Headline: The San Francisco Giants win series over the Los Angeles Dodgers in rivalry showdown

Giants take two of three from Dodgers, keeping ‘Beat LA’ alive

The Los Angeles Dodgers travelled to San Francisco, Calif. to take on the Giants at Oracle Park for their first 2026 regular season series matchup from April 21 to 23.

The matchup between both West Coast rivals dates back 140 years, with both teams winning an equal 1,290 games each against one another. The Giants hold the regular-season advantage (1288-1287), while the Dodgers hold the playoff advantage (3-2) from the 2021 postseason. In the last five years, the Giants have struggled to win 28 of their 78 games against the Dodgers.

Giants starting pitcher Landen Roupp opened the first game of the series with a stellar performance. Roupp pitched five innings, struck out seven Dodgers and allowed only one run throughout the five innings.

In the bottom of the first inning, the reigning World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers gave up three runs. Giants shortstop Willy Adames, second baseman Luis Arraez and third baseman Matt Chapman took advantage of Yamamoto’s defensive miscues to put their team up by three.

In an attempt to come back, Dodgers shortstop Hyeseong Kim walked while all three bases were loaded, allowing left fielder Teoscar Hernández to score. However, the Giants kept their momentum down, winning the first game of the series 3-1.

The second game of the series was a pitching showdown. Giants starting pitcher Tyler Mahle pitched seven shutout innings to earn the win, while Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani allowed no runs over six innings. Ohtani left the mound after the sixth and was replaced by relief pitcher Jack Dreyer.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Giants put up three against Dreyer. Right fielder Jung Hoo Lee singled to left field, running to first base. Left fielder Heliot Ramos singled to center field, taking first base, while Lee ran to second base. Catcher Patrick Bailey hit a home run to center left field, putting the Giants up by three.

The Dodgers could not rally, ending Wednesday’s game 3-0. The Giants also ended Ohtani’s 53-game on-base streak, the longest on-base streak in the league since 2006.

The final matchup between the two teams started off strong for the Dodgers. In the top of the second inning, Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb gave up a run, allowing Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing to single to center field. Third baseman Max Muncy scored off this mistake.

The game picked up again for the Dodgers in the top of the fourth inning. Muncy doubled to center and a throwing error made by Giants center fielder Drew Gilbert allowed right fielder Kyle Tucker to score. Soon after, Kim singled to left field, allowing Muncy to score and putting the Dodgers up by three.

The Giants struggled to get past the Dodgers' starting pitcher, Tyler Glasnow, who shut out eight innings and only allowed one hit. Unable to build momentum or find a way past the reigning World Series champions, the Giants lost 3-0 in the final game of the series.

The Giants have not had the start to the season that they had hoped for. Despite excitement over the new team manager, Tony Vitello, and the star players, the team has struggled offensively.

Although they did not completely sweep the series, the Giants won two important games that improved their overall record, and, for the most part, they “Beat LA!”

Written by: Alexia Navarro — sports@theaggie.org