The Los Angeles Dodgers entered the NLDS as heavy World Series favorites, even though they didn’t even win their own division. The NL West champions were the San Francisco Giants, winners of an MLB-best 107 games. And in Game 1 of the NLDS, the Giants looked just like their incredible regular-season selves.
The Giants beat the Dodgers 4-0 in Game 1 at Oracle Park, led by a remarkable performance from starting pitcher Logan Webb. In his postseason debut, Webb threw 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing five hits, no runs, and no walks, while striking out 10.
San Francisco took a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Buster Posey cranked a 3-0 Walker Buehler fastball for an opposite-field two-run homer.
Kris Bryant was terrific in his Giants postseason debut after being acquired in a trade with the Chicago Cubs in July. Bryant went 3-for-3 and hit a solo homer off Buehler in the seventh inning.
And Brandon Crawford added a solo blast in the eighth inning.
This game served as a reminder that the Giants are very much for real, and the defending champion Dodgers will have their hands full in this best-of-five series.
The Giants will look to go up 2-0 in the series on Saturday night, and will have Kevin Gausman going against Dodgers left-hander Julio Urías. It’s a great opportunity for San Francisco, while the Dodgers would be happy to go back to Los Angeles and flip home-field advantage with the series tied 1-1.