LOS ANGELES — The Giants just kept receiving gift after gift after gift.
For the 90th time since moving to San Francisco, the Giants drew 10 walks in a single game. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Dodgers’ starting pitcher, walked six, a season-high. Relievers Michael Kopech and Blake Treinen issued two free passes.
Drawing that many walks correlates with winning. Entering play, the Giants were 69-20 in games where they drew at least 10 walks since moving to the West Coast. Earlier this year, they drew 10 walks in a rain-shortened game against the New York Yankees. This season, teams in the majors are 15-2 when totaling at least 10 walks.
More baserunners, generally, means more runs. For San Francisco, that was not the case on Thursday night at Dodgers Stadium. Despite drawing 10 walks and Logan Webb allowing two runs (one earned) over seven innings, the Giants lost 2-1 the Dodgers as they mustered one lone hit.
Willy Adames reached second base in the top of the sixth by drawing a leadoff walk, then stealing second base. After Yamamoto struck out Matt Chapman, Dodger manager Dave Roberts brought in left-hander Jack Dreyer to face top prospect Bryce Eldridge with a runner in scoring position.
Eldridge barreled up a 2-2 hanging slider by Dreyer, but his 102.4 mph line drive landed in the waiting glove of right fielder Teoscar Hernández. Dreyer finished extinguished the rally by striking out Casey Schmitt, leaving San Francisco searching for its first run.
The following half inning, the Dodgers put runners on second and third with one out. Mookie Betts pulled a grounder towards the six-hole. Ben Rortvedt, the runner on third, dashed home. Adames charged the grounder hard, then fired a perfect throw on the run to an awaiting Patrick Bailey.
If Bailey secured the ball, Rortvedt would’ve been out in plenty of time. But Bailey muffed the catch, Rortvedt was safe and the Dodgers had the game’s first run. The Dodger made Bailey’s error hurt more when Freddie Freeman, the next batter, snuck a grounder into center field for a single that scored Shohei Ohtani.
The Giants were gifted a free rally in the top of the seventh when Jung Hoo Lee, Bailey and Heliot Ramos all drew walks, loading the bases for the heart of the order. Rafael Devers manufactured a run by drawing the fourth walk of the inning, but that’s all the Giants mustered.
Adames struck out looking on a perfectly-placed sinker by Blake Treinen, the Matt Chapman struck out swinging to end the inning.