May works past command issues, but Dodgers can't buy a run

SAN FRANCISCO -- All good things must come to an end. The Dodgers had to learn that the hard way as they snapped their streak of eight consecutive wins at Oracle Park, losing 5-0 to the Giants on Tuesday evening.

After erupting for nine runs the night before, Los Angeles failed to plate a run for the first time this season and was shut out by San Francisco for the first time since last June.

The Dodgers' troubles began with a rough start to the evening for Dustin May, who had been all but untouchable in his first two starts of the 2023 campaign. By his own admission, the 25-year-old righty "wasn't very crisp at all," struggling to locate his pitches and miss bats in his first loss of the season.

May, who had issued only three free passes prior to Tuesday, more than doubled his season tally by walking four Giants batters, including the first two he saw. The Dodgers' right-hander kicked off his night with a nine-pitch bout against Giants leadoff man LaMonte Wade Jr. before throwing four straight balls to two-hole batter Michael Conforto.

And just as the conventional wisdom goes, those free bases came back to bite May. Giants designated hitter Joc Pederson made his former team pay with a two-run double down the right-field line, and the Dodgers found themselves in an early hole.

"I never really found myself," May said. "They were just swinging at balls that were in the zone. I've just got to throw more strikes."

May threw 31 pitches in the first inning, which is tied for the most pitches he has thrown in a single frame in the Majors. After surrendering the RBI double to Pederson, he was able to settle down and retire eight straight batters, holding the Giants scoreless for the remainder of his outing.

"The command that first inning [was] certainly uncharacteristic," manager Dave Roberts said. "It was good to see him bounce back, hang in there and put up some zeros in the ensuing innings to give us a chance to win, though."

That ability to work through adversity kept the Dodgers in reach of a win, but hits proved elusive as Giants pitching combined to hold them to just three singles.

Left-hander Alex Wood kept his former team in check, striking out five over 4 2/3 scoreless frames. Though Wood was far from spotless -- he had a 1-2-3 first inning but scattered three walks, two hit batsmen and a base hit over the remainder of his outing -- he managed to keep the Dodgers off the board.

"I thought Woody pitched us well, gave up some free passes with some hit-by-pitches," Roberts said. "We threatened in … the top of the fifth inning. Will [Smith] hit a ball hard that they made a nice play on in right field. We had a couple of other chances, but we just couldn't get that hit tonight."

The Dodgers were certainly not bereft of opportunities. They loaded the bases with nobody out against righty Jakob Junis on two knocks and a catcher's interference call in the top of the sixth, but they walked away with nothing to show for it after Chris Taylor and Miguel Rojas' swinging strikeouts bookended a James Outman dribbler that resulted in a forceout at the plate.

Though it may not show in the team's .500 record through 12 games, the Dodgers have been among the best in baseball when it comes to timely hitting. Entering the game, Los Angeles had hit .301 (25-for-83) with runners in scoring position, the third-highest mark in the National League. The offense had combined for an MLB-leading 1.016 OPS with two outs.

The Dodgers saw a reversal of fortune in Tuesday's shutout loss, going hitless in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position and leaving 11 runners on base.

"There's no excuses," said Freddie Freeman, who went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts and snapped a 31-game on-base streak at Oracle Park. "We're not going to make an excuse for scoring zero runs. We'll just come out tomorrow and try to win the series."