Giants rally to beat Dodgers' bullpen
Brandon Belt hit a home run and drove in three runs as the visiting San Francisco Giants rallied against the Los Angeles Dodgers' bullpen for a 4-2 victory Monday night in the first meeting between the rivals this season.
Belt hit a sixth-inning home run on the first pitch from right-hander Joe Kelly and delivered a two-run double in the seventh on the fourth pitch from Scott Alexander as the Giants won for the second time in five games.
Chris Taylor and Alex Verdugo hit fifth-inning home runs for the Dodgers, who have gone deep 16 times while compiling a 3-2 record to start the season.
Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias pitched five scoreless innings in his first start since May 20, 2017. Urias, who struck out seven with no walks, made just three regular-season appearances last year after recovering from shoulder surgery.
Giants starter Drew Pomeranz gave up two runs on six hits over five innings with a walk and six strikeouts. He was cruising along in his San Francisco debut until the fifth inning when Taylor led off with his first home run of the season and Verdugo followed two batters later as a pinch hitter with his first.
Giants right-hander Trevor Gott (1-0) pitched a scoreless inning to earn the victory. Will Smith held the Dodgers scoreless in the ninth for his second save.
The Dodgers have scored 44 runs over their first five games. Their starters also have been effective, but the Giants were able to expose an early-season bullpen weakness.
Kelly (0-1), who signed a free agent deal with the Dodgers after helping the Boston Red Sox to a World Series title last season, has blown leads in each of the Dodgers' two defeats. The right-hander gave up four runs over 1 2/3 innings Monday and has allowed a combined six earned runs over three innings in the two appearances.
The Dodgers' bullpen has given up 17 earned runs over 23 innings (6.65 ERA).
The four runs were a season high for the Giants after they struggled on offense in a season-opening four-game series at San Diego. The Giants scored just five runs while dropping three of four against the Padres.
Pablo Sandoval also drove in a run for San Francisco. Belt's home run was his first and just the team's second of the season.
--Field Level Media
