Dodgers’ Offensive Woes Continue as Giants Ride Three Homers to 6-2 Victory
Los Angeles – The Dodgers continue searching for offensive consistency, and Tuesday night’s loss only deepened their recent frustrations.
Behind two home runs from backup catcher Eric Haase and a strong outing from veteran right-hander Adrian Houser, the San Francisco Giants quieted the Dodgers 6-2 at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium.
San Francisco improved to 18-24 and remained fourth in the NL West, while the Dodgers dropped to 24-18, staying in second place in the division after losing for the fifth time in six games.
First pitch came at 7:11 p.m. PDT in front of 50,029 fans. The game lasted 2 hours and 40 minutes.
The Dodgers will look to bounce back on Wednesday when they send Shohei Ohtani to the mound against Giants left-hander Robbie Ray.
Yamamoto Strong Early Before Giants Break Through
For much of the night, Yoshinobu Yamamoto looked sharp enough to guide the Dodgers to a much-needed win.
The right-hander struck out eight over 6.1 innings, allowing five runs on six hits while throwing 93 pitches, 66 for strikes. Yamamoto did not walk a batter and repeatedly generated uncomfortable swings against the middle of the Giants’ lineup.
Still, three solo home runs proved costly.
Eric Haase opened the scoring for San Francisco in the third inning with a two-out solo blast to left-center, tying the game 1-1. Harrison Bader followed with another solo homer in the fifth before Haase launched his second homer of the night immediately afterward, giving the Giants a 3-2 lead.
Despite the final line, Yamamoto showed flashes of dominance. He froze Rafael Devers on a called third strike to end the sixth inning and consistently worked ahead in counts.
The outing, however, continued a slightly concerning recent trend for the Dodgers ace. Over his last 2 starts, Yamamoto has a 5.84 ERA in 12.1 innings despite registering 16 Ks to just 1 walk in those two outings. Over his last 5 starts, he has posted a 4.22 ERA with 34 Ks to just 8 walks.
For the season, Yamamoto now sits at 3-3 with a 3.60 ERA across 50 innings with 48 strikeouts and a stellar 1.00 WHIP. He’s been great, but has only received limited run support.
“I felt pretty good with my pitches overall, but a few mistakes ended up leaving the yard,” Yamamoto said postgame. “That changed the game.”
Manager Dave Roberts defended his starter afterward, pointing to the quality of Yamamoto’s execution for most of the evening.
“Yoshi competed really well,” Roberts said. “A couple pitches caught too much plate, but overall I thought his stuff was really good. He gave us every chance to win.”
Over the year, the Dodgers have averaged just 2.86 runs while Yamamoto has been pitching, including his last start against Houston, when the Dodgers scored eight.
Dodgers Strike First, but Offense Disappears Again
Los Angeles jumped ahead immediately in the first inning.
Shohei Ohtani singled to open the bottom of the first, then, after a Mookie Betts flyout, Freddie Freeman followed with another base hit, and Kyle Tucker was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out.
Will Smith then hit a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing home Ohtani for a 1-0 Dodgers lead.
But once again, the offense struggled past that and only scored one more run for the rest of the game.
The Dodgers managed only four hits all night and finished 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position while leaving eight runners on base. The 0fer speaks for itself, but more troubling is just the fact that the Dodgers only got 3 runners in scoring position all night.
Ohtani provided the lone offensive highlight in the third inning, crushing a solo homer to left-center field for his seventh homer of the season. The blast briefly gave Los Angeles a 2-1 lead. More than just the home run, the fact that he stayed ON the ball and hit the ball to the opposite field gap was a sight for sore eyes.
Ohtani finished 2-for-4 with a walk and is now hitting .240 with a .797 OPS and seven home runs this season.
Still, outside of Ohtani, the lineup never found rhythm against Houser and the Giants’ bullpen.
Mookie Betts went 0-for-4 and is now hitting just .162 since returning. Max Muncy finished hitless with two strikeouts, though he still owns an impressive .916 OPS on the season. Teoscar Hernández also went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and is hitting .195 over his last 30 days.
