Yu Darvish Gets Back on Track as Dodgers Win Second Straight Against San Francisco, 4-1

Don't look now, but the Dodgers have a winning streak on their hands.

Cody Bellinger hit a splash shot into McCovey Cove and the Los Angeles Dodgers won their second straight game following a franchise long 11-game losing streak, as they defeated the San Francisco Giants, 4-1, on Wednesday night at AT&T Park.

Maybe all the Dodgers needed to do to resume their winning ways was get the proverbial monkey off their back.

Following the longest losing streak in Los Angeles Dodgers franchise history which dates all the way back to 1958, the Dodgers kept the momentum going from Tuesday night with a two-run first inning thanks to an RBI triple for Bellinger and a double by Logan Forsythe.

"We stuck to our plan throughout the game," said Forsythe following the victory. "We stuck to our guns and we got some hits. It was nice to go up 2-0 early." 

Forsythe Rbi Double pic.twitter.com/SkRdMeYXk7— Dodgers (@DodgersVideos) September 14, 2017

Bellinger broke the game open when he joined teammate Chase Utley as the only Dodgers to hit "Splash Hits" this season.

"Growing up you see Barry Bonds do it, so to actually do it was pretty cool," Bellinger said of becoming just the fifth Dodger in franchise history to hit a ball into McCovey cove.

After Utley homered into the cove on Tuesday night, Bellinger crushed a 93MPH fastball from Matt Moore 441-feet over the stadium and into the water for his 37^th home run of the season.

"It felt great," Bellinger said of his home run. "I was seeing the ball well today. It felt good hitting that fastball."

Wanna grab this @Cody_Bellinger homer?

Better get a kayak. pic.twitter.com/DGTXz3q9iV— MLB (@MLB) September 14, 2017

The long ball was Bellinger's 12^th home run off a left-handed pitcher this season, a new Dodger franchise record for homers by a left-handed batter against a LHP.

In his first start in San Francisco over his career—and first taste of the Dodgers-Giants rivalry—Yu Darvish had his best start in a Dodger uniform.

Darvish (9-12) allowed just three hits with no walks and five strikeouts in seven shutout innings, matching his Dodger debut at Citi Field in New York against the Mets.

"Overall, I was able to just go out there and compete," Darvish said of his start and not thinking about his mechanics. "I had good results." 

The Japanese right-hander who was acquired from the Texas Rangers at the MLB trade deadline retired 13 consecutive batters at one point before allowing a leadoff single to Jarrett Parker in the seventh inning.

"Yu needed it. It was good," Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts told reporters of his starting pitcher. "He spun the ball really well and he was on the attack. His tempo was good and he was in control the entire game. He was outstanding."

Moore (5-14) allowed four runs on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts in just 4 and 1/3 innings.

"He's had our number a couple different times, but tonight we had a plan," Roberts said of Moore. "We put stress on Moore early, we got his pitch count up and ultimately, we got him."

Poor Moore didn't exactly get much help from his defense in the game as San Francisco was uncharacteristically sloppy with two errors and plenty of miscommunication in the outfield.

"I think they were more relaxed," Roberts said of his team on Wednesday after snapping the losing streak. "We're still not out of the woods, but they did us a couple favors tonight by kicking the ball around a little bit. Last night there was some urgency, but tonight there was some energy."

The Dodgers had six hits total in the game, and all of them were extra base hits.

Los Angeles took the series three games to two, and won their first series since they took three of four from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Aug. 21-24.

"I think the goal tonight was to get back to the series win column," added Forsythe. "First it was just to get a win and then get a series. Now we need to take it into Washington and continue this road trip."

It was also their first series win in San Francisco since 2014. 

The Dodgers now lead the season series with San Francisco 9 games to seven with three more left to play at Dodger Stadium next weekend.

Magic Number to clinch their fifth consecutive National League West title is seven.

Up Next:

Thursday is an off day for the Dodgers as they travel to Washington D.C. to take on the Nationals in what could be a series that decides home field advantage in the MLB playoffs. Alex Wood will start on Friday with first pitch scheduled for 4:05PM PST.