’s about it. I don’t really know what else to say.”
The win was only the third for the Giants in the last 14 meetings between these two rivals and only their fifth in the past 19 at Oracle Park. But it was a familiar close finish – half of the 160 meetings between the two teams since 2015 (including the 2021 National League Division Series) have been decided by two runs or fewer.
“Traditionally these guys play well at home regardless of who they’re running out there,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “You have to tack on (runs), because it seems like they’re always in it. You gotta add on runs when you can. Granted we didn’t have many opportunities tonight, but when you’re not scoring a bunch of runs, it just seems like everything is more magnified and if you’re not perfect then you lose ballgames.
“I think there’s something to it (being a rivalry game). It’s a division rival. They’re sort of in and out as far as how they’re playing. But they bring their best against us. You can just see the emotion with (Giants starter Logan) Webb and some of the plays that they made, some of the at-bats. There’s probably something to it.”
The Dodgers managed just two infield singles in the first four innings against one of the Giants’ few remaining healthy starters, Webb. But they scratched together a two-run rally in the fifth inning.
Miguel Rojas led off with a single and scored from first when Gavin Lux doubled to the wall in left-center field. Two batters later, the Giants elected to intentionally walk Shohei Ohtani, putting runners on the corners with one out for Will Smith who had just one hit in his previous 22 at-bats. Smith singled through the middle to make it a 2-0 Dodgers lead.
That was their last hit in Webb’s seven innings.
“His ball just moves all over the place. It’s hard to square up,” Roberts said. “He’s one of the best in the game, so it’s kind of just what he does.”
The Giants cut the lead in half with a solo home run by Luis Matos off Dodgers starter Landon Knack in the bottom of the fifth. A pair of singles put runners at the corners for LaMonte Wade Jr. and Roberts pulled Knack, even though he had struck out the left-handed Wade twice.
Even as Knack has given them quality efforts in his six spot starts, the Dodgers have kept him on a short leash. He has gone past five innings and 76 pitches (his total against the Giants) just once and faced a total of 13 batters the third time through a lineup.
“I mean, you just have to continue to go all out until it’s your time to come out,” Knack said. “Make sure you’re going all-out every pitch because you don’t know when your last pitch is. Make every pitch like it’s your last one and keep it going.”
Anthony Banda took care of Wade to end the fifth and Daniel Hudson came in for the sixth inning.
Heliot Ramos led off with a ground ball wide of first base that Freddie Freeman got to but kicked, allowing Ramos to reach base. Patrick Bailey flew out to shallow left but Hudson grooved a 1-and-0 fastball to Chapman who sent it 414 feet into the left-center field seats.
The Giants handed that one-run lead to their closer Camilo Doval who is two baserunners over the next three innings. But Andy Pages led off the ninth with a drive toward left-center field. Matos gave chase and got there in time only to have the ball glance off his glove.
Pages checked in to third base with a triple and scored the tying run on a sacrifice fly by Jason Heyward.
But Treinen was not at his best. He walked Matos on four pitches to start the bottom of the ninth. He did get ahead of Wisely 1-and-2 but his third consecutive slider rolled inside to Wisely and he crushed it, sending it 400 feet into the night.
“Honestly, I don’t even know where the pitch ended up that he hit,” Treinen said. “I made two good sliders before that. He swung and missed on one. Seemed like the right pitch at that time.
“It’s all about execution and sometimes they execute better than we do.”
