Twenty-four hours after Clayton Kershaw threw a one-hit gem to clinch the Dodgers' third consecutive NL West Division title, San Francisco starter Mike Leake threw a two-hit masterpiece of his own and the Giants beat Los Angeles 5-0 on Wednesday night at AT&T Park.
Matt Duffy and Nick Noonan both homered as the Dodgers put together a make-shift lineup after celebrating with champagne and beer in the visiting locker room after last night's win.
Duffy took Dodgers starter Mike Bolsinger deep in the bottom of the first inning to give the Giants an early 2-0 lead.
"I probably should have thrown him a breaking ball, I was feeling really comfortable with my slider," Bolsinger said of the at-bat to Duffy. "He was setup inside and I missed, it was really just a bad pitch."
Bolsinger (6-6) struggled again for the fourth consecutive start allowing three runs on four hits in just 3.1 innings.
"Ending the season like this is disappointing," Bolsinger said of his performance in his last start. "Every now and then you're going to hit a bump and I guess I have."
Bolsinger is vying for a final spot on the Dodgers 25-man postseason roster. With four straight starts without taking the game into the sixth inning or further, Bolsinger will most likely be left off the playoff list.
"I really don't think I put myself in a very good position to make that roster," he said solemnly. "It's out of my hands now. You always want to finish strong and that just didn't happen for me."
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Leake's cutter was lively inducing multiple groundouts mixed with his slider and sinker. Like Kershaw, Leake threw a complete game, shutout, needing just 104 pitches.
"It always helps when you can use a limited amount of pitches early," Leake said. "I was able to go to the reserves later and it worked out."
It was Leake's first career shutout and his fourth complete game. His two hits allowed, were the first he's ever allowed in a complete-game performance.
"I had a pretty clear mind today," Leake said of his start. "It also helped getting off to an early lead and jumping all over them."
Noonan homered in the bottom of the seventh inning off reliever Joel Peralta. It was Noonan's first home run of his career and just missed becoming the Giants 69th "Splash Hit" of the season.
Leake's effort was a consolation prize as San Francisco was eliminated from the postseason by the Dodgers a night prior and is playing for pride with just four games left in the season.
Birthday boy, Kenley Jansen, made a relief appearance after not pitching for the past five days. Jansen struggled with the team down by four runs, allowing one run on two hits.
"He was going to pitch no matter what," Mattingly said. "I'd rather it have been in the ninth with the lead, but we needed to get him out there. He needs to be on the hill to stay sharp."
The Dodgers lackluster effort and energy level appeared to be directly correlated to their hangover from last night's celebration.
"I think human nature wise its a little bit of a day that's kind of flat," Mattingly said of the letdown game. "There was a lot of emotion last night and we expended a lot of energy. Human nature is hard, it's just one of those days like that."
The loss squandered a great opportunity for Los Angeles to level their record with the New York Mets who lost earlier in the day. The Mets and Dodgers will square off against each other in the NLDS on Oct. 9th, but home field advantage is still up for grabs.
Game Notes:
The Dodgers record falls to 1-8 in San Francisco this season. Los Angeles has never won less than two games since 1958.
It was "Full House" night at the stadium in San Francisco as the Giants team paid tribute to the hit show that ran from 1987-1995. Creator Jeff Franklin and Jodie Sweetin were in attendance to throw out the ceremonial first pitch and sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."
