MLB GAME RECAP

L.A clinches tie for NL West with win over Giants

The Sports Xchange

September 23, 2014 at 10:11 pm.

 

Sep 23, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Scott Van Slyke (33) Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Yasiel Puig (66) and Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Matt Kemp (27) react after the game against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers defeated the Giants 4-2. (Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports)

LOS ANGELES — Second baseman Justin Turner homered twice, and the Los Angeles Dodgers creeped closer to winning their second straight National League West title with a 4-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants before 49,251 fans at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night.

Right fielder Matt Kemp also delivered a home run for the Dodgers (90-68), who can clinch the division crown with a win Wednesday over the Giants (85-72), who fell a game back of the Pittsburgh Pirates for the top spot in the wild-card race. However, the Giants maintained a five-game lead over Milwaukee for the second wild-card spot.

Dodgers starter Zack Greinke, unbeaten in his last seven starts, had a solid outing, allowing two runs on six hits with five strikeouts and no walks in eight innings. Greinke (16-8) has defeated the Giants in all five of his starts this season. Greinke also is 11-0 in 14 starts against NL West opponents.

San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner, who had beaten the Dodgers in three of his previous four starts this season, shook off a shaky first inning, when he gave up two home runs (three overall), including Turner’s to lead off the game. Bumgarner also initiated an incident in which both teams emptied their benches in the first after plunking Dodger center fielder Yasiel Puig with a pitch.

Bumgarner (18-10) gave up four runs on six hits in 7 1/3 innings. He struck out five and also didn’t walk a batter.

Turner, who started at second base in place of Dee Gordon, opened the game with his first leadoff home run. He drove a 2-2 pitch by Bumgarner into the bleachers in left field for a 1-0 lead.

It was then that Bumgarner hit the next batter, Puig, on the foot. Puig, who was nailed by Jake Peavy on Monday, went down then jumped up and started toward Bumgarner as the two yelled at each other. The benches and bullpens cleared, but order was quickly restored.

Kemp followed with his 24th homer, a two-run blast over the center-field wall for a 3-0 lead with one out.

In the third inning, Bumgarner tagged Greinke for a two-run home run to pull the Giants within 3-2. It was Bumgarner’s fourth homer this season, the most by a Giants pitcher since the club moved to San Francisco.

NOTES: Giants CF Angel Pagan will have season-ending surgery this week to repair a bulging disk in his back, the club announced. Pagan had missed six of the Giants’ last seven games. He left in the sixth inning of Friday’s contest against the San Diego Padres after experiencing tightness in his back and hasn’t played since. … Giants RHP Tim Hudson (9-12, 3.52 ERA) will face Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw (20-3, 1.80 ERA) in the series finale Wednesday night. … Dodgers OF Matt Kemp celebrated his 30th birthday.