Rookie Tristan Beck won a pitchers’ duel against Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Fitzgerald homered and the San Francisco Giants denied the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers their 100th win of the season for at least one more day with a 2-1 victory on Saturday night.
In presenting interim manager Kai Correa with his first major league win, the Giants (79-82) scored the go-ahead run on a Max Muncy error in the sixth inning.
Making his final start before the upcoming playoffs, Kershaw (13-5) worked 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs and five hits. He walked two and struck out five.
The veteran hurt his own cause with inning-opening walks to Austin Slater and Luis Matos in the sixth with the score tied at 1.
After a forceout at second for the first out, Kershaw appeared to pitch himself out of the jam by getting Wilmer Flores to send a routine grounder to Muncy at third. But in his haste to start an around-the-horn double play, Muncy never got a grip on the ball, allowing Slater to score from third.
The only other run off Kershaw was Fitzgerald’s homer, a solo shot that opened the scoring in the third. It was the rookie’s second homer in just nine big league games, having connected off the Dodgers’ Ryan Yarbrough when the clubs met in Los Angeles last week.
Meanwhile, making just his third major league start (33rd appearance), Beck limited the National League West champs to one run and six hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out three.
The Dodgers (99-62) tied the score against him in the fifth when David Peralta connected for a ground-rule double and, with two outs, Mookie Betts recorded his 107th RBI of the season with a single.
Ryan Walker (5-3), Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval threw the final four innings for the Giants, combining to allow just two hits. Doval was credited with his 39th save of the season after a one-hit ninth.
Peralta was the only player in the game who had multiple hits, finishing with two. His double was one of just four extra-base hits in the contest, with Fitzgerald’s homer and doubles by Muncy and Slater accounting for the other three.
–Field Level Media
