Lee adds to SF vs. LA lore with Giants' first inside-the-park HR at Dodger Stadium

LOS ANGELES -- One night after being blanked by two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, the Giants once again struggled to gain much traction against Dodgers right-hander Emmet Sheehan.

With the help of a misplay by Los Angeles left fielder Teoscar Hernández, though, they ended up getting on the board in rather electric fashion.

Jung Hoo Lee took advantage of Hernández’s miscue to deliver a game-tying inside-the-park home run in the top of the fifth inning, though the jolt proved short-lived in a 5-2 loss for the Giants in Thursday’s series finale at Dodger Stadium.

Lee’s first career inside-the-parker was one of only two hits for San Francisco (18-26), which allowed the Dodgers to rally for three runs in the sixth and secure a split of the four-game series.

"It’s tough to come over here to Dodger Stadium and play the Dodgers at their home,” Lee said via interpreter Justin Han.

"We got two wins, but it would have been better if we had a winning series. We’ll need to put our best effort and then the next time we get here, try to show the performance we [can].”

The Giants’ offense put up a total of 15 runs while taking the first two games in Los Angeles but mustered only two runs and struck out a combined 14 times against Ohtani and Sheehan over the latter half of the series.

"Part of it was Sheehan,” manager Tony Vitello said. “We chased up, made him better and really couldn’t piece anything together. Last night, I thought the at-bats maybe up and down were a little better overall. I’m just kind of saying it off the cuff because you saw a unique arm last night, too. But we didn’t string anything together.”

The Giants still managed to avoid back-to-back shutouts thanks to Lee, who flipped a shot to the opposite field that dropped just inside the foul line and bounced off the left-field wall with two outs in the fifth. But the ball kicked away from Hernández, rolling all the way to the corner and allowing the speedy Eric Haase to score from first.

Lee -- who is known as the "Grandson of the Wind" -- was also waved home by third-base coach Hector Borg, sliding headfirst across the plate to beat the relay throw to catcher Dalton Rushing and tie the game, 2-2.

"I got lucky, for sure,” Lee said. “Borgy gave me the OK sign to go. When I got in at home, I actually thought it was going to be a hit or maybe an error. But luckily it became an inside-the-park home run.”

A fired-up Lee pumped his fist from his knees after collecting the first inside-the-park home run by a Giant since Patrick Bailey’s memorable walk-off against the Phillies on July 8, 2025. Lee also became the third San Francisco player to hit an inside-the-parker against the Dodgers and the first to do so at Chavez Ravine. Prior to Lee, the most recent Giant to hit an inside-the-parker against the Dodgers was Larry Herndon on Sept. 22, 1981, off Fernando Valenzuela.

“I’m not one of those players that show a lot of emotions on the field,” Lee said. “But that two-run home run kind of tied the game. It just came out from inside of me.”

“Jungy’s really come out of his shell, I think, the last couple of months,” Vitello said. “Anytime you see him emotional, it’s pretty fun. It put us in a good spot, at least at that point in the game.”

Still, Hernández quickly atoned for his costly miscue in the sixth, when he came up to the plate with a runner on first and lined a one-out single to left field to pick up his third hit of the night off Giants starter Landen Roupp.

Max Muncy went from first to third on the play, sliding safely into third base after Matt Chapman couldn’t hang onto a throw from cutoff man Willy Adames. Hernández also moved up to second base on the throw, setting the stage for pinch-hitter Alex Call’s go-ahead, two-run single off lefty Matt Gage. Miguel Rojas followed with another two-out RBI single that extended the Dodgers’ lead to 5-2.

The Giants couldn’t make up the deficit from there, sinking eight games under .500 as they head to West Sacramento to kick off a three-game series against the Athletics on Friday.

“We'll get out of here 2-2,” Vitello said. “Anytime you play on the road, if you can be .500 or above, it’s somewhat of a positive. The biggest thing at this point is getting over the loss, finding a way to get rest with the late night of travel and be ready to go tomorrow in a park that we're familiar with.”