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LOS ANGELES — It wasn’t just an unusually windy evening that gave Southern California a cold, stormy San Francisco feel on Monday. It was also that rare night when the Los Angeles Dodgers were unexpectedly bitten by the shame of wealth and the need for constant upgrades.
Alex Wood is a tough, stubborn left-back who has been employed by the Dodgers for most of the past six years, making 76 starts and four goalless hits in the World Series last fall. But as a free agent at age 30 and having been knocked over from time to time, he decided it was time to find an employer that would keep him permanently in the rotation.
So, this episode kicked off for San Francisco in the crucial game 3 of the series, which went head-to-head with Max Scherzer and led the Giants to a 1-0 win and brought his old team to the brink of elimination. He scored two goalless shots in fours and threes, surprising the Dodgers with 83 pitches — 56 innings — and cementing the Giants’ decision to sign him on a one-year, $3 million deal last winter.
“It’s incredibly competitive,” said Giants Manager Gabe Kapler. “He always thinks it’s the best option to take out the next three hitters. I love this feature of him.”
Nothing bothered Wood, including the strong winds that seemed to affect everyone. Scherzer needed 25 pitches to pass the first innings before he found his own way and held the Giants in three innings, including an Evan Longoria solo home run of more than seven innings.
“On the first hit, the wind was really pushing me towards home plate,” Scherzer said. “He was really strong tonight.”
It was a fastball at 96 miles per hour in the area where the falling Longoria somehow looked like strong winds.
“I know I’ve taken everything from how hard I can hit a ball,” said Longoria, who was 1 in 35 when she stepped onto the plate for the most important hit. “I wasn’t sure it would come out. The conditions were crazy. I don’t think I’ve ever stepped out of the box in the middle of the bat as much as I did tonight.
“A few times I felt like I was going to be blown away by the wind. There’s a lot of dust in your eyes.”
“It’s super weird,” said Kapler of Southern California.
Although Scherzer adapted, the Dodgers’ kickers were never able to break. Both Chris Taylor and pincer striker Gavin Lux crushed the midfield drivers in the ninth inning, and Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts said he thought both balls, especially Lux, were coming out of the park.
Instead, they settled on the glove of midfielder Steven Duggar.
San Francisco’s Gold Glove-winning shortstop Brandon Crawford eliminated the Dodgers’ other best chance, jumping to catch the Mookie Betts line drive with two openers and runners-up, first and second, in seventh place. That should have tied the game at least. Instead, Betts clenched his fists and howled in frustration.
Now, facing elimination in Game 4 on Tuesday, the Dodgers were considering bringing back assistant assistant Walker Buehler, who started off with a 4-0 loss in Game 1, in what would be the first short rest start of his career. Otherwise, the starting option seems to be right-handed Tony Gonsolin.
“We have to form a circle as a group,” Roberts said. “Everything is on the table.”
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