LOS ANGELES -- This rivalry is not currently competitive in the standings, but as Bruce Bochy looked around Monday afternoon, he still saw an environment that would test his young right-handers. The Dodgers are the best team in the National League, the favorite to reach the World Series for a third straight year, and they play in a historic ballpark that drew more than 40,000 on a weeknight.
Bochy was curious about how rookie right-handers Shaun Anderson and Tyler Beede would handle it, and before batting practice he noted that Dodger Stadium "is a place where they should expect to pitch a lot in the future."
Anderson will face Clayton Kershaw here on Tuesday night. But Beede came first, kicking off a four-game series against veteran Kenta Maeda.
"This is going to be a great experience for him, pitching here," Bochy said.
For Beede, it was more than an experience. It was a night he'll never forget.
Drafted 14th overall in 2014, Beede finally got his first win in the big leagues. He limited the Dodgers to one run over six innings as the Giants held on 3-2, becoming just the fourth Giants pitcher to get his first big league win at Dodger Stadium.
"They were busting my chops in there saying, you know, we've been waiting two months. I said I've been waiting a couple of years for this," Beede said, smiling. "What I've always wanted is to contribute to this team and be someone that they can rely on to throw out there every five days, so this more than anything just solidifies perseverance and my ability to come back after a rough year and be a guy that they can look to to contribute to this team.
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"It means a lot. At this point last year I was at a position where I didn't feel as confident as I do right now, as comfortable. Yeah, this moment means a lot."
It also showed a lot. Beede walked five, but he allowed just three hits and struck out seven, showing his power repertoire against a lineup that should be the toughest test he faces this season.
"I'm proud of the kid," Bochy said. "He came in here and pitched well."
The Dodgers have the most dangerous left-handed lineup in the National League, and on Monday the right-handed Beede saw an imposing setup. Joc Pederson and Alex Verdugo led off, followed by Matt Beaty, who was a surprise choice as the No. 3 hitter but was there perhaps because Beaty sounds like Beede. MVP frontrunner Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy made up the heart of the order.
That's as tough as it gets if you're a right-hander in this league, but Beede mostly kept the group in check. Muncy hit a long solo homer and Pederson nearly yanked one around the pole, but in all those first five hitters went just 2-for-11, with the homer, an infield single, four walks and two strikeouts.
Beede averaged 94.9 mph with his fastball and topped out above 96, and the big curveball played off his heater perfectly. He threw 19 curves, getting 12 strikes, including six swings-and-misses. Five of the Dodgers' seven strikeouts against Beede came on the curveball.
One run through four innings for Tyler Beede so far. The curveball has been a weapon tonight: pic.twitter.com/WJpKicXtxE— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) June 18, 2019
"Everything plays off of fastball location," Beede said. "When I'm locating my heater down and away and riding it up, I think that makes the curve just as good."
Beede said he focused on tunneling his three pitches, making them look the same coming out of his hand. That led to some awkward swings on the curveball, but also some bad ones on fastballs. Verdugo went down on a 95 mph heater at the letters in the fifth. Bellinger flied out on a 96 mph fastball in on his hands with a runner on.
Beede's fastball had a touch more life, and he said he felt the adrenaline that came with a start at Dodger Stadium. But he kept his calm, only breaking from character after the game, when he showed his excitement over the first career one. Per tradition, Beede was hauled into the showers, drenched with a variety of liquids that he could not identify except to call them "really cold."
The eyes stung when it was all over, and Beede momentarily misplaced his cell phone. But it was all worth it. It's been a long road to his first win, but Beede finally has it in the books.
"Being where I am," he said, "It's where I always wanted to be."
