What we learned as Muncy powers Dodgers past Giants originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
LOS ANGELES -- The Giants actually have had decent success in bullpen games, but they do have a big problem, other than the stress they put on your relievers. You are relying on every guy who comes out of the pen to be good that night, and on Tuesday, a key member of the plan wasn't.
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Jarlin Garcia gave up five runs when it was his turn to carry the baton and the Giants lost 6-3 to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Their four-game winning streak was snapped and they fell to 65-69 on the season.
The Giants hit five homers in Monday's win and the ball kept flying early on Tuesday. But it was the Dodgers who were the ones doing most of the damage.
Lewis Brinson hit a leadoff homer for the Giants but they fell behind 6-2 after the Dodgers hit a pair of shots with runners on base. The Giants inched back on Brandon Crawford's two-run homer in the seventh, but Max Muncy immediately answered with his second of the game.
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Here are three more things to know:
Leadoff Lew
A night after he hit two homers, Brinson led off the game by ambushing Tyler Anderson's first pitch and hitting a no-doubter into the left field bleachers. It was his first career leadoff homer and the sixth of the season for the Giants.
Like the previous two in this series, the homer was off a lefty. Brinson had a 1.256 OPS against lefties in Triple-A this season, a huge reason why the Giants scooped him up for a September audition. He'll certainly see another one on Wednesday when the Giants face Clayton Kershaw.
Mixed Bag
The Giants don't have a true long reliever in their bullpen but Gabe Kapler has been able to rely on Garcia and Tyler Rogers for length at times. He likely wanted those two to get him through all the middle innings, and they did -- just with mixed results.
Garcia gave up a three-run shot to Joey Gallo in the second inning and then a two-run homer to Muncy in the third. The five earned runs were a season-high for Garcia, who had allowed just four earned runs in his previous 14 appearances after a rough July.
Rogers was coming off a rough outing against the Padres and had not pitched in a week, but he was sharp Tuesday. He took over for Garcia in the third and pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Rogers allowed one hit, walked one and struck out a pair while tying a season-high with seven outs recorded.
The Opener
John Brebbia made his fourth "start" of the season as an opener and pitched a scoreless first despite getting a big scare. With Freddie Freeman on second, Will Smith hit a rocket to left that died on the warning track.
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The Giants entered the day with a 5-5 record when using an opener, but they have had success with the first pitcher in these games. Giants openers have a 2.08 ERA in 11 appearances, combining for 17 1/3 innings. Brebbia has had four scoreless appearances as an opener.
