Major League Baseball

Buster Posey's grand slam helps Giants beat Dodgers 9-5

Published Jun. 20, 2015 1:43 a.m. ET

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LOS ANGELES (AP) Aside from becoming the first Giants catcher to hit a grand slam and steal a base in the same game since Roger Bresnahan in 1903, Buster Posey also got a huge kick out of the way his team continued to outplay the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Posey hit his third career slam and the defending World Series champions got two RBIs each from Brandon Crawford and Matt Duffy in a 9-5 win Friday night. San Francisco's eighth victory in 10 meetings with the rival Dodgers this season put the Giants within 1 1/2 games of the NL West leaders.

''These games are fun because the fans make it fun for us,'' Posey said. ''I mean, the Giants-Dodgers games, whether it's at AT&T Park or here, it's just an extra electricity and the passion that goes back for generations comes out.''

Posey gave San Francisco a 4-1 lead in the third with his 10th homer of the season, ending a drought of 46 at-bats. The 2012 NL MVP and league batting champion drove a 2-2 pitch into the Dodgers' bullpen in left field after singles by Gregor Blanco and Nori Aoki and a two-out walk to Angel Pagan.

''I was really just trying to stay small there and not try to do too much, especially with two strikes, because you can get in trouble if you do think home run,'' said Posey, who stole his first base of the season in the second inning. ''I was able to see some pitches in that at-bat, and fortunately I got a pitch that stayed up.''

Chris Heston (7-5) allowed three runs, seven hits and no walks over 5 2-3 innings in his second start since his no-hitter against the New York Mets on June 9. The rookie right-hander was coming off a 4-0 home loss to Arizona on Sunday.

''He's been big for us,'' Posey said. ''He's stepped in and pitched some big games for us. Every time he takes the ball, I think he expects to have a good outing.''

Mike Bolsinger (4-2) gave up a season-high five runs in 5 1-3 innings, along with eight hits and three walks. Half of the right-hander's six strikeouts came in the fourth, the only inning in which he did not allow a baserunner.

''We were just able to capitalize after getting a few guys on,'' Posey said. ''He's a guy who's not going to give in. I mean, you saw he threw maybe three breaking balls on 3-0 counts tonight. So you just can't get too aggressive with a guy like that.''

Posey's slam was the first allowed by Bolsinger in 18 big league starts, and the second against the Dodgers this season.

''He's even more difficult when you've got bases loaded and you can't make a mistake,'' Bolsinger said. ''There's a reason why he's one of the best hitters in the league. He's definitely a tough out, always, in any situation. I think I got a little too lazy on that curveball and basically just kind of served it up there to him.''

Justin Turner had two doubles and a solo homer for the Dodgers after getting grazed by an 0-2 pitch his first time up. Pinch-hitter Alberto Callaspo delivered an RBI single in the ninth against Michael Broadway, but Santiago Casilla struck out Yasiel Puig for his 19th save in 22 chances.

Yasmani Grandal opened the scoring in the second with an RBI single that snapped a string of 32 consecutive scoreless innings by Giants pitchers against the Dodgers - including a three-game sweep at San Francisco last month by scores of 2-0, 4-0 and 4-0. It was the longest shutout streak by the Giants against any team since they relocated to the West Coast along with the Dodgers in 1958.

The Dodgers closed to 4-3 in the third with three consecutive hits, including Turner's RBI double and Adrian Gonzalez's run-scoring single. Heston minimized the damage by retiring Howie Kendrick on a double-play grounder.

''That was one of those innings that can spiral out of control pretty quickly,'' Posey said. ''So I thought he did a nice job to get that double play from Kendrick and get us back in the dugout after they got those two runs.''

The Giants added a run in the sixth with consecutive doubles by Brandon Belt and Crawford. Rookie center fielder Joc Pederson robbed Blanco of extra bases with a diving grab.

The Giants increased the margin to 9-3 in the seventh with four runs, including Josh Ravin's bases-loaded walk to Crawford, a two-run single by Duffy and an RBI single by Blanco against the rookie right-hander.

Blanco was reinstated from the concussion disabled list before the game after missing the previous 10.

UP NEXT

Giants: RHP Tim Hudson (4-6) scattered five hits through 6 1-3 innings against the Dodgers on May 19 in a 2-0 victory at AT&T Park. The 17-year veteran has allowed one home run in 34 innings over his last six starts.

Dodgers: RHP Carlos Frias (4-4) gets a rematch with Hudson after yielding a run over six innings in the hard-luck defeat at San Francisco.

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