SAN FRANCISCO – As the Dodgers awaited the results of an MRI on Walker Buehler’s injured elbow, they could take solace in the fact that Clayton Kershaw was ready to return from his back injury.
That solace did not come with a victory attached.
In his first start since May 7, Kershaw allowed two runs in his four innings and the Dodgers went on to lose 3-2 to the San Francisco Giants Saturday.
The Dodgers have gone 4-8 over their past dozen games, managing just two runs in each of their first two games at Oracle Park.
Kershaw threw 71 pitches in his four innings – meeting the pregame expectation laid out by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. But that total was inflated by a troublesome second inning and the need to work around an error by second baseman Gavin Lux in the fourth.
After retiring the first four batters he faced, Kershaw left a 1-and-2 slider over the heart of the plate and Thairo Estrada dutifully deposited it in the left-field seats. A four-pitch wak of Brandon Crawford and a single by Austin Wynns put two on with one out.
Kershaw froze Curt Casali with a slider for the second out but lefty Luis Gonzalez sent a two-strike single into center field to drive in the Giants’ second run.
That was almost enough as the Dodgers were shut out through the first seven innings.
The Dodgers outhit the Giants 13-5 — including a three-hit game for Will Smith and two hits each from Lux and Cody Bellinger — but didn’t do much with those opportunities. They went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position against a series of Giants relievers and stranded 14 on base including leaving the bases loaded twice.
The most painful wasted chance for the Dodgers came in the top of the seventh inning.
A leadoff walk by Chris Taylor was followed by singles from Lux and Mookie Betts (following a 1-for-25 stretch for him) loaded the bases with no outs.
Lefty reliever Jarlin Garcia came in and got Freddie Freeman to swing and miss at a full-count fastball off the plate down and in. Trea Turner bounced into an inning-ending double play on the next pitch.
An inning later, they finally broke through on Smith’s third single, an error and a ground-rule double by Bellinger. Camilo Doval came out of the bullpen and walked Taylor to load the bases with one out.
With the sellout crowd on its feet, Lux and Betts struck out.
It didn’t stay a one-run game for long. Craig Kimbrel came in to pitch the eighth inning, his first game action since June 5. Eighteen pitches later, he had thrown just seven strikes and retired one batter while giving up a single, walking two and throwing two wild pitches, one to bring a run.
Freeman got it back when he led off the ninth with a home run and the Dodgers had the tying run in scoring position when Bellinger grounded out to end the game.
More to come on this story
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