Wilmer Flores

The San Francisco Giants defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-1, thanks to a three-run seventh inning, headlined by Wilmer Flores' solo home run. It was his 12th home run on the season.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is sticking with Kenley Jansen as closer despite blowing his third consecutive save on Thursday."I don't think all the blame should be on Kenley. The game should have been over a couple times in that inning," Roberts said after the Dodgers lost to the San Francisco Giants 5-3, according to The Associated Press.Jansen entered Thursday's contest in the ninth inning with the Dodgers ahead 3-1. It appeared Los Angeles was going to walk away with a victory after he struck out two of the first three hitters he faced, but the Giants rallied for the win after getting some help on two close calls.Giants baserunner Jason Vosler was initially ruled out at second base, but the call was overturned following a replay review. The call ultimately allowed Wilmer Flores to score, which cut the lead to one.With the bases loaded, Giants hitter Darin Ruf drew a walk on a check swing in a full count to tie the game. Replay showed Ruf went around on the swing. This should have won the game for the #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/Sj2kvw0Elj Blake Harris (@BlakeHarrisTBLA) July 23, 2021 Roberts argued the call and was ejected for the second night in a row."There's no doubt in my mind that he went and the game should have been over. In that spot with two contending teams you just can't miss that call," Roberts said. "We should have won that game and it's a game we really wanted, we had, and we didn't."Following Roberts' ejection, Jansen was removed to a chorus of boos for the second consecutive night after LaMonte Wade Jr. singled home two runs, the eventual difference in the game.Jansen is 21-for-26 in save chances following Thursday's outing. He's allowed nine hits, eight earned runs, and walked four over his last three appearances.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is disappointed in fans for booing Kenley Jansen after the closer blew a save in the ninth inning against the rival San Francisco Giants on Wednesday."Fans certainly have a right to voice their frustrations," Roberts said following the 4-2 loss, according to ESPN's Alden Gonzalez. "I get that. But I do believe that this guy, born and raised as a Dodger, what he does - he cares about the Dodgers, the fan base, and he's shown that on the field, off the field. No one hurts more than he does, to be quite honest."He's worked really hard to kind of get back, should have been an All-Star this year, and he's had a fantastic season. ... He was looking forward to pitching at home. And so for it to not go well - yeah, I'm disappointed to hear (the boos). Certainly. He's not going to say it, but I am."Jansen entered Wednesday's game with Los Angeles ahead 2-1. The 33-year-old proceeded to allow a leadoff single to pinch hitter Buster Posey and a go-ahead home run to Wilmer Flores. After Jansen struck out Mike Yastrzemski, Darin Ruf doubled before back-to-back walks to Donovan Solano and Thairo Estrada loaded the bases.Roberts replaced Jansen with left-hander Victor Gonzalez, who issued a bases-loaded walk to put the Giants ahead by two runs.The blown save was Jansen's second in a row. The Dodgers right-hander has allowed four earned runs, five hits, and walked two in 1 1/3 innings through his last two outings. Before those two contests, Jansen had not allowed an earned run since May 28."It's just a bad one," Jansen said of his outing. "I don't want to overthink it. I worked my butt off too hard to let one moment like this try to mess your season up. Ain't no time to think about it. These guys are going to play us tough like this the rest of the year, and we just have to keep battling. I've got to do better. That's pretty much it."Wednesday's loss cost L.A. a chance to claim a portion of first place in the National League West. Instead, San Francisco owns a two-game lead in the division over its California foe entering the last matchup of a four-game series between the two clubs on Thursday.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Wilmer Flores has always had a rep for being a clutch hitter. He came up huge in the ninth inning Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.

Wilmer Flores hammers a go-ahead two-run home run to left-center field to give the Giants a 3-2 lead in the 9th inning