Photo by Beck Diefenbach/AP
Ryan Vogelsong got off to a great start. He retired the first nine batters he faced but unraveled in the fourth. Again he got no run support as the Giants got shutout 5-0 by the Dodgers. This was the eleventh time this season that San Francisco has been shutout.
"He gave us a chance and eventually the game got out of hand," said manager Bruce Bochy. "When you're going up against one of the best, you're going to have to find a way to scratch and claw for runs and hope your pitcher is on top of his game."
Vogelsong looked to be on top until he gave up his first run in the fourth. He retired the first two batters but Adrian Gonzalez broke up his "no-no" with a double to right field. Hunter Pence did not see the ball as he usually does when he lost it against the sun.
"You can talk about Hunter losing the ball in the sun, but it wasn't a good pitch," Vogelsong said. "The ball was in the middle of the plate and up. If I throw the ball where I want it to, there should be no contact. I've got to make better pitches and that's all there is to it."
Vogelsong has received no run support in five of his last six outings, the Giants have been shutout in four of those games. He dropped 0-6 in his last six starts despite posting a 3.48 ERA during this stretch. But he refuses to blame anyone but himself.
"We're not going to start blaming it on that stuff," said Vogelsong. "I feel like you create your own luck most of the time. A lot of that comes from making good pitches and setting guys up."
The Dodgers took an early 1-0 lead and just like yesterday their offense dominated scoring four runs to back their ace Clayton Kershaw. They clinched their first series victory against San Francisco. Kershaw put the Dodgers back into first place and lowered his ERA to 1.76.
"The way our team is, a veteran team, we see an opposing team once through, the next time through we have a pretty good chance," Kersahw said. "They've got a great team over there. We've got the lineup we want right now. Knock on wood, we're pretty heathy right now."
Carl Crawford lead off the fifth with a single followed by Matt Kemp's single and Juan Uribe's RBI single brought in Crawford. A.J. Ellis flew out to first base and Kershaw's sacrifice bunt advanced both runners. The Dodgers scored two more runs in the sixth and Gonzalez knocked in a run in the seventh. He went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a RBI and a run scored.
"Yeah, you do get spooled, honestly," said manager Don Mattingly. "With Clayton and Zach, most clubs try to get them early. If they don't get them, they end up with low pitch counts and opponents get the full dose. I can't say it's our plan, but its a dangerous one."