SF Giants unable to sweep their rivals, lose 6-1 in series finale

The SF Giants were unable to pick up their first sweep of the year, as Clayton Kershaw was dominant this afternoon, as the Dodgers beat the Giants 6-1 to salvage the final game of this series.

The Dodgers got to Johnny Cueto early, as Yasmani Grandal doubled in a pair of runs in the top of the first inning with two strikes and two outs. The SF Giants never got back into it. It would also be the start of some drama between the two, as the two had words after Grandal got to second base.

Chase Utley scored on a wild pitch in the third on a pitch that was up and in to Grandal, which Grandal didn’t appreciate. After Grandal flew out, more words were exchanged, and the benches cleared for a minor shouting match.

The Dodgers tacked on two more runs in the sixth on a double by Yasiel Puig, and like Gandal’s RBI hit in the first, Puig’s came with two strike. They added another run in the seventh on a double by Cody Bellinger to left field that Michael Morse could not come up with.

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Clayton Kershaw gave up only three hits over seven innings, and he struck out five. Pedro Baez and former-Giant Sergio Romo pitched the final two innings.

Eduardo Nunez hit his first home run of the year for the Giants’ lone run in the ninth.

For Kershaw, this was his 20th-career win against the Giants, and he is now 7-2 this year.

For Johnny Cueto, it was his first loss at home since Aug. 30, 2016, against the Diamondbacks. His ERA is now 4.50, and he is 4-3 on the year.

Chriatian Arroyo is battling his first major league slump, as he went 0-for-4 this afternoon, and his average has slipped to .209. Arroyo only has three hits in his last 24 at-bats. Buster Posey had one of the Giants’ four hits this afternoon, as he is hitting .378.

The Giants complete a 5-2 home stand, and despite the loss this afternoon, that’s still an incredibly impressive home stand, and the offense just ran into the best pitcher in baseball.

Next: 17th inning comeback could be what propels the Giants

The Giants are now 17-25 on the year, and will hit the road starting Friday night with a three-game series, against the red-hot St. Louis Cardinals. The first pitch Friday night will be at 5:15 PDT.