Dodgers' offense stalls, defense collapses
Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez (37) and outfielder Alex Call (12) collide pursuing a shallow popup during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. SAN FRANCISCO — The margin for error against a rival like the San Francisco Giants is always thin. On Tuesday night at Oracle Park, the Dodgers learned just how unforgiving it can be.
A game that ultimately settled into a pitchers’ duel was decided almost immediately, undone by one chaotic, mistake-filled first inning that proved too much to overcome in a 3–1 loss. It began innocently enough, or at least as innocently as things can begin when everything starts to unravel. Yoshinobu Yamamoto couldn’t escape the opening inning cleanly.
A throwing error by Hyeseong Kim put the leadoff man aboard. A single followed. Then a walk.
Suddenly, the bases were loaded with no outs, and the inning was teetering. The Giants didn’t need to do anything extraordinary, just enough. An RBI single.
A sacrifice fly that turned awkward when Alex Call and Teoscar Hernández collided in the outfield, the ball somehow still caught but another run scoring. Then another RBI single. Just like that, it was 3–0.