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SF Giants have no answer for Clayton Kershaw in 7-0 loss to Dodgers

The SF Giants had no answer for Clayton Kershaw or any of the Los Angeles Dodgers' pitchers in Saturday night's loss.

Marc Delucchi

SF Giants have no answer for Clayton Kershaw in 7-0 loss to Dodgers
SF Giants have no answer for Clayton Kershaw in 7-0 loss to Dodgers /
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The SF Giants lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday night 7-0. After a win on Friday, the Giants were unable to improve to above .500 on the season. They are now 77-78 and will be tied with the San Diego Padres for third place in the National League West if the Padres win on Saturday night. They are now four games back of the final postseason spot.

SF Giants relief pitcher John Brebbia throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Dodger Stadium on September 23, 2023.
SF Giants opener John Brebbia pitches against the Dodgers on September 23, 2023 / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Facing off against Clayton Kershaw, the Giants opted for a bullpen game against the long-time Dodgers ace. John Brebbia started the contest for the Giants and held Los Angeles scoreless in the first inning but surrendered a solo home run to J.D. Martinez in the second, putting San Francisco in an early 1-0 hole.

Kershaw may no longer be the perennial Cy Young contender that he was at the peak of his career. However, his 2.52 ERA on the season entering the day is just one example of how effective he continues to be thanks to his deep pitch arsenal, command, and generational breaking ball. Kershaw stymied the Giants’ offense across five shutout innings of work, striking out five while allowing just two hits and two walks.

Giants rookies Marco Luciano and Luis Matos (Giants Top 4 Prospects) both had some of the best at-bats of the day against the future Hall of Famer. In the top of the fifth inning, Luciano doubled to right-center field with a 107.5 mph exit velocity. Then, Matos worked his second walk of the day (he was San Francisco’s only hitter to reach base in multiple plate appearances against Kershaw). 

While Kershaw retired the next three hitters to prevent the Giants from scoring, the Giants were surely excited to see two of their most promising young hitting prospects doing damage against a top pitcher.

Taylor Rogers replaced Brebbia with one out in the first inning and, like Brebbia, retired the first three Dodgers he faced before finding himself in trouble. In the third inning, Rogers walked Mookie Betts and allowed a single to Max Muncy. 

Giants manager Gabe Kapler opted to call upon long reliever Jakob Junis to try and escape the jam, but he allowed a two-RBI double to Martinez that was nearly a run-saving diving catch by Matos down the right-field line. Nevertheless, the Giants trailed 3-0.

Kapler presumably planned to have Junis cover the middle innings, but after 1.1 innings pitched and just 20 pitches, he was removed from the game with neck tightness. Ross Stripling took his place on the mound, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and three walks with four strikeouts across four innings pitched.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts turned to his bullpen in the sixth inning, continuing to limit Kershaw's late-game usage. Roberts turned to a Joe Kelly-Michael Grove-Caleb Ferguson relay that completed the shutout with four innings of work. Michael Conforto was the only Giants hitter to reach base against Los Angeles' bullpen, walking against Grove.

The SF Giants will try to salvage a series split with the Dodgers on Sunday. Dodgers trade deadline acquisition Lance Lynn is scheduled to start for Los Angeles. The Giants have not yet announced a starter, but after using Manaea, Junis, and Stripling in the past two days, Tristan Beck seems in line for a heavy workload. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 PM Pacific.

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Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

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