Dodgers go to the tenth to sweep Giants

The Dodgers completed their three-city road trip with a series sweep in San Francisco. It was their seventh straight win at Oracle Park and it also gave them 15 wins in their 19 games played this season.

The Dodgers ended up using eight pitchers on their final appearance on Sunday Night Baseball and they were able to record the outs needed for a 4-3 win in ten innings.

The weather certainly affected the game both in terms of a rain delay but also the wind and water that swirled around that ballpark by the bay this evening.

The winning rally began with the Dodgers second sacrifice bunt of the season. With Bellinger on second as the designated runner, Barnes moved him over with his bunt.

All that seemed moot when Mookie Betts doubled to score Bellinger. The Dodgers would eventually load the bases with two outs and the Giants brought in left-handed pitcher Thomas Szapucki. He would walk Max Muncy to score the second run of the inning.

Andre Jackson entered the game in the tenth inning to try and record his first save of the season. Jackson would walk the first hitter which made Joc Pederson the winning run at the plate.

Pederson almost came through as his fly ball to right-center had extra-base or home run labeling when you saw it leave the bat. Betts traveled over 100 feet to catch the drive and send Pederson back to the bench.

Jackson would allow one run to score and his long at-bat against Evan Longoria ended with a walk.

Manager Dave Roberts brought in Justin Bruihl to face last season’s late inning hero, Lamonte Wade, Jr. But this night belonged to Bruihl as he got Wade to ground out to first to end the game.

The Dodgers ended up taking seven of nine games on this road trip and will have taken their last flight for a few weeks when they land in Southern California tonight.

Early on, it looked like runs would be at a premium with all the elements working against both teams.

The Dodgers scored first in the top of the third inning when after Freddie Freeman walked, Justin Turner drove him home on a double to left. Eventually, there would be a rain delay but the tarp was not completely pulled out and the grounds crew worked on the infield.

Andrew Heaney was the beneficiary of a ground-rule double which stopped the Giants from tying the game. Heaney would load the bases full of Giants with one out but then he struck out both Evan Longoria and Joey Bart to end the threat.

Heaney would leave after four scoreless innings, he gave up two hits and walk. Heaney continued his superior strikeout rate today as he struck out 8 Giants in those four innings.

Caleb Ferguson was the first Dodger reliever on the mound today, Lewis Brinson greeted Ferguson with a double and he moved to third on fly out to center. That proved to be critical as Thairo Estrada hit a ground ball to the hole at short, Trea Turner fielded it cleanly but his throw was high and took Freeman off the mound. That meant Brinson was able to score and tie the game 1-1.

Alex Cobb had made the start for the Giants and he managed to keep the Dodgers in check through rain and wind and delay. However in the top of the sixth, the wind and rain may have caused Brinson to slip and misjudge Trea Turner’s fly ball and it fell in. By the time Brinson recovered, Turner was able to leg out a double.

Freeman followed with his first hit of the game, a ground single to right, Turner scored easily to give the Dodgers the lead.

Phil Bickford and Evan Phillips were able to maintain the one run lead. In the eighth inning, Alex Vesia did not have a great start, walking the first two batters. The Dodgers appeared to get a break when Joc Pederson tried to bunt and he struck out.

Vesia gave up a long fly-ball out to center that moved Heliot Ramos to third. Then J.D. Davis hit a long fly ball over Mookie Betts head, it bounced on the warning track and went over the wall. That meant instead of the Giants taking the lead, they only tied the game 2-2.

After an intentional walk, Vesia struck out Lamonte Wade Jr. to end the threat.

Craig Kimbrel pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to force the tied game to extra-innings and the Dodgers would do just enough to have a happy flight home.

On-Air Audition

Hanser Alberto was doing an in-game interview on Sunday Night Baseball and he mentioned he did play-by-play. From that point, Alberto took over the play-by-play and he did a good job. He was a pleasure to listen to even if you did not understand Spanish.

Sunday particulars

WP — Craig Kimbrel (5-6): 1 IP, 1 SO

LP — John Brebbia (6-2): ⅔ IP, 1 hit, 2 runs, 2 walks

SV — Justin Bruihl (1): ⅓ IP

Up next

The Dodgers return to the Southern California for the remainder of the regular season. They will play 14 of their 17 games at Dodger Stadium and the rest will be a short final regular season visit to Petco Park for a weekday three-game series.

The Dodgers begin their home stand on Monday night as the Diamondbacks settle in for a five-game series. Clayton Kershaw and Merrill Kelly be on the mound for their respective teams. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. PDT and it will be on SportsNet LA.