What we learned as Giants' timely hitting fuels win vs. Dodgers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
SAN FRANCISCO -- When Gabe Kapler talked this spring of his faith in the 2023 Giants, he would often bring up that the pitching staff is the deepest it's been in his four years here. The Giants go six strong with starting pitchers, but that depth extends to the bullpen, too, and it was on full display Tuesday night.
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Five Giants relievers combined for 4 1/3 scoreless innings and worked out of multiple jams, backing a strong start from Alex Wood as the Giants evened the series with a 5-0 win.
The game was won in the sixth, when the Dodgers loaded the bases with no outs on two singles and a catcher's interference call. Jakob Junis struck out Chris Taylor and then Scott Alexander entered and got a tapper back to the mound and a strikeout.
A night after a 9-1 blowout, the Giants jumped on top on Joc Pederson's two-run double in the first inning. David Villar broke it open with a two-run shot in the eighth, his first at Oracle Park after 11 on the road the last two seasons. Brandon Crawford immediately went back-to-back, giving the Giants a five-run lead.
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Good Wood
Wood came one out short of qualifying for what would have been his first win against the Dodgers since moving to the rival. He gave up one hit and walked three in 4 2/3 innings, including two in his final inning.
A close 3-2 pitch to Mookie Betts went against him, putting two on with one out in the fifth. After Freddie Freeman grounded out, manager Gabe Kapler came out and signaled for Junis to face right-handed-hitter Will Smith. The powerful catcher smoked a 105 mph liner deep to right but Michael Conforto ran it down on the warning track.
Wood has allowed just one earned run in 7 2/3 innings this season. He struck out five on Tuesday before getting lifted.
Great Scott
One of the sneakiest additions of the Farhan Zaidi Era paid huge dividends on Tuesday when Alexander calmly got out of the jam in the sixth. James Outman tapped a slow roller in front of the mound and Alexander barehanded it to catcher Blake Sabol for the second out, then blew a 95 mph sinker past Miguel Rojas.
Alexander was added on a minor league deal early last season as he worked his way back from injury and was so sharp in September that the Giants brought him back. He has now thrown 20 innings for them over the last two seasons and allowed just two runs, with 14 consecutive scoreless appearances dating back to Sept. 12.
The longtime Dodger has faced his former teammates three times and hasn't allowed a run, with just one of nine batters reaching in those appearances.
New And Improved
Conforto covered 77 feet to chase down a Miguel Vargas liner to right in the fourth inning that might have dropped for an RBI double a year ago. The play had a catch probability of 58 percent.
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The Giants aren't going to win any Gold Gloves out there, but they believed that moving Pederson to DH and improving their corner outfield play would go a long way toward shoring up what was the worst defense in baseball a year ago. At the end of a season-opening trip, Kapler pointed to the outfield as a bright spot.
"As a contrast to last year, where it was one of our biggest challenges, it's been -- in the early stages, through five games -- a real strength," Kapler said.
That has continued on this homestand, with the added benefit of Bryce Johnson getting some time in center field, which has bumped Mike Yastrzemski to left. The Giants entered Tuesday's game with four Defensive Runs Saved in the outfield, per Sports Info Solutions. Last year, they had negative DRS at all three outfield spots.