Andy Pages, who has been one of the Dodgers’ most productive hitters this year, was held hitless as well.
Freeman reached base three times with a hit and two walks, while Kyle Tucker added a double and a walk. Tucker’s tenth double of the season in the eighth inning briefly gave the Dodgers life, but Los Angeles stranded the bases loaded after Max Muncy struck out and Andy Pages lined out to left.
The Dodgers’ broader offensive trends continue trending in the wrong direction:
Mookie Betts is 1 for 9 since returning
Hyeseong Kim is hitless over his last 12 at-bats
Teoscar Hernández owns a .554 OPS over his last 82 at-bats
Will Smith has just a .615 OPS over his last 70 at-bats.
Shohei Ohtani entered Tuesday, hitting .143 over his last 42 at-bats before his two-hit performance
Meanwhile, the offense has become increasingly dependent on isolated power and small stretches from a handful of hitters.
Kyle Tucker has been productive recently, posting a .952 OPS over his last 37 at-bats, while Freddie Freeman has quietly hit .289 in his last 45 at-bats.
“We’re just missing that big hit right now,” Tucker said after the game. “It feels like we’re close, but we haven’t been able to string together enough quality at-bats in those big moments.”
Giants Take Control in Seventh
The game completely swung in the seventh inning.
Heliot Ramos opened the inning with a double off Yamamoto before Willy Adames singled him to third. After Bryce Eldridge lined out, Roberts turned to veteran reliever Blake Treinen to try to escape the jam.
Instead, the Giants executed perfectly.
Pinch-hitter Drew Gilbert dropped a safety squeeze bunt that grazed Freddie Freeman’s glove, scoring Ramos for a 4-2 Giants lead.
Two batters later, Jung Hoo Lee ripped a two-run double into right field, scoring Adames and Gilbert to extend the lead to 6-2.
Treinen allowed one run in two-thirds of an inning, continuing a rough recent stretch. Over his last 12.2 innings, Treinen owns a 7.36 ERA while opponents are hitting .382 against him.
Still, there were positive signs from the rest of the bullpen.
Edgardo Henriquez tossed a clean eighth inning with a strikeout, and Jack Dreyer continued his excellent season with a scoreless ninth inning that included two strikeouts. Dreyer’s ERA now sits at 2.18 for the season and 1.88 over his last 19 games, which spans 20.2 innings.
The Dodgers bullpen overall has largely remained effective despite recent turbulence from Treinen, Alex Vesia, and Wyatt Mills.
Tanner Scott has not allowed a run over his last 8.2 innings, while Jack Dreyer and Kyle Hurt have quietly emerged as two of the Dodgers’ most dependable relief arms.
Giants Capitalize on Limited Opportunities
While the Dodgers wasted chances throughout the night, the Giants maximized nearly every opening.
San Francisco went 3-for-6 with runners in scoring position and produced four two-out RBIs.
Haase was the surprise star, going 2-for-4 with two solo homers and two RBIs. Jung Hoo Lee finished 2-for-5 with two RBIs, while Willy Adames collected two hits and scored a run.
The Giants also received a strong performance from Houser, who earned his first win of the season after entering the night with a 5.94 ERA.
Houser held the Dodgers to two runs over 5.2 innings while allowing just three hits.
The Giants’ bullpen then combined for 3.1 scoreless innings to close out the win.
Dodgers Searching for Answers
Tuesday’s loss further emphasized the inconsistent state of the Dodgers’ offense.
Even with a roster full of star power, Los Angeles has struggled to create sustained rallies, particularly against quality pitching and in high-leverage situations.
The Dodgers have scored three runs or fewer in five games in a row and in six of their last seven. The lack of production from the middle and bottom portions of the lineup has placed increased pressure on the pitching staff.
Roberts remained confident afterward that the club would eventually break through.
“You trust the back of the baseball card with these guys,” Roberts said. “We’ve got too many talented hitters in that room for this to continue forever. We just have to keep grinding through it.”
