Dodgers cruise to second straight win behind Yu Darvish

Yu Darvish has been working through mechanical changes on the mound since joining the Dodgers, struggling to find consistency from his array of pitches. Everything came together Wednesday night for the right-hander as he held the Giants scoreless over seven innings.

The Dodgers were able to put runs on the board early and cruised to a 4-1 win to secure their first series win since August 21-24 when they took three of four from Pittsburgh.

The victory gives the Dodgers back-to-back wins for the first time since August 24-25 and lowers the magic number to seven.

Darvish allowed just three hits while striking out five and walking none, retiring 13 straight at one point. It was the first scoreless outing for the righty since his Dodgers debut August 4 against the Mets.

Scoring in the first inning had been a trademark of the 2017 Dodgers up until the previous three weeks came to pass. The Dodgers would get to Giants’ starter Matt Moore with two runs in the opening frame, coming on a Cody Bellinger triple and Logan Forsythe double.

Bellinger would tack on a two-run homer in the fifth inning for his 37th round-tripper of the year. The 22-year-old now stands one homer shy of tying the National League rookie record for homers, held by Wally Berger (Braves, 1930) and Frank Robinson (Reds, 1956).

The homer for Bellinger was also the 12th off a left-handed pitcher this season. That counts as the most for a left-handed hitter for the Dodgers franchise. The lefty was 2-for-4 with a walk, scoring two runs and driving in three.

Wednesday’s win gave the Dodgers their first series victory in San Francisco since September 12-14 way back in 2014.

Up next

The Dodgers take Thursday off before opening a three-game set in the nation’s capitol Friday. Alex Wood will take the mound looking to get back in the win column, taking on Edwin Jackson and the Nationals.

Wednesday particulars

Home runs: Cody Bellinger (37)

WP - Yu Darvish (9-12): 7 IP, 3 hits, 5 strikeouts

LP - Matt Moore (5-14): 4 1/3 IP, 5 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts