Andrew Heaney continued to have trouble with the home run ball and it resulted in the Los Angeles Dodgers losing 7-4 to the San Francisco Giants, who staved off elimination in the National League West. Any loss during the series will result in the Giants officially being ruled out from possibly winning the division.
The Dodgers took early strides toward making that a reality as Freddie Freeman hit a two-run home run in the first inning. It was Freeman’s 17th homer of the season but first since Aug. 15.
The Dodgers’ 2-0 lead was erased in the third inning on a game-tying home run by Lewis Brinson, who nearly led off the night with a solo blast. J.D. Davis got ahold of a fastball two batters later for a go-ahead homer.
Thairo Estrada extended the Giants’ lead to 4-2 with a leadoff home run in the fourth inning, and David Villar went to the opposite field for a two-run homer. Heaney wound up being removed from the game after 5.1 innings pitched.
The four home runs Heaney allowed tied a career high, which he’s done three times. The left-hander entered the night having allowed a combined six home runs in his past three outings. Heaney nevertheless continued to get plenty of swing-and-miss, and now has a string of four consecutive starts with at least eight strikeouts.
Back-to-back singles by Freeman and Max Muncy to start the bottom of the fourth set the table for Joey Gallo’s RBI double with one out. The Dodgers then appeared prime to continue cutting into their deficit in the fifth but third base coach Dino Ebel made a poor decision in sending Austin Barnes home on Mookie Betts’ double.
Barnes, who led off with a single, was easily thrown out, and the Dodgers failed to score in the inning. Barnes then hit a solo home run in the seventh inning but the Dodgers never drew any closer. Brinson provided the Giants with some insurance by hitting his second homer of the night in the ninth.
L.A. had a two-game winning streak on Labor Day snapped, and the loss was their first to the Giants at Dodger Stadium this season.
Dodgers’ outlook in NL West
Even with their loss, the Dodgers’ magic number to clinch the division was reduced to eight due to the San Diego Padres losing to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The earliest the Dodgers would be bale to capture the 2022 NL West title remains Saturday, when they play at Petco Park.
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