Hanley Ramirez hit a two-run home run off Sergio Romo in the 10th inning, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-3 win over the San Francisco Giants on Friday night at AT&T Park. The win pulled the Dodgers to within two games of the Giants in the National League West.
The Dodgers got another productive start from fill-in starter Stephen Fife, making just his second major league start. He allowed one in in 6 1/3 innings, nearly mirroring his major league debut 10 days ago against the Phillies, in which he allowed one run in six frames. On Friday Fife struck out only two batters, but his 11 ground ball outs got him out of jams, as he allowed nine runners to reach base.
Brandon Belt hit a two-run, broken bat single in the eighth inning to erase a 3-1 Dodgers lead, the second time that Ronald Belisario has blown a lead for Fife.
Shawn Tolleson pitched a scoreless ninth for the Dodgers to pick up his first major league victory, and Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless 10th inning for his 20th save.
Ramirez has made an immediate impact in the middle of the Dodgers' batting order, hitting .364 (4-for-11) with a home runs and triple so far as a Dodger, to go along with three walks and one run scored in all three games with Los Angeles.
The Dodgers, who snapped a three-game losing streak on Friday, will send Chad Billingsley to the mound on Saturday afternoon in the middle game of the series, facing Barry Zito for San Francisco.
For more on the Dodgers, check out True Blue LA. For all the latest on the Giants, be sure to read than McCovey Chronicles and SB Nation Bay Area.
