Giants beat Dodgers to regain NL West lead

LOS ANGELES: Something had to give with two pitchers combining for 20 strikeouts and no walks. In the end, the Giants scratched out a couple of runs that held up and allowed them to regain the NL West lead by a half-game.
Madison Bumgarner scattered four hits over eight scoreless innings, Pablo Sandoval drove in both runs and San Francisco beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 on Monday night.
Bumgarner dueled Clayton Kershaw through eight innings and emerged with his second scoreless outing of the season for the Giants, who have won six of their last nine games and 11 of 17.
They erased the Dodgers’ half-game lead in a division race that has seen the rivals frequently swap leads.
“Both guys had great stuff. I enjoyed watching the game,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “Bum had great focus out there and concentration. He’s a tremendous talent.”
Bumgarner (14-7) struck out 10 — giving him an NL-best 61 strikeouts since the All-Star break — and walked none to even his road record at 6-6.
“You got to make pitches and can’t give in to guys,” he said. “Can’t give at-bats away, can’t give pitches away.”
Javier Lopez got the final out in the ninth to earn his second save in four chances after Hanley Ramirez homered with two out in the inning against Sergio Romo, preventing what would have been the Giants’ fourth shutout of the season against the Dodgers.
“We had our hands full with Madison,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “He gives you a lot of angles with that crossfire (delivery), and that cutter kind of comes out of his shoulder. We didn’t have a whole lot of chances.”
The loss spoiled a solid outing by Clayton Kershaw (11-7), who gave up two runs and six hits in eight innings. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner struck out 10 and walked none as his four-game winning streak ended.
“Their guy threw an outstanding game. He had great command and was tough to square up,” Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis said. “He pitched deep into the game and matched Kersh pitch for pitch. It was one of those games where you knew coming in that it was probably going to be a pitcher’s duel, and it was.”
Kershaw helped his own cause with two singles and a backhanded diving catch of Gregor Blanco’s pop-up bunt in foul territory near the first base line in the third.
Sandoval’s sacrifice fly in the first inning led to the Giants’ first run. His two-out single to short left field in the sixth scored Angel Pagan, who beat Ellis’ tag to make it 2-0.
Buster Posey went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts and Bochy said before the game that the catcher might either start at first base on Tuesday or get the day off.
Phillies 12 Reds 5: In Philadelphia, John Mayberry Jr. hit a two-run homer, and Ryan Howard and Erik Kratz had solo shots to help the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Cincinnati Reds 12-5 on Monday.
Roy Halladay (7-7) wasn’t sharp, allowing five runs and 10 hits in seven innings. But the offense bailed out the two-time Cy Young pitching award winner.
Domonic Brown hit a go-ahead two-run double off Mike Leake (5-8) in a four-run fifth. Mayberry had three hits and three RBIs, and Chase Utley, Howard and Kratz each drove in two. Juan Pierre had three hits and scored three times.
Rockies 3 Mets 1: In New York, Tyler Colvin hit a tying home run off R.A. Dickey in the fifth inning, then made a diving play in the eighth to help Colorado get down New York.
Jonathan Herrera bunted for a hit in the top of the eighth and made his way around the bases with help from some inept defense, putting the Rockies in front 2-1.
Colvin’s first home run in 105 at-bats denied the knuckleballer a chance for his 16th win and helped the Rockies to their sixth victory in eight games.
Colvin made a lunging stop on pinch-hitter Jordany Valdespin’s sharp grounder just inside the first-base bag with the bases loaded and his toss to Matt Belisle just beat a diving Valdespin to the bag. Valdespin jumped up, waving his arms in disbelief, and manager Terry Collins engaged first base umpire Lance Barksdale in a prolonged discussion.