Puig Home Run Gets the Dodgers Another Win, Giants Swept by the Cubs

It took until the 11th inning, but the Los Angeles Dodgers (56-48) rookie phenom Yasiel Puig got his first MLB walk-off home run and the 1-0 win for his team over the Cincinnati Reds (59-47) on Sunday. For their four-game series, the Dodgers won three of four against the Reds.

Yasiel Puig

Puig now has 10 home runs in his 48-game MLB career. He said of Sunday’s home run after his three earlier strikeouts at bat via The Associated Press, “You put your at-bats behind you, every single time. What’s in the past is in the past and you give it your best each time you come up. Even though three of those strikeouts were mine, I just kept giving it my most. They had been throwing me a lot of high pitches, but I just kept with it.”

In Sunday’s game, Dodgers lefty Chris Capuano (3-6) in his 6 2/3 innings of pitching held Cincinnati to just three hits; in the first 16 batters, he retired 15 of them. In his longest outing of the season, he struck out four, walked zero and gave up three hits.

As for the Reds, rookie left Tony Cingrani (4-1) challenged the Dodgers in his seven innings of scoreless play, striking out 11 with one walk. The only hit against him came from fellow pitcher, Capuano, in the third inning.

For the day, the Dodgers did have their greatest single-game total for strikeouts at 20. This number hasn’t happened since the team moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958.

But Puig’s home run will erase this memory. Since returning from the All-Star break, the Dodgers have gone 9-1 and now sit 2 1/2 games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks (54-51) in the NL West race.

Looking ahead, rumors are swirling that the Dodgers may be in the trade race for the Chicago White Sox pitcher Jake Peavy. He knows a trade is coming and his bags are packed but the Dodgers aren’t the only alleged suitor for the player. The Atlanta Braves, the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals have also been keeping their eye on him (8-4, 4.28).

On Monday, the Dodgers get a day off and will try to continue their win streak in a two-game series against the New York Yankees beginning on Tuesday. They sit at 3 to 1 to win this year’s NL pennant and +700 to win the 2013 World Series.

Giants Swept by the Cubs

The San Francisco Giants (46-58) continued their losing streak on Sunday, making it a fourth straight one as the Chicago Cubs (48-55) defeated them 2-1. With the win, the Cubs won the three-game series and found themselves with their first Giants sweep in 20 years.

Cubs lefty Travis Wood (7-7) in his seven innings on the mound, allowed four hits but contributed his own home run in one of his two hits for the game. Teammate Welington Castillo added his own home run in the game as well.

The team appears to be doing fine without former teammate Alfonso Soriano.

Tim Lincecum

As for the Giants, righty Tim Lincecum (5-11) was on the mound for seven innings. He allowed two runs with four hits, two walks and 10 strikeouts–a season high. He did also have two hits of his own.

Pablo Sandoval brought in the sole run for the Giants on Sunday but it was too late, too late as his team has now lost seven of their last eight games; they sit at the bottom of the NL West division.

The Giants have Monday off and will visit the White House. On Tuesday’s they’ll open up a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies (49-56).

The Giants are 18 to 1 to win the NL pennant and +4000 for the World Series.