SAN FRANCISCO — The only team to interrupt the Dodgers’ run of division titles over the past 12 seasons, the San Francisco Giants have faded as a threat in the three years since that 2021 season.
But the rivalry is still strong. The home crowd still shows up to chant, “Beat L.A.” with gusto, shouting down the contingent of Dodgers fans who find their way behind enemy lines.
The home fans got their wish Friday night as Brett Wisely’s two-run home run in the ninth inning gave the Giants a 5-3 walk-off win against the Dodgers.
The win was only the third for the Giants in the last 14 meetings between these two rivals and only their fifth in the past 19 at Oracle Park.
The Dodgers managed just two infield singles in the first four innings against one of the Giants’ few remaining healthy starters, right-hander Logan Webb. But they scratched together a two-run rally in the fifth inning.
Miguel Rojas led off with a single and scored from first when Gavin Lux doubled to the wall in left-center field. Two batters later, the Giants elected to intentionally walk Shohei Ohtani, putting runners on the corners with one out for Will Smith who had just one hit in his previous 22 at-bats. Smith singled through the middle to make it a 2-0 Dodgers lead.
The Giants cut the lead in half with a solo home run by Luis Matos off Dodgers starter Landon Knack in the bottom of the fifth. A pair of singles put runners at the corners for LaMonte Wade Jr. and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled Knack, even though he had struck out the left-handed Wade twice.
Even as Knack has given them quality efforts in his six spot starts, the Dodgers have kept him on a short leash. He has gone past five innings and 76 pitches (his total against the Giants) just once and faced a total of 13 batters the third time through a lineup.
Anthony Banda took care of Wade to end the fifth and Daniel Hudson came in for the sixth inning.
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Heliot Ramos led off with a ground ball wide of first base that Freddie Freeman got to but kicked, allowing Ramos to reach base. Patrick Bailey flew out to shallow left but Hudson grooved a 1-and-0 fastball to Chapman who sent it 414 feet into the left-center field seats.
The Dodgers did little offensively after their fifth-inning rally. They had just two baserunners over the next three innings. But Andy Pages led off the ninth with a drive toward left-center field. Matos gave chase and got there in time only to have the ball glance off his glove.
Pages checked in to third base with a triple and scored the tying run on a sacrifice fly by Jason Heyward.
But Wisely decided things with his home run off Blake Treinen in the bottom of the inning.
More to come on this story.