SF Giants rally in dramatic fashion, beat Dodgers, Jansen with another ninth-inning rally

LOS ANGELES — A night after closer Kenley Jansen walked off the mound to a chorus of boos in front of the home crowd at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts gave his closer a chance at redemption.

After watching the Giants stand by their closer, Tyler Rogers, on Wednesday, the Dodgers couldn’t possibly give up on the three-time All-Star and the greatest closer in their franchise history.

Right?

The only difference 24 hours made was that when Jansen finally walked off the mound on Thursday, the boos were much, much louder.

For the second time in as many nights, the Giants rallied to win against a pitcher who hadn’t blown a save against them in eight years as Gabe Kapler’s club captured a dramatic 5-3 win with a four-run ninth-inning rally to clinch a series victory.

“To do what we did the last two nights against one of the game’s best closers really speaks a lot to the toughness of this team, the always-grinding kind of attitude and just an offense, really trying to have great at-bats all nine innings,” first baseman Darin Ruf said.

A chaotic ninth inning featured a replay review and an overturned call at second base, a controversial strike call that drew the ire of Ruf and a blown check-swing call that allowed San Francisco to score the tying run.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, left, argues with first base umpire Ed Hickox after San Francisco Giants’ Darin Ruf was issued a bases-loaded walk during the ninth inning of a baseball game Thursday, July 22, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) 

A night after Rogers made things look easy with a 1-2-3 ninth inning, the Giants made Jansen’s night long and arduous.

After Wilmer Flores singled and Donovan Solano doubled, Giants rookie Jason Vosler came to the plate with two outs and fell behind in the count 1-2 before taking three straight balls from the Dodgers closer to load the bases.

The Giants’ fill-in for injured shortstop Brandon Crawford, Thairo Estrada, came to the plate next and grounded into what appeared to be a game-ending fielder’s choice, but a replay review overturned the call on the field to rule Vosler safe at second.

Kapler credited the rookie for excellent instincts on the basepaths and putting pressure on Dodgers shortstop Chris Taylor whose throw to second base was a split-second late.

“Vosler’s secondary, both the lead and the secondary, I thought was the most important play of the game,” Kapler said.

The San Francisco Giants celebrate a 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in a baseball game Thursday, July 22, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) 

The next batter, Ruf, took a 2-0 pitch that was well off the plate for a called strike by home plate umpire Jansen Visconti, but the Giants were gifted a favor when he appeared to go around on a 3-2 swing that would have ended the game. First base umpire Ed Hickox instead said Ruf held up his check swing, meaning he could trot to first base with a RBI walk.

“The 3-2 was kind of a high, backup cutter and luckily that call went our way,” Ruf said. “So many guys had such a great night tonight.”

At the end of it all, the Giants emerged with a victory thanks to a tie-breaking, two-run single from LaMonte Wade Jr. who helped the lineup chase Jansen for the second night in a row with a line drive to right field on the right-hander’s 33rd and final pitch of the night.

Wade has developed a reputation for having long, quality plate appearances, but on Thursday, he helped the Giants manufacture their first run by drilling a double on the first pitch of the game before driving in their final runs with a single on a first-pitch cutter from Jansen.

“Both of those guys have elite, top of the line stuff,” Wade said. “You can’t give them too many pitches. You’ve got to be able to hit the mistake pitch and luckily tonight that was the first pitch in both of those at-bats because you never know if you’ll get another good one.”

The Dodgers wasted another stellar performance from Buehler, who tossed 7 1/3 innings before a pinch-hit single from Ruf convinced manager Dave Roberts to go to his bullpen.

On the other side, the Giants’ bullpen pitched well behind Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani as Zack Littell and José Álvarez threw scoreless frames before lefty Jake McGee set his single-season career-high with his 20th save of the year.