Tyler Glasnow dominates Giants for 8 innings as Dodgers avoid sweep

SAN FRANCISCO — After two soggy days in San Francisco, the sun came out Thursday afternoon.

And the weather was nice too.

Held in check offensively in back-to-back losses and shut out for the first time this season on Wednesday, the Dodgers gave enough support to Tyler Glasnow who allowed just one hit in eight scoreless innings in a 3-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants to avoid a sweep at Oracle Park.

“I think all three of our guys that went out as far as starters did their jobs,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We’re kind of in a little funk offensively, and he set the tone.”

Their three starting pitchers in the series (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani and Glasnow) allowed just three runs in 21 innings against the Giants, all by Yamamoto in the first inning of the series. But the Dodgers’ offense funked up just one run and seven total hits in the first two games of the series.

They didn’t explode Thursday, but the eight-hit attack included two hits from Kyle Tucker in his new spot in the lineup (fourth) – and Glasnow didn’t need much help.

Glasnow took a sun-drenched stroll through the Giants’ lineup, holding them to one hit and one walk while striking out nine. He did it without relying on any one pitch. He threw both four-seam and two-seam fastballs, two variations on his curve and mixed in his slider among his 105 pitches.

“I think each inning, it was weird,” Glasnow said. “Like, one pitch would feel really good, and I’d kind of spam that pitch. And the next inning, a curveball would feel good. It wasn’t a consistent flow all game long. It kind of helped me just throw whatever was working that inning. Some four-seams were good, some two-seams were good.

“I haven’t really had the slider, especially early in the season, and today it felt really good. I think just showing that early, trying to throw it for strikes and then using it as a put-away option as well was helpful. It was like a mix of everything. I think that’s why I did pretty well.”

He allowed just three baserunners in the game. He walked Luis Arraez with one out in the first inning then struck out the next two batters. Heliot Ramos reached on an error by shortstop Hyeseong Kim to start the second inning. Glasnow got the next batter, Jung Hoo Lee, to bounce into a double play.

The Giants’ only hit off Glasnow was a soft single by Arraez leading off the fourth inning. Again, Glasnow got the next batter to hit into a double play. He retired the final 14 batters he faced before handing the ball over to Tanner Soctt for the ninth inning. Getting the first save opportunity in the wake of Edwin Diaz’s surgery, Scott retired the side in order in the ninth.

“I think just a little tense early on, kind of trying a little too hard,” Glasnow said of his day. “I think as the game went on, I was just thinking about keeping my hands and my body loose and talking with (assistant pitching coach) Connor (McGuinness) and (pitching coach) Mark (Prior) in between. And I just think I got into a good place as the game went on.”

Max Muncy got the Dodgers’ offense going – with his legs.

Muncy drew a one-out walk in the second inning and was running on the pitch when Andy Pages grounded to third. That kept the Dodgers out of a double play and allowed Muncy to score on Dalton Rushing’s two-out single to center field.

Two innings later, Kyle Tucker led off with a double into the left-center gap. Muncy followed with a drive over center fielder Drew Gilbert’s head. Tucker held up at second to see if Gilbert was going to run it down and only advanced to third. But when Gilbert’s throw got away from second baseman Luis Arraez, Tucker was able to score.

Muncy was still at second base two outs later when Hyeseong Kim singled to left field. Third-base coach Dino Ebel challenged Heliot Ramos’ arm, sending Muncy who beat the throw home for a 3-0 Dodgers lead.

Dragging a .233 batting average and .676 OPS along with the super-sized paychecks that come with his $240 million contract, Tucker was dropped from second to fourth in the lineup on Thursday. Roberts hoped “a different look” would relax Tucker.

The early results were positive. In addition to his fourth-inning double, Tucker had a single to right field for a 2-for-4 day in his new lineup home.

“Just staying on a changeup there and driving it the other way, rather than turning it over and rolling it over. So turned out to be a nice swing,” Tucker said of the double.

A Dodgers-Giants series wouldn’t be complete without a little spice and Rushing provided it.

During Tuesday’s game, Rushing tagged Jung Hoo Lee out at the plate in the sixth inning when Lee tried to score on a single to center field. Lee slid awkwardly and stayed on the ground near home plate after the play. Rushing looked back as he walked away and said something – something that was interpreted by internet lip-readers as a vulgarity aimed at Lee.

The next day, Rushing disputed the interpretation and explained that he did not mean to disrespect Lee who he didn’t realize was injured on the play (Lee left the game a couple of innings later). It was “making something out of nothing,” he said.

The Giants clearly felt it was something. Right-hander Logan Webb drilled Rushing in the ribs with a pitch in the sixth inning Thursday. Webb feigned ignorance of the situation after the game (“What thing with Jung Hoo?” he said when questioned by reporters) and said that the pitch had “slipped” – standard cover for a purpose pitch.

“It probably was (intetional),” Roberts said. “For me, he said what he said. I don’t think he meant it too personally. But they see it. Social media catches it. Webby’s an old-school guy and he’s protecting his teammates.”

The next batter, Kim, hit into a double play and Rushing made a point of going hard into shortstop Willy Adames as he made the turn at second base, popping up and hugging Adames.

“I don’t know. But I liked that too. That’s baseball,” Roberts said when asked if he thought the Giants might object to that as well. “They’re going to hit you. Webby’s got really good command. I get it. They’ll deny it. No problem. And I liked the way he went in hard.

“They turned a double play. It’s good baseball. Good, hard-nosed baseball.”