Mookie Betts homered for the first time at Dodger Stadium, while Max Muncy, Will Smith and Edwin Rios went deep to help Los Angeles defeat the San Francisco Giants 7-2 on Friday.
The Dodgers have won three in a row and eight of 10.
Betts was back in the lineup for the first time since injuring a finger on Sunday last week in Phoenix. He did not waste any time, doubling in his first at-bat. He homered into the left-field pavilion in the third, tying the game 1-1. Two batters later, Justin Turner’s RBI single gave Los Angeles the lead for good, 2-1.
Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY
“Me sitting, they didn’t miss a beat at all,” Betts said of his teammates during his absence.
He sat in the dugout when he missed four games to cheer on the club.
“There’s always a way to help, so I’m going to find that way to help,” he said. “Just trying to get in the mix to help the team win.”
Betts extended his hitting streak to eight games during which he is batting .394 with three homers and six RBIs. He leads the team with nine extra-base hits — six doubles and three homers.
“I don’t pay attention to hot and cold streaks,” Betts said.
The Dodgers pummeled Jeff Samardzija in the fourth. Muncy homered to the right-field pavilion leading off. Smith slugged his second homer of the season — both against the Giants — that eluded a leaping Darin Ruf in left field, making it 5-1.
Los Angeles have homered in 12 of their first 14 games.
Rios homered into the Giants’ bullpen — also his first at Dodger Stadium — leading off the eighth against Wandy Peralta.
Samardzija (0-2) struggled again in the fifth, giving up a leadoff walk to Cody Bellinger before hitting Turner and Kike Hernandez to load the bases with no outs. Sam Selman replaced Samardzija, who was charged with the run when Bellinger scored on Chris Taylor’s fielder’s choice groundout to third.
Betts went 2-for-4 with a walk.
“They’ve had a lot of trouble with left-handed pitchers in the past and I think a good way to fix that was to go find a Mookie Betts and put him in the middle of their lineup,” Samardzija said. “They’re solid top to bottom and you need to go out there and have your best stuff against those guys.”
Samardzija gave up six runs, five earned, and seven hits in four innings. He struck out three and walked two. The right-hander’s ERA ballooned to 9.88. He has allowed five-plus earned runs in all three of his starts.
“He had a little bit of a lack of fastball command,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “This is a very difficult lineup to get through even if you’re locating your pitches.”
Dylan Floro (1-0) got the victory, giving up one hit in one inning with two strikeouts.
Dodgers starter Julio Urias allowed one run and three hits in four innings. He struck out two and walked two. Jake McGee retired the side in order in the ninth.
The Giants’ runs came on Donovan Solano’s RBI single in the third that extended his hitting streak to 12 games and Wilmer Flores’ homer that struck a female cardboard cutout’s face in left field in the sixth.
In other games on Friday, it was:
‧ Orioles 11, Nationals 0
‧ Yankees 0, Rays 1
‧ Tigers 17, Pirates 13
‧ Marlins 4, Mets 3
‧ Blue Jays 3, Red Sox 5
‧ Twins 2, Royals 3
‧ Reds 8, Brewers 3
‧ Indians 0, White Sox 2
‧ Angels 3, Rangers 4
‧ Diamondbacks 0, Padres 3
‧ Astros 2, Athletics 3
‧ Rockies 8, Mariners 4
‧ Braves-Phillies, postponed
‧ Cubs-Cardinals, postponed
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