Dodgers Strike First Against Giants – 5/21/21

Dodgers Strike First Against Giants – Game Recap – 5/21/21

For the first time this season, the Dodgers were finally facing off against the Hated Ones, and for the first time in a long time, the Giants are actually good. The Dodgers have been hot as of late, winning eight of their last 10, but so have the Giants. The Giants also have the best record in baseball and currently sit atop the NL West, but the Dodgers could be back in first by the end of the weekend. Old friend Alex Wood, who has been phenomenal this season, got the start for the Giants and Bauer on the mound for the Dodgers, who struck first against the Giants in this series.

CT3 Two-Run Dinger

With a lefty on the mound, I’ll be honest I wasn’t expecting much from the offense tonight. In my mind, it made perfect sense for someone like Alex Wood to shut the Dodgers down for seven innings. While Wood did pitch well most of the game, Taylor got to him in the 3rd inning. Betts started things off with a one-out double, reaching for the second time of the game. Taylor batted in the two-hole tonight and saw a slider from Wood he liked and hit a 107 MPH rocket to dead center. His second home run in four games put the Dodgers up 2-0.

CT3 to dead center! pic.twitter.com/fQuVdi47jX

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 22, 2021

Bauer kept the Giants at bay for most of his outing. He ran into some trouble in the 4th but worked out of the jam with a strikeout. In the 6th, he hurt himself when he put two batters on with a free pass. He induced the ground ball hit back to him with two down but threw the ball away, allowing a run to score, making this a 2-1 Dodgers lead.  Bauer got out of the inning when his 113th pitch of the game was a fly-out to Betts. He came out in the 7th and walked the first batter he faced. On his 126th pitch of the game, his night ended when he got Tauchman to strikeout on a 96 MPH four-seamer. On his way to the dugout, he made sure to have some fun with the Giants fans booing him.

Nate Jones Debut

Nate Jones, who the Dodgers signed to a minor league deal earlier this month, came into make his Dodgers debut and set down the next two batters on six pitches. Bauer’s 126 pitches in this game are the most he has thrown this year and one fewer than his career-high. This was Bauer’s 9th straight quality start of the season. The only outing that wasn’t registered as a quality start was his first game as a Dodger in Colorado. Bauer has been the Dodgers’ best pitcher this season, and it hasn’t even been close.

Jones was impressive in his Dodgers debut, going 1.2 innings while not giving up a hit and striking out two. With a one-run lead in the 9th and a taxed bullpen, Treinen came into pitch looking for his second save of the season. Treinen shut the Giants down only on eight pitches, and the Dodgers won this one 2-1.

In a close game, the Dodgers came away with the win. The bullpen set down the last eight hitters they faced, and CT3’s two-run home run was the deciding factor in this one. Dodgers are now within one game of first place and send Buehler to the mound tomorrow afternoon for game two. First pitch is at 4:15 PM PDT.

For a recap of last night’s sweep over the Dbacks, click here.

Photo Credit – Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images