Dodgers experience burnout in clutch
They fail to score with a man at third and one out in eighth and ninth, and game goes extra innings
The Dodgers and San Francisco Giants went into the extra innings Monday night in the opening game of their critical threegame series.
That probably came as no surprise to Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen.
“They’re competitors, man,” Jansen said in the days leading up to the game. “They know how to win games.”
Monday’s game went to the 11th inning with the score tied, 4-4, after the Dodgers failed to score with a runner at third and one out in both the eighth and ninth innings.
The Dodgers went into the game leading the second-place Giants by 31⁄2 games in the National League West, but Jansen said he still viewed the visitors as the team to beat.
“They’re the champs, man. I’m not taking anything away from them,” Jansen said of the Giants, who won the World Series last year and also in 2012 and 2010. “They’ve won three of the last five years. We have to earn ours.”
Both teams entered this series wounded.
Yasiel Puig, Howie Kendrick and Enrique Hernandez were on the disabled list for the Dodgers. Hunter Pence, Joe Panik, Tim Hudson, Jeremy Affeldt and Tim Lincecum were down for the visitors.
“If I’m not mistaken, their offense is one of the best in the league, right?” said Clayton Kershaw, who will start Wednesday for the Dodgers in the series finale.
Kershaw added, “I’m not feeling too sorry for them.” Kershaw wasn’t mistaken. The Giants were batting .269 through Sunday, the best in the National League. Their 4.31 runs per game ranked third.
They also maintained their trademark relentlessness, which they demonstrated in the eighth inning when they tied the score, 4-4.
That inning started with Dodgers reliever Juan Nicasio walking Matt Duffy.
Nicasio retired the next two batters, but allowed Duffy to steal second base with Marlon Byrd at the plate. Byrd responded with a double down the right-field line that drove in Duffy and leveled the score.
Byrd’s double deflated the home crowd, which was on its feet only two innings earlier when Adrian Gonzalez blasted a home run that erased a two-run deficit and Andre Ethier launched another that moved the Dodgers in front, 4-3.
The sixth-inning home runs by Gonzalez and Ethier woke up a crowd that fell into a slumber watching the home team get dominated by Giants starter Jake Peavy.
A day after they were no-hit by Jake Arrieta of the Chicago Cubs, the Dodgers attacked this Jake early and scored the first run of the game on a first-inning RBI double by Justin Turner.
Peavy, however, settled down. He went on to retire 10 consecutive batters.
The next time the Dodgers had a man on base was in the fifth inning, when Carl Crawford led off with a single. With the Dodgers trailing, 3-1, Crawford stole second base and reached third on a ground out by catcher Yasmani Grandal.
Crawford never scored, as rookie Joc Pederson and pinch-hitter Alex Guerrero struck out.
The Giants reversed their early 1-0 deficit by scoring three runs in the third inning off Dodgers starter Brett Anderson.
Gregor Blanco led off that inning with an infield single, after which Peavy bunted into a force out.
Anderson walked Nori Aoki, then gave up a single to Duffy to load the bases. The Giants tied it, 1-1, when Brandon Belt singled to center field.
Anderson got Buster Posey to pop up to first base for the second out, then Byrd hit a ground ball to the right side of the infield. Byrd’s grounder was stopped by second baseman Chase Utley in shallow right field, and not only did Aoki score from third on the infield hit, but an alert Duffy also scored from second.
Suddenly, the Giants were ahead, 3-1.
Last week, Anderson talked about how much he looked forward to pitching in this kind of game.
“That’s one of the reasons why I signed with the Dodgers, to pitch in games like this,” Anderson said.
Anderson didn’t pitch nearly as long as he wanted. He lasted only five innings and was charged with three runs and six hits. Up next
Right-hander Zack Greinke (14-3, 1.61 ERA) will face left-hander Madison Bumgarner (16-6, 2.97) and the Giants on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Dodger Stadium. TV: SportsNet LA; Radio: 570, 1020.