Camilo Doval digs deep after blowing save, helps Giants snap losing streak originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

PHOENIX — Camilo Doval went down as the winning pitcher Wednesday, but he wasn’t at all happy about his night. 

He yelled angrily into his glove after the ninth inning and screamed passionately after the final out of the 10th. When reporters asked him to sum it all up later, his face told the story. 

This was a rough night. It was also one when he dug deep, showing a necessary second wind to help the Giants escape with a messy 6-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

It was classic “torture” baseball. Doval gave up a two-run homer to Ketel Marte in the ninth, blowing the remainder of what had been a 5-2 lead after the top of the eighth. But after Patrick Bailey’s sac fly brought home the automatic runner in the 10th, Doval went back for three more outs. He struck out a pair with the tying run on third. 

Doval had not pitched two full innings in three years, but because of the recent losing streak, he also had not touched the mound in five days. He was fresh, and when the Giants retook the lead, he asked manager Bob Melvin for the ball and one more inning.

“My thought was that what happened, happened,” he said through interpreter Erwin Higueros. “It was a brand new inning and I’ve got to get the job done now.”

Melvin didn’t have a lot of other choices at that point, anyway. Joey Lucchesi, who arrived just a few weeks ago and doesn’t have a big league save, was warming up just in case. 

“I probably was as impressed with him as I’ve been all year, going back out there and leaving the (automatic) runner out there,” Melvin said. “I know he ends up (giving up) the homer and that didn’t feel too terribly good. To be able to respond from that and go out there and keep your wits about you — and his stuff was even better in the (10th) — it was impressive.”

Big picture, the decision-making was fascinating. Former closer Ryan Walker, who had a rough Sunday, was nowhere to be found. Spencer Bivens moved into a high-leverage role and helped get the lead to the ninth after Erik Miller got Landen Roupp out of a serious jam. Melvin also used Randy Rodriguez, who got out of his own tight spot, and Tyler Rogers, who allowed an unearned run in the eighth. 

When the Giants moved Doval back to the closer role, he was throwing as well as anybody in baseball. It seemed like a decision that would make the best statistical bullpen in baseball even stronger, but Walker is still searching for his old form as a setup man, and Doval has allowed multiple runs in three of his last four appearances. 

Rodriguez continues to pitch like someone who should be named to the All-Star team on Sunday, but the Giants want to be careful with his workload, and he isn’t often available to pitch back-to-back games. All of a sudden, there are cracks showing in the bullpen, and the timing isn’t great. The offense is mired in a deep slump and the rotation hasn’t been as strong as it looked earlier this season. 

There are a lot of concerns with the Giants at the moment, but none of that mattered in the aftermath of Doval recording his sixth out. Players gathered around a clubhouse TV to watch the end of the Dodgers-White Sox game and the victory soundtrack blasted through the room as Melvin spoke to reporters. They’ll send Robbie Ray to the mound Wednesday in search of what would be a solid series split. 

“The middle innings weren’t great for us, but then to respond after we give up a couple runs and lose the lead with guys that we’re really confident about finishing the game, I thought that was impressive,” Melvin said of the second win of the road trip. “Especially during this stretch where we’ve been beaten quite a bit.”

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Riding a four-game losing streak and coming off a disheartening loss in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader just hours before, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza made a surprise change for the nightcap.

Francisco Lindor was taken out of the leadoff spot in favor of Brandon Nimmo. Lindor, who was hit second, had led off for the Mets since last May (191 starts) and excelled, but the second-year skipper swapped the two veterans, and it paid off. With the game scoreless in the second, the bottom of the Mets lineup loaded the bases with two outs for Nimmo.

Nimmo jumped on the first pitch from flamethrowing phenom Jacob Misiorowski and deposited it over the right field wall to put the Mets up 4-0 after the grand slam.

"Big momentum shift, especially against him. He’s done really well since he’s been in the big leagues. Nice to get a lead there," Nimmo said of the home run after the game. "It was a cool moment. You could feel the crowd getting behind us and anticipating a blow right here. Going up there, not trying to do too much. When it went out, it was definitely cool. The crowd went wild. The energy was palpable in the stadium."

