Mookie Betts homered twice, including his 53rd career leadoff homer, and Josue De Paula hit a tiebreaking double to help the Los Angeles Dodgers produce an 8-2 victory over the visiting San Francisco Giants on Friday night.
Betts also hit one of Los Angeles’ four eighth-inning homers as the Dodgers socked five overall while winning for the 12th time in the 15 games. Max Muncy and Kyle Tucker hit back-to-back homers in the eighth, and Betts and Will Smith repeated the feat later in the frame.
Tyler Glasnow struck out a season-high 10 in six innings for Los Angeles (94-60), which trails the Milwaukee Brewers (96-58) by two games in the battle for the major leagues’ best record.
Betts is tied with Hall of Famer Craig Biggio for the fourth-most leadoff homers all-time and is one behind third-place Alfonso Soriano. Betts has hit 33 for the Dodgers after producing 20 for the Boston Red Sox.
Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson tops the list with 81, and George Springer is second with 65.
Glasnow (5-1) gave up two runs, three hits and two walks. He is 7-1 in 10 career appearances (nine starts) against San Francisco.
Jung Hoo Lee homered and Jonah Cox had an RBI single as the Giants (64-90) fell for the fifth time in seven games.
With the score 2-2, Tucker walked to start the bottom of the sixth before Jason Foley (3-2) retired the next two batters. De Paula then laced a double into the right-center-field gap to put the Dodgers in front.
Los Angeles later played Home Run Derby off Giants left-hander Philip Abner in the eighth.
Muncy hit the third pitch of the inning over the wall in right-center. Two pitches later, Tucker also cleared the right-center fence to give Los Angeles a three-run lead.
Two outs later, De Paula walked before Betts homered to left-center, making it 7-2. Smith hit the second pitch in his at-bat over the wall in center.
Cesar Perdomo started for the Giants and gave up two runs and six hits over 4 2/3 innings. He walked three and struck out one.
Betts hit Perdomo’s second pitch of the game over the fence in left-center to get the Dodgers started.
The Giants tied it in the second when Lee slammed a 2-2 pitch over the wall in right.
San Francisco moved ahead in the third as Scott Bandura singled and stole second to start the inning. There were two on and two outs later in the inning when Cox hit an RBI single to left.
In the fifth, De Paula and Betts singled to start the inning. One out later, Teoscar Hernandez delivered a single to right to tie it at 2.