SF Giants: Bats go silent as Dodgers tie series at one

The SF Giants dropped Game 2 of the NLDS by a score of 9-2. The Los Angeles Dodgers have knotted the series at one with the next two games taking place at Dodger Stadium.

SF Giants: Bats go silent as Dodgers tie series at one

Kevin Gausman started the game for the Giants against Julio Urías of the Dodgers. Gausman’s command was shaky and he struggled to get opposing hitters to swing at his splitter outside of the strike zone.

It is an effective pitch, but the disciplined Dodgers lineup was not fooled by it. The Dodgers’ first rally began in an unusual spot in the lineup. The right-handed hurler allowed a double to Chris Taylor and then intentionally walked A.J. Pollock to face Urías with two outs.

The Giants felt like they were about to avoid a jam but Urías slashed an RBI single to right field to plate Taylor. Mookie Betts followed with another RBI single to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead in the second inning.

The Giants tried to chip away, scratching one run across home plate thanks to a sacrifice fly by Donovan Solano in the bottom half of the second inning. At that point, the Dodgers held a 2-1 advantage.

Gausman cruised through the next few frames but hit another rough patch in the sixth inning. He allowed two runners to reach base before being pulled in favor of Dominic Leone. Leone, who had a very strong season in 2021, immediately walked Chris Taylor to load the bases with only one out.

However, he yielded consecutive doubles to Cody Bellinger and Pollock, giving the Dodgers a 6-1 lead and they never looked back. The Dodgers tacked on three more runs later in the game due to a rough outing from Zack Littell, whereas the Giants offense mustered up another run as well.

The Dodgers secured a convincing 9-2 victory. The series is knotted at one game and the Giants are going to have to get at least one win at Dodger stadium to push the series to five games. It is a tough challenge but they have faced plenty of challenges this season and overcame them.