What we learned as Giants turn tables, deal Dodgers gut-punch originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
LOS ANGELES -- The Giants really, really, really don't want to give up their stranglehold on first place.
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Wilmer Flores hit a two-run homer off Kenley Jansen in the ninth inning Wednesday at Dodger Stadium, leading the Giants to a thrilling 4-2 win that pushed them back to two games up in the NL West and guaranteed they'll fly home Thursday night still in first place. The Giants had been three outs away from falling into a tie for the first time since May 31, but Flores stunned a sellout crowd of 52,026 by crushing a cutter into the left field bleachers to turn a one-run deficit into a one-run lead.
The homer was just the second allowed by Jansen this season, and the first since April 26. Flores had been hitless in eight previous at-bats against Jansen, but he jumped on a 92 mph cutter to completely change the script.
Gabe Kapler said on Tuesday night that he couldn't wait to get Tyler Rogers back on the mound and he stuck to that, giving Rogers the opportunity to pick up the save against the team that knocked him out a few hours earlier. Rogers had a 1-2-3 inning and gave Kapler a big hug as he came off the field.
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The Giants got dominated by Julio Urias the first time they saw him this year, but then rocked the young lefty six days later. Urias was back in command Wednesday. He gave up a solo homer in the first but then allowed just two hits while getting through the seventh, both of which were infield singles.
Blake Treinen got the lead to Kenley Jansen, who immediately gave up a leadoff single to pinch-hitter Buster Posey. It was a short night of work for Posey, as he was replaced at first by speedy Steven Duggar. That set the stage for Flores, who hit a grounder to third that looked like it might be an error that would put two on. It was ruled foul, ultimately a break for the Giants, who took the lead seconds later.
First Inning Fireworks
It's a late-arriving crowd at Dodger Stadium, which means a lot of fans missed some serious action Wednesday. This wasn't quite the back-to-back to back-to-back that kicked off Wednesday's game, but Mike Yastrzemski went deep in the top of the first and Chris Taylor answered with a leadoff shot.
Taylor's homer was his third in two games. Yastrzemski's was his second in two games and 16th of the season, putting him two behind Brandon Crawford for the team lead. Yastrzemski has flipped the page back to 2020 since the All-Star break, hitting four homers in six games on this trip.
Building Back Up
Logan Webb has done his rehab assignment at the big league level, and on Wednesday he got to 75 pitches in his five innings. They were good ones, too. Webb gave up the early homer and then fell behind in the fourth when Cody Bellinger raced around from first on A.J. Pollock's double. It's unclear what happened to Bellinger's bat, but the dude can still fly.
Webb allowed three hits, walked three and struck out five. He has pitched 12 innings over three starts since returning from a shoulder strain and has allowed just three earned runs.
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Another Find
It's early, but it sure looks like the Giants might have unearthed another gem in Jay Jackson, a 33-year-old right-hander who has spent most of the last few years pitching in Japan. Jackson struck out the side in the sixth inning. Since getting called up for this road trip, he has faced 14 batters and whiffed eight of them.
Jackson is reminiscent of former Giant Matt Wisler in that he relies primarily on his slider, but he also has a fastball that touches 95 mph. He threw 12 sliders in the perfect inning, getting three swings-and-misses and 10 strikes overall.
