Young Giants star in 'fun challenge' vs. Dodgers

SAN FRANCISCO -- A cross-generational matchup took center stage at Oracle Park on Saturday night, with the Giants’ sizable crop of rookies facing longtime Dodgers nemesis Clayton Kershaw.

“What a fun challenge,” interim Giants manager Kai Correa said before the game. “You’ve got one of the generation’s best left-handed pitchers, best starting pitchers, and then matched up with a bunch of rookies, which will essentially be like the culmination of their debut seasons. It’s a fun collision.”

The kids ended up rising to the occasion, as center fielder Tyler Fitzgerald launched his second career home run and right-hander Tristan Beck worked five innings of one-run ball to propel the Giants to a 2-1 win over the Dodgers.

Eight rookies ended up seeing action for the Giants (79-82), who managed to even this three-game series and set up a rubber game for Sunday’s regular-season finale, which will be highlighted by Brandon Crawford’s possible final bow with his hometown club.

“We all saw the lineup last night and we were all pretty excited about it,” Fitzgerald said. “It just means a lot to us guys that have been trying to get here all year. We’ve had a lot of games together in Triple-A. I wish we would have put a few more runs on the board. But to come out with a win against the Dodgers anytime, it’s a big win. I’m glad that the rookies could kind of come and get it for us.”

Fitzgerald opened the scoring by slugging one of Kershaw’s signature curveballs over the left-field fence for a solo shot in the third inning. His first two home runs have come against the Dodgers, as he also hit his first career blast at Los Angeles last week.

“He’s a great pitcher,” Fitzgerald said of Kershaw. “He’s been doing it for so long. It just means a lot, being able to hit a home run off him.”

The Dodgers tied the game on Mookie Betts’ RBI single off Beck in the fifth, but the Giants went ahead with the help of a fielding error by third baseman Max Muncy in the sixth. With runners on the corners and one out, Wilmer Flores hit a liner to third that Muncy dropped and then bobbled, allowing Flores to reach on a fielder’s choice and drive in Austin Slater from third.

Beck didn’t factor into the decision after scattering six hits while walking one and striking out three, but another rookie right-hander -- Ryan Walker -- earned the win after spinning two scoreless innings to serve as a bridge to back-end arms Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval.

Doval took over in the ninth and collected his National League-high 39th save of the year after catcher Patrick Bailey made a perfect throw to shortstop Marco Luciano to nail Chris Taylor on an attempted steal of second base for the final out of the game.

The victory was especially meaningful for Correa, who earned his first managerial win one day after stepping in to replace the dismissed Gabe Kapler. Sean Manaea put Correa into a laundry cart and wheeled him away for a celebratory beer shower with several other Giants players after the game.

“It means a lot,” Correa said. “The circumstances are unusual or suboptimal, but I think the longer time passes, the more I can have separation from it, the more I can be more excited about it. More than anything else, it meant a lot to me how excited the players were in that handshake line because we’ve spent a lot of time, in some cases four years, side by side. To have those guys be excited for me and for us in that moment meant the world to me.”

Beck and Fitzgerald are among the rookies who will be aiming to build on their strong finishes and earn bigger roles with the Giants in 2024. Beck ended the year with a 3.92 ERA over 33 appearances and has said his goal will be to win a rotation spot out of Spring Training next year.

Fitzgerald didn’t receive his first callup until last week, but he’s produced back-to-back 20-20 seasons in the Minors and has shown flashes of the speed and athleticism that have been sorely lacking on the Giants’ roster this year.

“I think I’ve shown what I’m able to do on defense, running the bases, putting the ball over the fence,” Fitzgerald said. “Next year, I’m hoping to be a little more consistent. I’m just glad I got my feet wet to know what to expect next year.”