Trevor Bauer embraces the Giants rivalry in season-high 126-pitch win

by Rowan Kavner
Hours before an intense rivalry matchup in his first ever start against the Giants, Trevor Bauer replied to a Major League Baseball tweet that featured him and four other early National League Cy Young Award favorites. “Who ya got?” the tweet asked. “Reigning. Defending. Undisputed,” he tweeted back.
Bauer, last year’s NL Cy Young Award winner, has never shied away from the spotlight or his belief in himself. That embrace was evident again Friday night in San Francisco. He pulled out a “sword” celebration on a check-swing strikeout. He pounded his chest on another of his season-high 11 strikeouts. When he walked off the mound for the final time, with boos raining down on him at Oracle Park after a season-high 126-pitch performance in 6 1/3 innings, he cupped his hand to his ear and asked for more.
“They’re going to hate me anyway, might as well lean into it,” Bauer said after the 2–1 win, which moved the Dodgers within a game of the Giants in the division standings. “I like when the crowd’s into it. It makes the moment feel bigger, and I perform better in those moments. It just feeds me.”
The results can’t be ignored.
On his 126th pitch of the night — the most for any pitcher this year and one shy of his career high — Bauer blew a 96-mph fastball by Mike Tauchman. He has thrown at least 113 pitches in a game four times this year, which also leads the Majors. Friday was his third straight game throwing at least that many pitches.
Bauer has given the Dodgers at least six innings in nine of his 10 starts this year. He has also allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his last nine starts. The way Bauer continues to compete for the Dodgers, who needed a lengthy performance from him with only four relievers available Friday after a bullpen game the night prior, those around him have embraced his distinctive style, too.
“What do they say, let the kids play?” said manager Dave Roberts. “The gamesmanship, the fun, the banter back and forth, he dishes it out. He can take it. It’s just great for the game.”The only run Bauer allowed on the night came on his own throwing error in the sixth inning. The Dodgers led at the time thanks to a two-run home run from Chris Taylor off Giants starter Alex Wood.
Taylor had seen the former Dodger pitcher throw plenty of times, so he had an idea of how he likes to attack. He also faced Wood in live batting practices getting ready for last year’s championship season during the quarantine.
“I thought his fastball had good life on it tonight,” Taylor said. “He’s always worked quick, and we saw that tonight. You can tell he’s feeling good, and his stuff was pretty sharp.”
Wood entered the matchup with a 5–0 record. The deep drive from Taylor, who has a team-leading four home runs off left-handers this year, was Wood’s only blemish on the night despite allowing eight hits. It was also all the Dodgers needed to hand Wood his first loss of the year.
Bauer nearly provided the Dodgers another run in the top of the sixth inning. With a runner on second base and two outs, Bauer lined a ball into right field, but Mike Yastrzemski was playing shallow enough to throw Bauer out at first base to end the inning. In the bottom of the frame, another play at first base nearly ended up disastrous for the Dodgers when Bauer’s throw sailed past Albert Pujols to bring in a run. But Bauer locked in, getting a flyout to keep the lead.
Still, every extra pitch Bauer threw mattered on a night the Dodgers were shorthanded behind him. In the fourth inning on an 0–2 pitch that looked like a third strike, Bauer walked halfway back to the dugout before realizing it was called a ball.
“I don’t think you can execute a pitch better than that,” Bauer said.
He ended up walking Evan Longoria and needed 10 extra pitches to finish the inning, which he wrapped up with a check swing strikeout of Alex Dickerson and the sword celebration. After his sixth inning, he was already at 113 pitches. He had a brief conversation in the dugout with Roberts before emerging for the seventh.
Roberts thought the right-hander’s “pure stuff” in the sixth inning was the best it was all game, so he left him in with a short leash.
“We needed him to go deep tonight, and he took that challenge, embraced it and left it all out there,” Roberts said. “Our guys fed off of that.”
Bauer walked the first batter he faced in the seventh inning but battled back from a 3–1 count against Tauchman for his 11th strikeout to end his night. It was Bauer’s fourth game with at least 10 strikeouts this season and seventh game with at least nine strikeouts.Bauer enjoyed being part of the rivalry for the first time. He said he’s always done well in environments like that. No pitcher had thrown 126 pitches in fewer than seven innings since Russ Ortiz in 2004, yet Bauer said he didn’t feel tired afterward. Walking off the field, he asked the crowd to “turn the volume up.”
“It’s funny,” Taylor said. “I like it a lot better when he’s on my team than when we’re playing against him.”
To preserve the win, Roberts turned to a pitcher he introduced himself to just hours before. Nate Jones joined the team in San Francisco on Friday night and proceeded to throw 1 2/3 scoreless innings before Blake Treinen earned his second save of the year.
Bauer’s ability to give the Dodgers more than six innings once again will reset the majority of their relievers as the rivalry series continues Saturday.
“Reigning. Defending. Undisputed,” Bauer repeated after his performance.“It’s funny,” Taylor said. “I like it a lot better when he’s on my team than when we’re playing against him.”
To preserve the win, Roberts turned to a pitcher he introduced himself to just hours before. Nate Jones joined the team in San Francisco on Friday night and proceeded to throw 1 2/3 scoreless innings before Blake Treinen earned his second save of the year.

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