SAN FRANCISCO — There’s no such thing as a “must-win” game in late April. Especially not for a team like the Dodgers, who entered Thursday with the second-best record in the majors at 16-8.
Still, after the Dodgers lost four of their previous five and faced a potential sweep at the hands of the Giants, LA manager Dave Roberts did his best to conjure some renewed urgency.
“We got to win today,” he said before the club’s series finale at Oracle Park.
And in a 3-0 victory, that attitude was evident –– both in the way Roberts managed and the way his team played.
On Thursday morning, Roberts shuffled his lineup, moving the slumping Kyle Tucker down the batting order. He also bypassed the temptation to give Shohei Ohtani a day off, despite his six-inning pitching start the night before.
Roberts’ hope was that such moves would kick-start a recently scuffling offseason and salvage something from the end of a road trip in which the team had already clinched a losing overall record.
“I do think that it’ll turn,” Roberts said.
It did, just enough.
Though the Dodgers (17-8) didn’t exactly break out at the plate Thursday, Tyler Glasnow made sure they didn’t really need to, dominating over eight scoreless innings in one of his best starts with the team.
The lineup, meanwhile, manufactured offense when needed, tagging Giants ace Logan Webb with three runs over seven innings.
In both their rallies, the Dodgers relied on aggressive baserunning and improved situational hitting.
In the second inning, Max Muncy walked, stayed out of a potential double play by running on a full-count pitch Andy Pages hit on the ground, then scored on Dalton Rushing’s RBI single.
In the fourth, Tucker snapped out of his slump by hitting a leadoff double. Muncy also doubled in the next at-bat to bring him home. Then Muncy scored on an aggressive send from third base coach Dino Ebel, who wisely tested Heliot Ramos’ weak arm in left field on an RBI single from Hyeseong Kim.
From there, Glasnow went into cruise control while protecting the 3-0 lead. After working around a walk in the first inning, he faced the minimum over the next seven frames, finishing with nine strikeouts and only one hit allowed (which was erased on a double-play ball).
And in the ninth, Tanner Scott handled the Dodgers’ first save opportunity since closer Edwin Díaz went on the injured list –– ensuring that, on a day Roberts felt the Dodgers had to win, they did.
What it means
The Dodgers only went 3-4 on this Denver/San Francisco road trip but at least finished it with some confidence.
They are now one win behind the Braves for the most victories in the majors. They also denied the Giants (11-14) what would have been their first sweep in this rivalry matchup since 2023.
Who’s hot
Glasnow, who has looked increasingly impressive with each start this season.
On Thursday, the right-hander relied heavily on a sinker he has slowly reincorporated into his arsenal since coming to Los Angeles three years ago. He used the pitch almost half the time.
His also mixed in sliders, curveballs and four-seamers, retiring the final 14 batters he faced while matching his season high for strikeouts with nine.
His ERA is now 2.45, after allowing just one run in 17 innings over two starts on this trip.
Who’s not
Tucker got himself out of this category by going 2-for-4. The guy hitting in front of him, however, did not.
Teoscar Hernández suffered an 0-for-4 performance Thursday, punctuating what was a dreadful 2-for-24 showing on this road trip.
His batting average is now down to .244.
Up next
There’s no off day for the Dodgers this week. They return home Friday to open a weekend series with the Cubs, continuing a stretch of 13 games in a row. Emmet Sheehan (2-0, 5.85 ERA) will start against right-hander Jameson Taillon (1-1, 3.97 ERA).
