Rookie right-hander Emmet Sheehan struck out nine over 4 2/3 no-hit innings, J.D. Martinez drove in three runs and the host Los Angeles Dodgers opened a four-game series against the rival San Francisco Giants with a 7-2 victory on Thursday.
Sheehan gave up a run on a bases-loaded walk but has not given up a hit to the Giants in two starts after going six no-hit innings against San Francisco in his major league debut back on June 16.
Martinez hit his 30th home run as the Dodgers (94-58) won for the sixth time in their last seven games. They have a magic number of two for clinching a bye into the National League Division Series. Shelby Miller (2-0) pitched a scoreless inning to earn the win.
Joc Pederson hit a home run against his former team for the Giants, whose playoff chances took a major blow with a sixth loss in seven games. San Francisco (76-77) is three games out of the final NL wild-card spot.
Giants rookie left-hander Kyle Harrison gave up two runs on three hits over 5 1/3 innings. John Brebbia (3-1) gave up a run in two-thirds of an inning.
Los Angeles took a 1-0 lead in the third when Chris Taylor scored on a sacrifice fly by Enrique Hernandez. Martinez made it 2-0 in the fourth with his homer to right.
Sheehan cruised through four innings with eight strikeouts. In the fifth, he loaded the bases on a hit batter and two walks. Tyler Fitzgerald, making his major league debut, worked another walk to force in a run. Fitzgerald’s first career hit was a double in the seventh.
Left-hander Alex Vesia replaced Sheehan and prevented further damage when he struck out J.D. Davis.
The Giants’ first hit came on Pederson’s one-out home run in the sixth against Vesia to tie the score at 2-2. It was Pederson’s 15th homer of the season and first against a lefty.
The Dodgers used a series of gifts from the Giants to take control. Will Smith scored on Martinez’s shallow sacrifice fly to right in the sixth when Mike Yastrzemski appeared to forget the number of outs.
Los Angeles added two more runs in the seventh when Taylor and James Outman scored on wild pitches by Luke Jackson for a 5-2 lead. Martinez and Taylor had RBI singles in the eighth.
–Field Level Media
