Drew Pomeranz leads Giants win over Clayton Kershaw

SAN FRANCISCO – The biggest test for Drew Pomeranz was made early.
In the first run, the Dodgers charged the goals with a goal against Pomeranz, who entered Friday with a bad time of 8.08. This is the type of situation that recently caused problems for the 30-year-old southpaw, but he

SAN FRANCISCO – The biggest test for Drew Pomeranz came early.

In the first run, the Dodgers charged the goals with a goal against Pomeranz, who entered Friday with a bad time of 8.08. This was the kind of situation that had recently caused trouble to the 30-year-old southpaw, but he had decisively succeeded in overcoming the trap and escaping unscathed.

After that, Pomeranz recorded seven in five innings to help the Giants knock out Clayton Kershaw and lead Dodgers 2-1 in the opening game of the series at Oracle Park. It was a much needed rebound for Pomeranz, whose rotational position seemed increasingly tenuous after a 0-4 record with a 15.70 ERA in his previous five starts.

• The score of the box

"What a great job to keep his cool in this first run," said manager Bruce Bochy. "With the way things went, it probably put a little more pressure on him, but he made the pitch to get out of that round. For me, it was the baseball game there. "

A week ago, we wondered if Pomeranz would make another start with the Giants. His struggles culminated in a disastrous start against the Orioles, the last rank on May 31, when he conceded eight points in 1 2/3 in the shortest part of his career. Still, the Giants decided to stay with Pomeranz, pushing his next start to give him more time to work between two outings and line him up against the Dodgers, whose lineup was left-handed.

In search of an adjustment, Pomeranz took advantage of the break to lift the niche of his arm and get better over the ball.

"I think I've been on the side of [the ball] a little bit in the last two years and some this year, "said Pomeranz. "It just makes everything flattened. I did not really know the impulses I wanted, so I worked very hard to stay on top form. "

Pomeranz started by hitting Chris Taylor, but then gave up two consecutive singles to Max Muncy and Justin Turner. That brought Cody Bellinger, who worked on foot to charge David Freese's bases. But Pomeranz prevented the situation from crumbling and forced Freese and Corey Seager to pass through the 30th throw with no damage.

"I think the trust is huge," said Pomeranz. "Getting out of that first run, when it looks like things are not going as planned and you're starting to get out of these traffic jams, it's huge for you as a pitcher. Instead of feeling like you're out of nothing, you start to face these situations and focus on one ground at a time. "

Pomeranz then dropped 14 of the last 15 batters, giving up only one in two to Seager in the fourth quarter. He left after giving three hits – all singles – and throwing 92 shots. It's his best start since he launched six scoreless innings against the Blue Jays on April 24th.

"I think, without a doubt, that it was essential for him to make a good outing today," Bochy said. "I do not care how long you've been playing and if you play, you still need a little bit of success because everything is built on trust. Hitting, throwing is what you feel and what you believe. He put together a nice game, so it should do a lot for him. "

The giants have ensured that Pomeranz's efforts are not lost.

After being ruled out by Kershaw in the first five rounds, the Giants managed to tie a pair of points in the sixth. They paused after Chris Taylor stumbled on a pen mound in the left field while trying to chase a flying ball over Brandon Belt's staff, who then drew a preparatory walk to trigger the rally. It was only Belt's fourth victory over Kershaw, who kept the Giants first baseman at a batting average of 0.071 (4 out of 56) over his career.

Belt came in second place on a single from Evan Longoria before scoring on Kevin Pillar's left-field base score to put the Giants on the board. The Dodgers played their game against Brandon Crawford in the hopes of stopping the Giants from extending their lead, but Crawford pushed the ladder over second baseman Max Muncy, allowing Longoria to come home in third and to beat Muncy.

Taylor asked Tony Watson to bring the Dodgers to a point of the eighth, but Will Smith made a scoreless ninth to shut the door to the Giants, who left his first loss to Kershaw in 22 starts.

"The most important thing was that the level of intensity had been high during this game," Belt said. "We have to take this in series against teams that are not the best in the league, and if we can do that, we could win a lot more baseball games."