Former Dodgers help Giants snap losing streak vs. rival

SAN FRANCISCO -- With the help of three former Dodgers, the Giants finally snapped their eight-game home losing streak against their archrivals.

Veteran Alex Wood allowed only one hit over 4 2/3 scoreless innings, and reliever Scott Alexander earned the win after wriggling out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning as the Giants shut out the Dodgers, 5-0, on Tuesday night to even their three-game series at Oracle Park.

The two left-handers were backed by ex-Dodgers slugger Joc Pederson, who delivered a two-run double off Dustin May in the first inning to give the Giants an early lead they wouldn’t relinquish. David Villar and Brandon Crawford supplied a trio of insurance runs in the eighth by launching back-to-back homers off Evan Phillips, with Villar collecting his first career blast at Oracle Park.

Wood, Alexander and right-handers Jakob Junis, John Brebbia, Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval combined to hold the Dodgers to three hits in the club’s first shutout win of the year.

“When you get runs early, you want to try to put up zeros on the board,” Wood said. “Just thankful we were able to do that. The ‘pen did a great job. Just a really good team win tonight."

San Francisco had lost 16 of 20 games to Los Angeles dating to last season, including a 9-1 blowout loss in Monday night’s series opener, but it capitalized on early command issues from May, who issued back-to-back walks to LaMonte Wade Jr. and Michael Conforto to lead off the bottom of the first. One out later, Pederson ripped a down-and-in cutter to right field for a double that put the Giants ahead, 2-0.

Wood spent five seasons with the Dodgers, but he entered Tuesday 0-5 with a 4.95 ERA in seven starts against his old club since leaving Los Angeles to sign with the Giants in January 2021. He fell one out shy of getting his first win against the Dodgers since July 21, 2015, as manager Gabe Kapler decided to bring in Junis to face the right-handed-hitting Will Smith with a pair of runners on and two outs in the fifth.

Smith sent a 104.6 mph drive deep to right field, but Conforto managed to run it down at the warning track for the final out of the inning. Still, the Dodgers threatened again in the sixth, loading the bases with no outs after J.D. Martinez and Trayce Thompson singled, and Miguel Vargas reached on catcher's interference by rookie Blake Sabol.

Junis struck out Chris Taylor swinging on a slider before giving way to Alexander, who got James Outman to hit a tapper in front of the plate. Alexander quickly got off the mound, fielded the ball and threw home to retire Martinez and then struck out Miguel Rojas swinging on a 94.9 mph sinker to end the inning.

“Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t,” Alexander said. “That’s just kind of the life of a reliever. I’m happy it worked out today. I’m happy I was able to help out and pick up Juny there and get us back in the dugout. Obviously, it’s a really good team. You’ve got to respect everyone in that lineup. Anytime you can win a game against those guys, it’s big."

The Dodgers acquired Alexander from the Royals as part of a three-team trade that also involved the White Sox in 2018, but he made only 59 appearances over his final three seasons in Los Angeles due to injuries. The Giants signed the 33-year-old veteran to a Minor League deal last May and helped get him healthy before calling him up in September, when he posted a 1.04 ERA over 17 appearances.

Alexander hasn’t allowed a run in his last 14 outings dating to Sept. 12, lowering his ERA with the Giants to 0.90 over 20 innings.

“Scotty’s been nasty,” Wood said. “He’s always been nasty, but to see him come into a situation like that and get us right out of there, it’s pretty impressive. … He’s got a unicorn sinker. When it’s on and he’s right, it’s hard to put the barrel on it. He’s looked great so far. I’m really happy for him. He’ll be a big piece for us going forward for the rest of the year."