The Los Angeles Dodgers strung together two-out bloop singles by Freddie Freeman and Andy Pages around an infield hit by Teoscar Hernandez, each producing a run, in a relatively quiet 11-inning uprising that resulted in a 5-2 road victory over the San Francisco Giants on Sunday afternoon.
Baseball’s traditional first half was extended by two innings when Giants pinch hitter Luis Matos smacked a one-out, two-run home run off Dodgers closer Tanner Scott in the last of the ninth, drawing the hosts even at 2-2.
The blown save was the major-league-leading seventh of the season for Scott, who had set the table for Matos when he served up a single to Matt Chapman one batter earlier.
After neither team scored in the 10th, the Giants’ sixth pitcher, Spencer Bivens (2-3), was one out away from stranding two baserunners in the 11th.
Freeman, though, popped a single between four San Francisco defenders in short right-center field, scoring extra-inning automatic runner James Outman.
Hernandez then chopped a ball to the right of first baseman Wilmer Flores, whose off-balance throw one-hopped and got away from Bivens, allowing Shohei Ohtani (intentional walk) to score. Pages followed with a looper down the right field line, bringing home Freeman for a 5-2 lead.
Ben Casparius (7-3), who recorded the last out of the 10th before retiring three straight batters in the bottom of the 11th, was credited with the win.
Until Matos’ heroics, it appeared Yoshinobu Yamamoto had won an All-Star pitchers duel with Robbie Ray.
Rebounding from a disastrous start against the Milwaukee Brewers, Yamamoto shut out the Giants over seven innings, limiting them to three hits while striking out seven and exiting with a 2-0 lead.
The two early Dodgers runs were the products of a Freeman RBI double in the fourth and a solo homer by Miguel Rojas, his fifth of the season, in the fifth.
Ray was pulled after six innings, charged with two runs on three hits. He walked two and struck out six.
Both he and Yamamoto will be ineligible to pitch in Tuesday’s All-Star Game because they made Sunday starts leading into the game.
Freeman finished with two hits and two RBIs, while Ohtani singled, walked twice and scored twice for the Dodgers, who will take a two-game winning streak into the break.
Matos’ homer and a double by Jung Hoo Lee were the only extra-base hits for the Giants, who were out-hit 6-5.
–Field Level Media