Lindor followed with a solo shot to make Mendoza look like a genius.

"It’s baseball," Mendoza said of the results with a smile. "I’m gonna make a lot of decisions when I’m making out a lineup, when I’m making a pitching change. They’re gonna work and they’re not gonna work and when they don’t work, it’s on me and when they work, it’s on the player. It’s as simple as that."

Nimmo and Lindor combined to pick up five hits and score all seven of the Mets' runs in their eventual win. But the lineup change and productive game -- whether a direct result of the swap or not -- could not have happened without both players accepting it.

"Look, you’re talking about two really good players. For me, as a manager, to make those types of decisions, it’s a lot easier when they’re all in," Mendoza explained. "When you get superstars that are willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win a baseball game, as a manager, that’s all you need. It’s a privilege for me and I’m glad that they went out there and they executed and we got good results there."

"I’ve told Mendy I don’t care where I hit," Nimmo said. "Francisco had a great game as well. Whatever helps us win, that’s what I’m down for."

"Whatever it takes to win. Nimmo came out today, set the tone, hit a grand slam. He did fantastic today," Lindor said. "Whatever it takes to win. I don’t have to hit in one place, I’ll hit wherever the team thinks is the best thing." 

Mendoza didn't commit to this lineup for the series finale on Thursday but said he will continue to be flexible when they are looking for ways to win games.

And a win on Thursday would mean the Mets' first series win since June 10-12 against the Nationals. The Mets are pleased with the results of Wednesday night's game, especially after how they let the lead slip in Game 1 earlier in the day and their overall lack of wins lately. It's something the team believes they can build on and shows that they are better than this current stretch may indicate.

"We’re a good team. There’s good hitters here," Lindor said of his team's resilience. "Everyone is playing for each other. Everyone is striving to be better. This is a tough stretch. We gotta go out there and take it. And for everybody here to go out in the second game and have a sense of urgency of winning, it’s good."

After Wednesday's doubleheader, the Mets are reportedly calling up a reliever to help out their beleaguered bullpen.

According to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo, the Mets are set to call up veteran RHP Rico Garcia from Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday. Gracia, who signed a minor league deal with the team last November, last pitched in the majors in 2023 with the then-Oakland Athletics and Nationals. He appeared in 10 games, where he struggled to the tune of a 9.26 ERA. He spent last season on the Nationals' Triple-A team and pitched to a 6-3 record, a 3.94 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP across 55 games.

This season for the Syracuse Mets, Garcia has been solid. He's pitched to a 4.45 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP across 24 games (two starts) while striking out 37 batters over 30.1 innings. He's been great over his last two outings, pitching four shutout innings while allowing just three hits and striking out six batters.

With Garcia's reported promotion, the question then becomes whose spot will he take?

After Blade Tidwell's bulk outing -- where he picked up his first major league win -- he could be a candidate as his turn in the rotation won't arrive until late next week. The Mets will wrap up their three-game set with the Brewers at 7:10 p.m., so the move will become official ahead of first pitch.

The slider was sizzling. The hitter was frozen. The strikeout was roaring.

With an 84-mph pitch on the black in the sixth inning against the Chicago White Sox Wednesday at a rollicking Dodger Stadium, Clayton Kershaw struck out Vinny Capra looking to become the 20th player in baseball history to record 3,000 strikeouts.

As impressive as the pitch itself was the cementing of a truth that has been evident for several years.

Clayton Kershaw is the greatest pitcher in Dodgers history.

Greater than even the great Sandy Koufax.

Gasp. Scream. Please.

I wrote this opinion three years ago and was deluged with a barrage of emphatic and mostly emotional arguments for Koufax.

How dare you diss our Sandy! Koufax won more championships! Koufax never choked in the postseason! Koufax was more dominant!

All true, as well as Koufax being a tremendous human being worthy of every syllable of praise. But as Wednesday so clearly proved in front of a history-thirsty crowd at Chavez Ravine, Kershaw has done something that any defense of Koufax can not equal.

He’s endured. He’s taken the ball far more than Koufax while outlasting him in virtually every impact pitching category.

Koufax was a meteor, streaking across the sky for the greatest five seasons of any pitcher in baseball history.

