Giants shut out in both ends of DH
SAN FRANCISCO — In a 60-game season, every win is amplified, every loss stings worse and every streak feels as if it should carry more weight.
So when the San Francisco Giants won seven straight games to claw their way back into playoff contention, they sensed their success made them a legitimate threat to stun the rest of the National League and sneak into the postseason.
The Giants still have hope on their side, but the Dodgers reminded them who reigns supreme in the NL West.
In a span of eight hours on Thursday, the Dodgers swept a doubleheader and sucked the life out of a Giants lineup that entered the game averaging the second-most runs per game at home of any team in baseball.
After falling 7-0 in the matinee matchup against Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, the Giants succumbed to a stout Los Angeles bullpen in the 10th and final game played between the rivals this season and were shut out 2-0.
Giants starter Kevin Gausman racked up 16 swings and misses and six strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings on Thursday, but he also allowed a solo home run to Joc Pederson in the second inning and a RBI double into the left center field gap to catcher Will Smith in the fourth.
Gausman threw 93 pitches and retired the first two batters he faced in the fifth inning, but was pulled anyway when Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager came to the plate. The Giants have looked to protect their starters’ arms at every turn and with a chance to bring in left-hander Sam Selman for a more favorable matchup, Kapler turned the game over to his bullpen early.
Thursday’s start could be Gausman’s last in a Giants uniform if the team finds a trade partner ahead of the August 31 deadline. The veteran right-hander has some of the highest appeal for any contender looking for another starter because he’s effective out of the rotation and can also increase his fastball velocity if used in shorter spurts out of the bullpen.
The Giants likely didn’t enter Thursday’s doubleheader thinking they would trade Gausman, but he’s already been linked to trade rumors including one that suggested the New York Yankees are intrigued by the former Baltimore Orioles pitcher.
Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi likely won’t settle quickly on a trade deadline strategy as he’s still deter
mining whether to buy, sell or make need-for-need deals, so it’s likely any potential move involving Gausman would come down to the wire on Monday. With three upcoming games against a D’backs team the Giants swept over the weekend at Oracle Park, the Giants could easily rebound from Thursday’s performances.
After going 4-6 against the Dodgers in 10 games this season, the Giants won’t play the top team in the National League over their remaining 28 games.
If the teams do meet again in 2020, it will mean the Giants defied expectations and played their way into the postseason.
Game 1
Fewer than 24 hours after the Giants and Dodgers agreed to postpone their scheduled game on Wednesday in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis. on Sunday, the teams returned to the diamond at Oracle Park Thursday to play a pair of seven-inning games under MLB’s temporary doubleheader format.
It’s practically impossible for baseball to feel normal given the state of the country, but Giants fans who watched Thursday’s matinee saw a familiar site on their televisions.
Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw has spent much of his career dominating the Giants and the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader was no different as the left-hander tossed six shutout innings in a 7-0 Giants loss.
A defeat snapped the Giants’ win streak at seven games and cost them a chance to climb back to .500 for the first time since they were 5-5 on August 2. After battling back from four separate deficits to win a 10-8 walk-off thriller on Tuesday, the Giants had no late-inning magic in their bats as most of their hard-hit balls were gobbled up by Dodgers gloves on Thursday.