Puig again powers Dodgers’ win
Rookie slugger notches seventh HR in 20 games, tiebreaking single vs. Giants
LOS ANGELES — Rookie sensation Yasiel Puig hit his seventh home run in 20 major league games and added a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning, lifting the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-1 win over the San Francisco Giants on Monday.
Nick Punto, who replaced third baseman Juan Uribe in a double switch, led off the eighth with an opposite-field double down the right-field line. Mark Ellis sacrificed Punto to third and reached safely when Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner threw high to first for an error.
Puig greeted reliever George Kontos with a line-drive single to left that scored Punto. Hanley Ramirez drove in the final run on a liner toward the middle that shortstop Brandon Crawford knocked down with a lunging attempt before getting the out at first.
Kontos was recalled from TripleA Fresno before the game. He had been optioned to the minors June 11, the day he received a threegame suspension for throwing at Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen. But while he is appealing the penalty, Kontos is eligible to play
Paco Rodriguez (2-2) got two outs and Kenley Jansen worked the ninth for his fifth save.
Puig drove a 1-1 pitch into the lower seats in the right-field corner with one out in the first. It ended Bumgarner’s 16-inning scoreless streak against the Dodgers, and was their only hit until Puig’s two-out single in the sixth.
Bumgarner (7-5) was charged with three runs — two earned — and five hits in seven-plus innings with five strikeouts in his 100th big league start. The 23-yearold left-hander engaged in another tense duel with Hyun-Jin Ryu in a rematch of their April 2 meeting, when Bumgarner spoiled the Korean-born lefty’s major league debut with eight innings of two-hit ball in a 3-0 win at Dodger Stadium.
Ryu allowed a run, eight hits and four walks in 6 2/3 innings. He was lifted after Buster Posey reached second on a fly to right field that Puig was just about to catch when his backside made contact with the auxiliary scoreboard and the ball fell behind him. The play was originally scored as an error, then changed to a double.
Ronald Belisario came on and struck out Hunter Pence.
The Giants began a 10-game road trip with a familiar face back in the lineup: Pablo Sandoval was activated Monday after missing 14 games because of a left foot strain. He was 2-for-4.