Kershaw, meanwhile, has become his own planet, looming above for 18 years with a permanent glow that is unmatched in Dodgers lore.

Koufax was an amazing flash. Kershaw has been an enduring flame.

Koufax was Shaq. Kershaw is Kobe.

When I last wrote this, Manager Dave Roberts waffled on the question of whether Kershaw was the greatest Dodger pitcher ever.

This time, not so much.

Read more:Clayton Kershaw reaches 3,000 career strikeouts, is 20th pitcher to do so in MLB history

“Obviously, Sandy is Sandy,” he said Wednesday. “You’re talking about 18 years, though, and the career of the body of work. It’s hard to not say Clayton, you know, is the greatest Dodger of all time.”

When one talks about the GOAT of various sports, indeed, a key element is always longevity. Tom Brady played 23 seasons, LeBron James has played 22 seasons, and Babe Ruth played 22 seasons.

One cannot ignore the fact that Kershaw, in his 18th season, has played six more seasons than Koufax while pitching 463 more regular season innings. With his 3,000 strikeouts he has also fanned 604 more batters than Koufax, the equivalent of 22 more games composed solely of strikeouts, an unreal edge.

In the great Koufax debate, Kershaw is clearly being punished for his postseason struggles, and indeed his 4.49 postseason ERA doesn’t compare to Koufax’ 0.95 ERA.

But look at the sample size. Kershaw has pitched in 39 postseason games while Koufax has appeared in just eight. Kershaw has had 13 postseason starts that have lasted past the sixth inning while Koufax has had five.

Kershaw has pitched in multiple playoff rounds in multiple seasons, while Koufax never pitched in more than one playoff round per season, greatly increasing Kershaw’s opportunity for failure.

Read more:Clayton Kershaw and 3,000 strikeouts: A partnership built on a consistent three-pitch mix

Kershaw has indeed stunk up the joint in some of the most devastating postseason losses in Dodger history. But he has taken the mound for nearly five times as many big games as Koufax and, in the end, he has just one fewer World Series championship.

In the end, the strongest argument for Koufax supporters is the seemingly obvious answer to a question. If you had to win one game, would you start Koufax or Kershaw?

Of course you’d pitch Koufax … if your parameters were limited to five years. But if you wanted to pick a starter and you had to do it inside a two-decade window, you would take Kershaw.

Then there are those rarely recited stats that further the argument for Kershaw over Koufax: Kershaw has a better career ERA, 2.51 to 2.76. Kershaw has a better winning percentage, .697 to .655. And despite playing in an era where individual pitching wins are greatly cheapened, Kershaw has 51 more wins than Koufax.

How rare is 3,000 strikeouts? Fewer pitchers have won 300 games. Only three other pitchers have done so left-handed. Only two pitchers in the last 100 years have done it with one team.

Read more:Photos: Kershaw's road to 3,000

Now for the intangibles. If this is indeed the golden age of Dodger baseball — as Andrew Friedman so deftly described it — then the guardian of the era has been Kershaw.

The clubhouse culture is borne of his constantly present professionalism. The work ethic starts with him. The accountability is a reflection of him. For 18 years, through injury and embarrassment as well as fame and fortune, he has never complained, never blamed, never pointed fingers, never brought distraction.

And he always shows up for work. Every day. Every game. Every season. Clayton Kershaw has always been there, which is why he will be there forever on a statue that will surely be erected in the center field plaza next to the bronze figures of Jackie Robinson and, yes, of course, Sandy Koufax.

It is unlikely the Dodgers would ever script the words, “The greatest Dodger pitcher” on the base of his statue. They are understandably sensitive to Koufax and his legacy and importance to a legion of longtime fans.

But they know, just as those fans lucky enough to be at Dodger Stadium Wednesday know it.

They weren’t just watching greatness. They were watching The Greatest.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw's road to 3,000 strikeouts started in his very first game, when he struck out Skip Schumaker of the St. Louis Cardinals on May 25, 2008. His illustrious career reached another peak in 2015 when he became one of only 19 pitchers in baseball history to reach 300 strikeouts in a season.

