The San Francisco Giants Stun the Los Angeles Dodgers in Rivalry Series

Patrick Bailey of the Giants flips his bat after hitting a walk-off grand slam against the Dodgers. Courtesy of Ezra Shaw / Getty Images. The photo can be found on the Los Angeles Times.

In sports, rivalries are like no other. People will go as far as avoiding being friends with other people if they're in favor of a rival team. One rivalry considered among the best in sports, specifically baseball, is between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Heading into the season, many people were wondering how the Giants and Dodgers matchup would pan out, considering Los Angeles has a team filled with superstars ranging from Shohei Ohtani to Freddie Freeman and Blake Snell. On the other hand, the Giants have Logan Webb, Harrison Bader, and Matt Chapman.

Before their matchup, the Giants had a 9-13 record, whereas the Dodgers held a 16-6 record. There were expectations that Los Angeles would exceed them in this faceoff, but things took a turn as the Giants won the series 2-1.

Game One

Landon Roupp of the Giants pitching in the first inning against the Dodgers. Photo credits to D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images. The photo can be found on Reuters.

In the first game of the series, the Giants took a 3-1 win. The pitching matchup was set with the Giants using starting pitcher Landen Roupp and the Dodgers using Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Roupp was even named Player of the Game after pitching for five innings, having seven strikeouts, and only allowing one hit. Yamamoto, on the other hand, pitched seven innings but gave up six hits and had seven strikeouts as well.

The scoring started at the bottom of the first inning with the bases loaded, and Rafael Devers hit a single, bringing Willy Adames home. With the bases loaded once again, Casey Schmitt hit a sacrifice fly, which allowed Luis Arraez to score. The last run of that inning came from Jung Hoo Lee when he hit a single and brought Chapman home.

It's safe to say that the first inning for Yamamoto was a tough one. Los Angeles finally brought a run in during the fourth inning when San Francisco's catcher, Patrick Bailey, challenged a pitch that was confirmed, and in turn, Hyeseong Kim walked, and it brought Teocasr Hernández home.

Pitcher Ryan Walker and catcher Patrick Bailey celebrate the Giants' 3-1 victory over the Dodgers. Courtesy of D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Image. The photo can be found on Reuters.

Heading into the second game of the series, there was some hope on the Dodgers' side. Before playing against San Francisco, the Dodgers had faced the Colorado Rockies and got into San Francisco relatively late. There was an assumption that since the Dodgers didn't have a day off and they arrived in San Francisco late, they weren't at their very best.

Game Two

Rafael Devers on base after hitting a double in the sixth inning. Photo credits to Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images. The photo can be found on Yahoo! Sports.

With the second game of the series, it was the exact opposite of the first game in terms of scoring early. Once again, San Francisco took the win against Los Angeles, but this time it was a 3-0 win.

In this matchup, the Dodgers used starting pitcher and designated hitter Ohtani, and the Giants used Tyler Mahle.

Those three runs came in the seventh inning from Bailey after he hit a three-run home run against relief pitcher Jack Dryer, bringing Lee and Ramos home.

Shohei Ohtani, after being struck out by the Giants. Courtesy of Nhat V. Meyer – Bay Area News Group. The photo can be found on the Press Democrat.

Los Angeles wasn't able to score any runs, but got close during the fourth inning when Max Muncy hit a single and moved Freeman to third base. Andy Pages got on base due to a fielder's choice, but it resulted in Freeman getting out.

With the Giants taking the series, the Dodgers either had to take one game or deal with getting swept by their rivals.

Game Three

Tyler Glasnow pitching for the Dodgers in the sixth inning against the Giants. Photo credits to Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images. The photo can be found on Dodgers Nation.

With an early start to the last game of the series, the Dodgers finally got a win, and it seemed like three was the perfect amount of runs. In the last game, the Dodgers took a 3-0 win, avoiding a sweep. The pitchers for this game were the Giants starting pitcher Webb and the Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow.

In the second inning, Los Angeles catcher Dalton Rushing hit a single to centerfield, which brought Muncy home, and it brought the first run of the game. Two innings later, Muncy hit a double, and it allowed Kyle Tucker to run home, making it a 2-0 game. In that same inning, Kim hit a single, which allowed Muncy to score, extending the game by one run.

San Francisco remained hitless during this game and gave up one game to Los Angeles.

Rafael Devers reacts to being called out on strikes in the fourth inning against the Dodgers. Photo credits to AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez. The photo can be found on AP News.

The Giants are set to face the Dodgers next month at Dodger Stadium in a four-game series starting May 11. Following that, the next time they will see each other is towards the end of the season in September at Oracle Park.

Los Angeles currently holds a 22-14 record while San Francisco holds a 14-22 record. The Dodgers are currently in first place in the NL West, and the Giants are last in their division behind the Colorado Rockies.

Edited by Mary Merensky