April 25, 2017

As usual, Clayton Kershaw stopped the bleeding for the Dodgers.  This time, he gave another strong start in San Francisco, to guide the Dodgers to a 2-1 victory over the Giants.

Kershaw pitched 7 innings, giving up just 1 run on 6 hits while striking out 7.  The Dodger’s ace improved to 4-1 on the season while throwing 90 pitches.  Kenley Jansen earned his 5th save of the season, giving up 2 hits during his 4-out effort.

Ty Blach (0-1) took the loss for the Giants.  He was starting in place of the injured Madison Bumgarner, and pitched 5 innings, giving up both Dodger runs on two hits while striking out 2.

The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the 3rd inning on an RBI single from Buster Posey.  That scored Blach, but Kershaw would get Brandon Crawford to ground out back to the mound, and that would minimize the damage.  The Giants didn’t reach 2nd base against Kershaw after the 3rd inning.

The Dodgers tied it up in the 4th on an RBI single by Yasiel Puig, which scored Justin Turner.  Adrian Gonzales followed by hitting into a fielder’s choice at 1st base, which scored Justin Turner.  That gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead and that’s all the offense they needed.

With Joc Pederson placed in the DL with a groin injury, the Dodgers recalled Cody Bellinger from Oklahoma, and started him in left field.  Bellinger is considered the best offense prospect in the Dodgers farm system.  He went 1-3 in his major league debut.

“I wanted it to be as soon as possible, but I didn’t really expect it,” Bellinger said. “I’m ready for the task at hand. We’ll see where it goes.”

Kershaw also pitched through a brief scare in his right leg.  At one point, Kershaw’s right foot bothered him as he broke out of the batter’s box on a ground out.

The Dodgers and Giants will go at it again on Wednesday nigh tat AT&T Park.  The Dodgers will give the ball to  Alex Wood (1-0, 3.29 ERA), while the Giants go with Johny Cueto (3-1, 5.25 ERA),