SCORE TABLE
How do you take a series when you only won two of four games? Well, it looks like the Giants did exactly that.
After being outscored by 15 runs the first two nights and earning a one-race victory on Saturday, the Giants beat the Dodgers 3-1 on Sunday night in baseball, with a diverse team of pitchers in the lead. They flew home with a 2-2 record, which certainly counts as a victory given how difficult this season opener was.
The Giants now have a day off before hosting the Padres and Rangers. After throwing the kitchen sink at the Dodgers for four games, they can order their pitches if they want and try to build the two weekend games. Here’s what you need to know about Sunday’s promising win:
Surprising secret weapon
The Giants brought Darin Ruf back from the KBO because he crushes lefties. Ruf has not yet surpassed muzzle velocity, but did a bit of everything on Sunday night to help the Giants take the lead.
Ruf hit a single in his first two at-bats, the last bringing Mauricio Dubon home for the game’s first run. He moved from first to left on sixth and crashed through the open door of the bullpen as he caught. In the next half-inning, he took a walk and then stole the second in what appeared to be a busted hit and run.
The stolen base was only the second in Ruf’s major league career, and he paid immediate dividends. He scored on Donovan Solano’s left single, adding a great insurance career.
Nasty things
The most impressive Giant in four games has been relief pitcher Shaun Anderson, who struck out a pair in relief from Drew Smyly and retired five of the eight hitters he has faced this season in strikeouts. Anderson has always had a good fastball, but his slider has accelerated and he’s a devastating weapon right now.
Anderson made Kiké Hernández swing on a 90 mph slider and froze AJ Pollock at 89 mph.
[[[[RELATED: Watch Ruf crash through the bullpen gate]Shaun Anderson 90mph slider 👀 pic.twitter.com/en0XC1jJNs
– Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) July 27, 2020
The new boy
Smyly looked pretty good out of the bullpen on Thursday, and he followed that appearance starting on Sunday and keeping the Dodgers in a run in 3 1/3 innings. Clearly the staff felt that Smyly could be a weapon during this four-game series: He pitched twice while Jeff Samardzija has yet to appear.
Smyly kept the Dodgers off-balance with a three-pitch mix. He threw 26 curved balls, 22 fastballs, and 16 cutters. The fastball averaged 93 mph and hit 95. The Dodgers are the toughest test in the league, so if Smyly can do that against others, he could have the recovery season that the front office envisioned.
