Dodgers’ Walker Buehler roughed up as Giants reclaim NL West lead

SAN FRANCISCO — Maybe Johnny Wholestaff should beryllium the beforehand runner for the National League Cy Young Award.

Coming into their play showdown by the bay, the San Francisco Giants’ starting rotation had dissolved. They lone had 1 steadfast starter — Anthony DeSclafani — to propulsion astatine the Dodgers with 2 all-hands-on-deck bullpen games to travel arsenic the 2 rivals dueled for the part lead.

The Dodgers, connected the different hand, felt truthful bully astir their concern that they declined to put their rotation truthful that Max Scherzer would transportation against the Giants, assured that Julio Urias and Walker Buehler connected Saturday and Sunday would springiness them the precocious hand.

That manus got slapped Sunday. Buehler struggled done his worst commencement of the year, allowing six runs successful conscionable 3 innings, arsenic the Giants bushed the Dodgers 6-4.

The Giants utilized six pitchers connected Friday (in 11 innings), 8 connected Saturday and 9 connected Sunday — they were already connected their 5th pitcher erstwhile Corey Seager stepped to the sheet successful the 3rd inning arsenic the Dodgers’ 14th batter.

The conga enactment from the bullpen carried the Giants backmost into archetypal place. The Giants took 2 of 3 this weekend, walking distant with a one-game pb successful the NL West and taking the play series, 10-9 — which volition springiness them homefield vantage for a Game 163 to find the part rubric if they are tied astatine the extremity of the regular season.

Buehler has a well-deserved estimation arsenic a big-game pitcher contempt his young age. But helium did not travel up large Sunday.

Over the archetypal 2 games of the series, Dodgers pitchers had not allowed a location tally to the Giants, the NL leaders successful location runs. Buehler gave up a location tally to the 2nd batter helium faced, Brandon Belt.

The Giants were 4 for 30 with runners successful scoring presumption successful those archetypal 2 games. They went 4 for 6 against Buehler. Steven Duggar drove successful 2 runs with a triple successful the 2nd inning. Darin Ruf followed with an RBI single. In the third, LaMonte Wade Jr. and Brandon Crawford had back-to-back doubles and Curt Casali an RBI single.

Buehler faced 17 batters successful 3 innings, allowed 5 extra-base hits, 2 singles and a walk.

The six runs were the astir helium had allowed since Sept. 2, 2019 against the Colorado Rockies and 1 abbreviated of matching his career-high. The 7 hits allowed matched his season-high. It was lone the 4th clip successful 89 vocation starts Buehler has failed to transportation past the 3rd inning.

All of this came connected the heels of a 10-start tally that had carried Buehler to the beforehand of the Cy Young contention successful the National League. According to Elias Sports, Buehler’s streak of 10 consecutive starts allowing 2 runs oregon less and pitching six innings oregon much was 1 abbreviated of the franchise grounds (set by Kevin Brown successful 2003).

The 4 relievers that followed Buehler combined for 5 scoreless innings — including 1 2/3 from David Price who was connected the verge of going to the Injured List with a sore elbow 2 days ago. But the Dodgers’ sputtering discourtesy couldn’t excavation retired of the spread helium had dug for them.

They had their chances. Giants relievers walked six successful the four-inning agelong from the 2nd done the fifth. But the Dodgers stranded 8 runners connected basal successful those innings, leaving the bases loaded successful the 3rd and fifth. Will Smith drove successful their lone runs with an RBI azygous successful the 2nd and a bases-loaded locomotion successful the fifth.

Those missed opportunities grew much glaring erstwhile Albert Pujols deed a pinch-hit two-run location tally successful the ninth inning. But the Dodgers person deed .202 arsenic a squad during their past 16 games and averaged lone 3.6 runs per game.

The Dodgers’ lineup is pock-marked with slumping hitters.

Max Muncy is batting .189 (20 for 106) since the commencement of August. Chris Taylor is 13 for 79 (.165) with 33 strikeouts successful his past 22 games. Justin Turner is 14 for 62 (.226) implicit his past 19 but with conscionable 1 extra-base deed (a double) successful his past 16 games. Mookie Betts is batting .152 (5 for 33) successful 10 games since returning from his hep injury.

And Cody Bellinger looks utterly mislaid astatine the sheet — not a caller development.