Peavy records 150th win with Belt's help

June 13th, 2016

SAN FRANCISCO -- Jake Peavy worked six shutout innings and relied on Brandon Belt's two-run homer for offensive support to record his 150th career victory on Sunday as the Giants outlasted the Dodgers, 2-1.
Peavy (3-6) surrendered four hits, including three by Chase Utley, while allowing only one Dodger to stray past first base.
"I wanted to show our division rivals that they have a fight on their hands," Peavy said after San Francisco widened its lead over the second-place Dodgers to five games.
Peavy, 35, became the Major Leagues' sixth active pitcher to reach 150 wins, joining the Mets' Bartolo Colon (223), the Yankees' CC Sabathia (218), the Cubs' John Lackey (172), Detroit's Justin Verlander (163) and Arizona's Zack Greinke (150).
Peavy downplayed the significance of the achievement, saying, "It happens to be a round number."
But his manager, Bruce Bochy, was somewhat more appreciative, saying that Peavy's win total reflects "consistently, longevity -- but you only get longevity if you're good."
Peavy was bothered earlier in the week by a sore neck, which almost prompted the Giants to scratch him and give the starting assignment to Albert Suarez.
"He was a little questionable," Bochy said. "It's really been bugging him the last few days."
But a six-day rest, two more than usual, helped Peavy recover in time.
Dodgers starter Julio Urias, the precocious 19-year-old left-hander, limited the Giants to two hits through five innings. Then Joe Panik singled with one out in the sixth before Belt launched a 1-1 slider into the right-field seats for his eighth home run of the season, tying him with Buster Posey for the team lead.

Joc Pederson homered in the seventh inning for the Dodgers, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Giants from improving to 12-4 against Los Angeles at home since the start of the 2015 season.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Going for it: Here's how badly Peavy wanted to win: He dove into first base, clutching the ball in his outstretched, gloved left hand, in an effort to tag the bag before Utley crossed it in the sixth inning. A replay review revealed that Utley beat Peavy, but Peavy's desire couldn't be denied.
"I thought that was really awesome, a really cool play," said Belt. "You can tell he definitely wanted that out. Any time you have a pitcher laying out like that, it's pretty cool to see. It almost gets you pumped up a little bit."

Joc's jolt isn't enough: Pederson turned on a 98-mph fastball from Giants reliever Hunter Strickland for a solo homer in the seventh inning, cutting the deficit to one run. The blast, which went an estimated 416 feet and left Pederson's bat at 107 mph according to Statcast™, was his ninth, and splashed down in McCovey Cove. But the Dodgers' bats were largely silent otherwise, as Pederson and Utley combined for five of their six hits.
"I think it's just a matter of staying the course and continuing to try and improve and get results. At some point you have to score runs," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
Dodgers let too many chances pass by in SF
Slick defense: As is often the case, the Giants relied heavily on their defense. Left fielder Mac Williamson made an acrobatic lunging catch of Justin Turner's line drive in the first inning, third baseman Matt Duffy deftly snared Corey Seager's difficult foul popup in the third, and second baseman Panik and shortstop Brandon Crawford collaborated on a smooth double play in the fifth.

Turner's troubles: Playing third base, Turner battled the sun on Crawford's popup in the second inning and lost, losing track of the ball as it fell behind him and next to shortstop Seager. Runners advanced to second and third one batter later, but Urias maneuvered his way out of the jam. Turner also went 0-for-4 and struck out looking to end the eighth. His frustration boiled over, and he was tossed for arguing balls and strikes, his second ejection of the season.

UPON FURTHER REVIEW
The Giants thought they had the first out of the sixth inning after Utley grounded to Belt, who turned and threw to Peavy covering first. Peavy dove full extension and tagged the bag with his glove as Utley arrived; first-base umpire D.J. Reyburn initially ruled the play as an out, but the call was overturned following a Dodgers challenge.
The Giants also thought they had Seager picked off first base in the eighth inning, but after a replay review, the "safe" call on the field stood.

WHAT'S NEXT
Dodgers: Los Angeles concludes its road trip with a three-game set against the D-backs beginning Monday at 6:40 p.m. PT. They'll face old friend Zack Greinke, who hasn't allowed a run in his last two starts (16 innings), and counter with Mike Bolsinger, who is 1-3 with a 5.75 ERA in four starts this season.
Giants: San Francisco's Opening Day opponents, the Milwaukee Brewers, visit AT&T Park for a three-game series beginning Monday at 7:15 p.m. PT. Matt Cain is expected to make his first start since May 27, when he strained his right hamstring and was forced onto the disabled list.
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