Anticipation was high for both fan bases of the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers Monday night as they renewed their rivalry on the shores of McCovey Cove. The Black and Orange came ready to play in front of another sold out crowd, and behind another superb outing from Ryan Vogelsong and a balanced offensive attack lead by Pablo Sandoval, the Giants shutout the Dodgers by a score of 5-0.
Vogelsong (W 7-1) showed why he was a National League All-Star this season by throwing six and 2/3 of scoreless ball, along with seven hits, one walk, and five strikeouts. Vogey brought his game face tonight, making good adjustments when need be, all the while keeping the Dodgers bats to just one extra base hit the whole night. Jeremy Affeldt and Ramon Ramirez finished up the rest of the game, keeping the boys in blue hitless along the way.
Pablo Sandoval's solo shot in the fourth gave the Giants the lead and tied him with Aubrey Huff for a team high nine dingers. Nate Schierholtz and Cody Ross started a sixth inning rally with a pair of RBI base hits, followed by a Brandon Crawford RBI single to give the Giants the 5-0 lead. Both Ross and Schierholtz finsihed 2-4 on the night, while Pablo Sandoval was 3-4 with two runs scored.
Chad Billingsley (L 8-8) was cruising along until Pablo's homer, then came a bit unraveled as he allowed all five of the Giants runs on nine hits in five and 1/3 innings. He didn't walk a single batter though, and fanned four Giants along the way as well.
The injury bug has once again bit the Giants as Miguel Tejada left the game in the third with a lower abdominal strain, while Chris Stewart left after being hit in the head by Aaron Miles' backswing while behind the plate. Both are thought to be day-to-day injuries.
With the win the Giants move to 56-41 on the year. Full box score can be found here.
The Giants will send out Madison Bumgarner (4-9 3.74 ERA) on Tuesday to face Rubby De La Rosa (3-4 3.74 ERA) for the Dodgers. First pitch is set for 7:15 pm PT with coverage on CSN Bay Area and KNBR 680 AM.