Robbie Ray dominates as Dodgers get blown out at home

A closer affair than the final score of 8-3 to the Giants would indicate, this game which marked the return of Tyler Glasnow was overshadowed by a different arm coming back from injury, Robbie Ray was lights out and a late blow-up by the Dodgers' pen secured Wednesday night’s loss at Dodger Stadium.

If you ever wondered what it was like for a major league pitcher to basically battle against himself on the mound, Ray's outing was the perfect embodiment of that. The Giants' starter took the hill for the first time in the big leagues in well over a year, and had no easy task in front of him, going up against the Dodgers with Glasnow on the other side of this pitching matchup.

Ray's outing began exactly like what you would expect from a guy coming off such a lengthy absence. The former AL Cy Young winner was all over the place, and could not buy a strike. Shohei Ohtani led off the game with a deep fly out to the track in left field, and after him, the Dodgers next four hitters all reached base safely, although none of them with a hit. Ray hit two with pitches and and walked two more, conceding the lead in the first.

All of this prompted a mound visit, and boy, was it a successful one. Ray got Miguel Vargas swinging and ended the frame on a pop out. Sure, 33 pitches in the first conditioned his outing, but to leave it allowing only one run was a gift.

From then on, the Dodgers got a healthy dose of vintage Ray as the southpaw looked in absolutely peak form, getting whiff after whiff, not allowing anyone else to reach base until his night was finished with five scoreless frames. Ray allowed plenty of base runners in the first, but none of them via a hit, and so he held the Dodgers hitless in his first game back, retiring the last 14 batters he faced.

The Dodgers wouldn't get their first hit and kill tbe threat of being no-hit by the Giants until seventh, when Chris Taylor doubled to right-center. But Taylor pulled up going into second, leaving with left groin tightness.

Glasnow also had a bit of a wild night, but nothing quite so extreme as Ray. The Dodgers ace got a bit of an extended lay off considering the skipped start and also the All-Star break, something that showed.

Four free passes, that's how many walks the Giants worked off Glasnow in uncharacteristic fashion. A couple of double plays helped Glasnow escape trouble in the second and third, but he eventually coughed up the lead in the fourth. Matt Chapman led off the frame with an impressive solo shot to dead center in a high-heater. A few batters later, the Giants got the 2-1 lead with Mike Yastrzemski hitting a RBI single.

Much like Ray, Glasnow also had to leave after five due to driven up pitch counts as the pair combined for six walks and two hit by pitches.

As both starters left the game pretty open for a battle of bullpens with the Giants leading 2-1 after five, the Giants ran away with it. Anthony Banda grinded through through an inning an two-thirds, but Yohan Ramírez got punished for his control issues. San Francisco put up a five spot basically going station to station as Ramírez was unable to consistently face strikes.

Complete miscommunication in the outfield left to a gifted RBI double to Freddie Freeman in the eighth, but by that time it was too little too late for a comeback effort. It was an important hit because it took Freeman to his 499th career double.

Wednesday particulars

Home run: Matt Chapman (14)

WP — Robbie Ray (1-0): 5 IP, 1 run, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts

LP — Tyler Glasnow (8-6): 5 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts

Up next

What could be better than having Glasnow back? Getting Clayton Kershaw back on the following day. With number 22 on the mound the Dodgers will wrap up this four-game set against the Giants on Thursday (1:10 p.m.; SportsNet LA, MLB Network). Logan Webb will be on the hill for the visitors.