The Giants have all but wrapped up the NL West with 20 games left to play.
San Francisco held on to beat Colorado 9-8 on Tuesday, while the Dodgers fell 1-0 to the Diamondbacks, giving the Giants a six-game lead in the NL West.
The Giants won on another off night from Madison Bumgarner, who allowed five runs and 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings of work. The Giants used seven relievers to get through the remaining 4 2/3 innings, with Guillermo Mota providing the best showing. He struck out four of the five hitters he faced in the sixth and seventh innings.
Still, the official scorer made the call to give the win to George Kontos, who got two outs after replacing Bumgarner in the fifth. Kontos was then removed for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the inning.
The Giants’ offensive star was Brandon Belt, who had a solo homer and a two-run double as part of a four-RBI night. Bumgarner went 2-for-2 with a three-run homer of his own to make a big contribution in another outing in which he just didn’t have it. He’s allowed at least four earned runs in four straight starts now, and he may well have taken a fourth straight loss tonight if not for the homer.
The Dodgers’ loss was a much different affair, with two teams combining for just nine hits. The game’s lone run was unearned after Paul Goldschmidt reached on a Hanley Ramirez error to start the seventh. Miguel Montero doubled in him, tagging Clayton Kershaw with a very tough loss.
Ian Kennedy pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings for Arizona. He’s 2-1 with a 0.91 ERA against the Dodgers this year and 11-10 with a 4.61 ERA versus everyone else.