Clayton Kershaw made his major league debut and pitched six innings against the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium on May 25, 2008, striking out seven.

Clayton Kershaw delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Marlins on May 17, 2009, in Miami. Kershaw struck out nine in seven innings.

Kershaw celebrates his no-hitter with his teammates against the Rockies on June 18, 2014. Kershaw struck out a career-high 15 batters.

Clayton Kershaw tips his cap to fans after being taken out in the fourth inning against the Padres on Oct. 4, 2015. Kershaw reached 300 strikeouts in a season during the third inning.

Clayton Kershaw drops to the ground after giving up a home run to the Cubs' Anthony Rizzo in the fifth inning of Game 6 of the NLCS at Wrigley Field on Oct. 22, 2016.

Kershaw wasn't able to lift the Dodgers past the Astros in the 2017 World Series. It was later discovered the Astros were cheating.

Clayton Kershaw celebrates after striking out the Washington Nationals' Adam Eaton in relief to end the seventh inning in Game 5 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 9, 2019.

Clayton Kershaw throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays in the sixth inning in Game 5 of the World Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Oct. 25, 2020.

Clayton Kershaw throws a strike to the White Sox's Vinny Capra for his 3,000th strikeout during the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

When Clayton Kershaw made his major league debut as a gangly 20-year-old with a devastating curveball, he was considered a one-in-a-million talent.

On Wednesday he entered a much smaller club, becoming the 20th pitcher in history to strike out 3,000 batters. The milestone came in the sixth inning on his 100th pitch of the night, a 1-and-2 slider to the Chicago White Sox’ Vinny Capra for a called strike.

Kershaw then walked off the mound alone before being mobbed by his teammates on the warning track in front of the Dodgers dugout. A video of Kershaw’s career highlights then aired on the video boards above the outfielder pavilions.

After the video, Kershaw stepped out of the far end of the dugout and doffed his cap to the crowd before the game resumed with the White Sox leading 4-2.

Read more:Plaschke: There are 3,000 reasons Clayton Kershaw is the greatest pitcher in Dodger history

“It's the last box for Clayton to check in his tremendous career,” said Dodger manager Dave Roberts, who doubted many more pitchers will reach the 3,000K club, before the game. “You’ve got to stay healthy, you’ve got to be good early in your career, you’ve got to be good for a long time,” he said. “I'm a fan first and I've kind of appreciated longevity and moments like that, as opposed to one moment in time. The consistency is something that should be valued.”

Roberts said before the game he would manage differently as Kershaw approached the milestone and he did, allowing him to start the sixth inning despite having made 92 pitches, the most he’s thrown in a game in more than two years.

Read more:Photos: Kershaw's road to 3,000

Kershaw was greeted by a loud ovation when he stepped out of the dugout to stretch about 40 minutes before game time. Fans also roared every time Kershaw got the count to two strikes, trying to will their way to history.

How elite is the club Kershaw just joined? More people have flown to the moon than have struck out 3,000 major league hitters. He’s just the fourth left-hander to do it and the second in the last century to do it pitching for the same club.

Strikeout No. 3,000!

Clayton Kershaw becomes the 20th pitcher in Major League Baseball history to record 3,000 career strikeouts. pic.twitter.com/mD7tM1POJC

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 3, 2025

Kershaw struck out the first batter he faced in his debut 18 years ago, getting the Cardinals’ Skip Schumaker to wave at a 1-and-2 pitch. It was the first of three strikeouts he would record in his first big-league inning. So even from the start, the K — the scorebook symbol for a strikeout — in Kershaw stood out more than than the rest of the name.

Notes: Before Wednesday’s game pitchers Blake Snell and Blake Treinen threw to hitters for the first time since going on the injured list in April. Snell, a two-time Cy Young winner, has been on the injured list with shoulder inflammation since April 6, while Treinen has been sidelined with forearm tightness since April 19. “They'll go again in a couple days,” Roberts said. “But both guys looked really good.” Right-hander Tyler Glasnow, also out since April shoulder inflammation, is scheduled to make his third minor league rehab start for Oklahoma City on Thursday.

Staff writer Ira Gorawara contributed to this report.

This story will be updated.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.