SAN FRANCISCO _ After meeting 10 times before the end of April for the first time in their history, the Giants and Dodgers won't face each other again until the middle of June.
That's good news for Los Angeles, but if the Dodgers had their way, they would prefer to wait a lot longer than that to face Giants lefty Ty Blach.
With a six-inning, two-run effort in Sunday's 4-2 final, Blach pitched the Giants to a series win and secured his second victory of the season against his club's rival.
Though Blach has struggled against the rest of Major League Baseball, more than a few Dodgers players probably think he belongs on an All-Star team.
In his third start against Los Angeles this season, the Giants' offense finally aided Blach's cause, providing him with early run support that allowed him to pitch with a three-run lead from the second inning on.
After Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda retired the first two hitters in the bottom of the first, a Buster Posey double and a Brandon Belt walk brought the Giants' hottest right-handed hitter to the plate.
While the Giants entered the day hitting .204 with runners in scoring position, third baseman Evan Longoria drove a Maeda slider into the left field corner that appeared destined to put the Giants ahead 2-0. However, the ball landed just to the left of the chalk in foul territory, forcing Longoria to return to the batter's box.
He wasn't there long.
Longoria smoked the very next pitch _ a 2-1 slider _ the left center field seats for a three-run home run that pushed the Giants ahead 3-0. It was Longoria's fifth home run in the club's last 12 games, and helped him pass Belt for the team lead with 15 RBIs.
The former Tampa Bay Rays franchise cornerstone started the year 7-for-47 (.149) at the plate, but the home run marked his 14th hit in his last 39 at-bats. The continuation of Longoria's hot streak was a welcome sight for the Giants after scoring a come-from-behind win in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader.
His three-run home run was the fourth hit by the Giants this April after the club hit seven three home runs total in 2017.
The only Giants' player in a better rhythm than Longoria helped add to the lead in the bottom of the third, as Belt crushed a 1-0 fastball high off the bricks on the right center field wall. Belt's double scored Posey from first and raised the first baseman's OPS to 1.040, the highest mark of any Giants regular.
The 4-0 cushion stood until the top of the sixth, when Dodgers center fielder Chris Taylor yanked a double down the left field line to lead off the inning. Blach nearly pitched around the hit, recording back-to-back outs before Kike Hernandez lined a laser past the golden glove of Brandon Crawford to cut the deficit by a run.
Manager Bruce Bochy let Blach start the seventh inning, but a broken bat infield single by Max Muncy brought his day to a close. Muncy scored on an RBI single from pinch hitter Joc Pederson against reliever Sam Dyson, but the two runs charged to Blach's ledger are the most he's allowed in any of his three outings against the Dodgers this season.
In seven career starts against the Dodgers, Blach's ERA is now 1.64, as he's allowed eight earned runs in 44 innings of work. While his 5.14 ERA against all other opponents must improve if Blach hopes to take the next step in his development, his ability to shut down the reigning National League West champions has helped the Giants to two of their 14 wins this season.
It also helped that a day after a doubleheader, Bochy had his three most trusted relievers _ Sam Dyson, Tony Watson and Hunter Strickland _ available to pick up where Blach left off.
With their third straight series victory, the Giants have a chance to end the month of April with a record above .500. Excluding months in which the Giants played three games or fewer, a defeat of the Padres on Monday would give the franchise its first winning month since June of 2016.
