Dodgers rout Giants’ Moore to lead National League West
Puig leads Los Angeles to 9-3 victory over San Francisco to take a six-game lead
The Dodgers own a commanding six-game lead, and any combination of five victories of their own plus losses by San Francisco will seal a fourth division title in a row.
The sign of capitulation took the form of a manager with three World Series rings this decade and seemingly endless nights of angst these last three months.
In the second inning on Wednesday of a 9-3 Los Angeles Dodgers victory, San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy lurched up his dugout steps, shuffled to the mound and held out his hand. Matt Moore, a left-hander who devastated the Dodgers inside this ballpark less than a month prior, handed over the baseball and shuffled out of sight. A division race may have disappeared with him.
The race for the National League West is not over. Not yet, not with 10 games left in the regular season. But the Dodgers own a commanding six-game lead, and any combination of five victories of their own plus losses by San Francisco will seal a fourth division title in a row.
To reach this position of strength, the Dodgers (86-66) maintained a 92-win pace while the Giants decayed. The home club captured a series this week at Dodger Stadium in thrilling fashion.
Plenty of room
On Monday, Yasiel Puig induced a temper tantrum by San Francisco ace Madison Bumgarner that led to Bumgarner’s premature departure from the game and a ninth-inning comeback. Two days later, Puig sideswiped Moore with a three-run homer to highlight a five-run first inning and usher him closer to the exits.
After flirting with a nohitter during his last appearance here, Moore collected only three outs. The Dodgers pasted a six-run bill on his tab, which granted plenty of room for Kenta Maeda, who logged five innings of two-run baseball. Maeda earned a tidy sum on Wednesday. For making his 30th start of the year, he received a $1.5 million bonus. His eight-year contract contains an annual guarantee of $3 million, but Maeda has already pushed that figure to $11.15 million in 2016. When he records one more inning, he’ll have 170 on this season, which translates to another $250,000 bonus.
The first inning lasted 24 pitches for Maeda. He walked leadoff hitter Denard Span on four pitches. Span took second on a passed ball by backup catcher Carlos Ruiz. San Francisco outfielder Angel Pagan handed Moore a lead with an RBI single into right. Puig nearly cut down Span at the plate, but Span barely beat the throw.
Puig would answer in the bottom of the inning. His teammates did damage first.
On Aug. 25, Moore toyed with the Dodgers. He procured 26 outs before he allowed his first hit of the evening, a well-placed bloop from Corey Seager. The Dodgers often flail against left-handed pitchers.