SAN FRANCISCO — You have to play just about flawless baseball to beat Clayton Kershaw. On this night, the Giants played like the 2017 Giants.
Three defensive misplays — including two blunders in the outfield — helped the Dodgers build an early lead for Kershaw. They got a lead to Kenley Jansen and he did the rest, recording the final four outs to give the Dodgers a 5-3 win at AT&T Park that snapped their stunning 11-game losing streak. Jansen loaded the bases in the ninth, but he struck out Buster Posey and Nick Hundley to end it.
For the Giants, this was simply loss No. 90, one like many of the others. Here are five things to know ...
-- Johnny Cueto had good stuff, but his defense gave him no shot to go head-to-head with Kershaw. Cueto was pulled with two outs in the fourth after Yasiel Puig hit a two-run double on his 101st pitch. The right-hander threw 10 extra pitches in the fourth because Hunter Pence let a pop-up drop in front of him, and he lost two outs in the fourth when Austin Slater lost a fly ball in the lights and Kelby Tomlinson and Orlando Calixte failed to connect on a grounder.
-- Cueto was given a lead on a shocking swing. Tomlinson took Kershaw deep to left in the third, picking up his first homer in 280 at-bats. The homer was just the third of Tomlinson’s career, and at 393 feet it was his longest batted ball in the majors.
-- No player has faced Kershaw more than Posey, and on Tuesday they went over the 100-at-bat mark. Posey had a single and flied out to right twice. In 101 career at-bats against Kershaw, Posey has 25 hits, including three homers and three doubles. He has struck out 16 times and hit into five double plays.
-- It was a night of mistakes, including on the bases. With catcher Nick Hundley on second and two outs in the fourth, Tomlinson lined a single up the middle. Phil Nevin waved Hundley all the way and Chris Taylor made a perfect throw from center. Hundley was out by nearly 30 feet.
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-- The Giants intentionally walked 22-year-old Cody Bellinger three times, making him the first Dodger in 13 years to get that treatment. Get used to it.
