After taking what looked like a safe 7-0 lead, the Giants almost let Los Angeles get back in the game. The bullpen came up big for San Francisco and managed to hold the Dodgers off for a 7-6 win.
Kevin Correia did a good job through four innings, but then got a little too comfortable and let the Dodgers score a slew of quick runs. He cruised through the first four innings, but once the Giants gave him seven runs to work with he eased up on his opponent. Los Angeles jumped on him for five runs in the fifth inning, and added another in the sixth, which forced him to leave the game. He ended the day giving up six runs (four earned, thanks to a Jose Castillo fielding error, and a rare Bengie Molina throwing error, just his fifth of the season) in five and a third innings. It looked as if the sixth inning was going to be a wild one too after Alex Hinshaw relieved Correia and walked the first and only batter he ended up facing, but Sergio Romo handled the situation and bailed both of them out. Tyler Walker, Jack Taschner earned holds, each pitching perfect innings to setup Brian Wilson to pitch the ninth inning with a one-run lead. Wilson earned his twenty-eighth save of the season with a perfect inning of his own that included two strikeouts.
The Giants most of their runs on two-out hits, five of them came in the fourth inning after they scored their first two runs in the third. What is even more surprising is that all nine Giants hits were singles. Correia even helped himself out with a bases-loaded single to drive in two runs; a mental mistake by Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda setup the situation. Fred Lewis’ only hit of the game scored two runs. Castillo was the only Giant with two hits in the game, both singles scored a run.
After throwing a complete game shutout in his last outing, Matt Cain will look to build off that tonight at 7:10 p.m. in the second game of the series. Veteran Jason Johnson will pitch for the Dodgers.
