Dodgers come back with a record win, crush the Giants, 17-0

Strange things can sometimes bring a team together, unexpected things.

The Dodgers were wiped out, 9-0, in the opener Friday of their key series with the Giants and lost starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu to injury. Catcher A.J. Ellis said it felt like they’d been punched in the mouth.

How did they respond Saturday? Better than they could have dared to dream. Better than they have to any adversity all season.

Maybe their setbacks Friday brought them together, or maybe Saturday was just one of those crazy games, but their almost inexplicable 17-0 wipeout of the Giants at AT&T Park was easily their most significant victory of the season.

The win pushed their lead over the Giants in the National League West back to two games, meaning even if Clayton Kershaw should lose the series finale Sunday, they will leave San Francisco still in first.

The Dodgers returned the favor the Giants had unceremoniously granted them the previous night, batting around in the first inning and scoring four runs. They liked it so much, they scored four more in the second inning.

And unbelievably, it went on and on. They scored another in the third, two more in the fourth, another four in the sixth and two more in the seventh. The Dodgers acted like they wouldn’t be happy until they doubled the Giants’ total Friday.

Giants Manager Bruce Bochy put up the white flag after three innings and started removing his starters.

The 17 runs was the most the Giants have ever allowed at AT&T Park, and so were the 24 hits the Dodgers totaled. Both were season highs for L.A. The Dodgers’ all-time record for hits in a game is 25.

Every Dodgers starter got at least one hit. They almost broke the bubble machine with Juan Uribe, Zack Greinke and Scott Van Slyke all hitting home runs.

Greinke (15-8) went six relaxed innings, needing only 84 pitches. He did not walk a batter, allowed four hits and struck out five.

But this was a night about the Dodgers offense, about taking a tough punch and offering a bigger one back.

They jumped out to a 4-0 lead against Tim Hudson (9-11) in the first on doubles by Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp and Hanley Ramirez (one of his four hits), and then singles by Carl Crawford, Uribe and Ellis.

The Giants sent Hudson out to start the second, and after it began with singles by Dee Gordon and Puig, he was gone. Tim Lincecum took over, but the siege just went on and on. The Dodgers had 11 hits after two innings.

By the time it was finally over, Bochy had visited the mound to hand the ball for the first time to his son, Brett Bochy; Dodgers infielder Alex Guerrero collected his first major-league hit; and Scott Elbert pitched in a game for the first time in two years.

It was one game, but it was some kinda game. It was the biggest shutout victory between the two teams in their long history.

This should have been a terrifying statistic: The Dodgers left 14 men on base. Not so bad when you’re scoring 17 runs and are 11-for-17 with runners in scoring position.

By game’s end, both lineups looked like something out of a spring training game. And the Dodgers were hoping that a more unified team headed to the clubhouse.