SAN FRANCISCO — Justin Turner lined Santiago Casilla’s fourth pitch for a tie-breaking home run in the top of the ninth inning Friday night, enabling the Los Angeles Dodgers to edge the San Francisco Giants 3-2 in the opener of a three-game series between the top two teams in the National League West.
Clayton Kershaw allowed just five hits over eight innings, striking out 13, for his seventh consecutive victory, overcoming a Matt Duffy home run to win for the 10th time in 13 career decisions at AT&T Park.
The triumph allowed the Dodgers (33-29) to move within three games of the Giants (36-26) in the division. The teams have played to a 4-4 tie to date in the season series.
Casilla opened the ninth inning in relief of Johnny Cueto, who matched Kershaw pitch-for-pitch after getting burned by a disputed balk call in a two-run Dodgers first inning.
Casilla (1-2) fell behind Turner 2-1 before watching the Dodgers’ No. 3 hitter clear the left field fence.
The home run was his fifth of the season, four of which have come in the seventh inning or later.
Closer Kenley Jansen pitched around a two-out double by Brandon Belt and a walk to pinch-hitter Gregor Blanco in the ninth to record his 17th save, striking out Brandon Crawford on a full count to end it.
Kershaw (9-1), who hasn’t lost since April 26, did not walk a batter in his eight innings. He struck out the side in the second inning and fanned at least two in three other innings.
His 13 strikeouts gave him 82 against just three walks in his eight starts since May 1.
Adrian Gonzalez drove in a first-inning run for the Dodgers, who were playing their 150th game at AT&T Park. The win was their 73rd.
The Giants, who have gone just 6-7 in their last 13 games, out-hit the Dodgers 6-5.
The balk occurred with runners on second and third with no outs when Cueto, who often mixes up the speed of his delivery, put one too many twitch into his wind-up on a 3-2 pitch to Turner, the Dodgers’ third batter of the game.
Turner fouled the pitch off, but it didn’t matter. First-base umpire Bill Welke deemed Cueto to have illegally deceived the batter with his extra shoulder movement and awarded Chase Utley home plate.
Cueto demanded an explanation from Welke and Giants manager Bruce Bochy came onto the field to argue, but to no avail.
The balk also advanced Corey Seager to third base, from where he made it 2-0 one batter later when Gonzalez singled.
The Dodgers totaled three hits in the first, but that was all they got off Cueto in his eight innings. He allowed only one more baserunner — hitting Utley with a pitch for a second time — after the first inning.
Cueto struck out eight and did not walk a batter. Despite a hit batsman, a wild pitch and a balk, both runs off him in the first inning were earned.
Duffy’s homer, a solo shot, came in the bottom of the first, and the Giants rallied to tie the game off Kershaw in the sixth.
Buster Posey’s two-out double to the base of the fence in left-center field scored Joe Panik, who had singled, to produce the 2-2 tie.
NOTES: The last time two starting pitchers with at least eight wins and ERA’s less than 2.25 squared off before the All-Star break was RHP Jake Peavy — then of the San Diego Padres — facing Dodgers RHP Brad Penny on June 30, 2007. … The Dodgers have scheduled RHP Brandon McCarthy (right elbow surgery) and RF Yasiel Puig (strained left hamstring) for rehab assignments at Class A Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday and Monday, respectively. … Before the game, the Giants placed INF/OF Kelby Tomlinson (sprained left thumb) on the 15-day disabled list and promoted INF Ramiro Pena from Triple-A Sacramento. RHP Sergio Romo (strained right flexor) was moved from the 15- to the 60-day DL to create a roster spot for Pena … The Giants plan to send LF Angel Pagan (strained left hamstring) on an injury-rehab assignment at Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday, with hopes he could be reinstated from the DL sometime next week.