San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers Match Player Stats On Mar 29, 2018

Kershaw had pitched seven consecutive Dodgers wins on Opening Day, recording the victory in five of them, including two in pitchers' duels with the Giants' Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum.

However, Panik's home run with two outs in the fifth gave the Giants a lead, which Blach and four San Francisco relievers protected.

Blach got the Opening Day start in place of Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, who sustained a broken pitching hand in his final spring training start last week. The third-year major-leaguer pitched out of two jams, one of which Kershaw helped create with the second of his two hits.

Blach got Logan Forsythe to ground into an inning-ending double play with two on and one out in the second, then struck out Chris Taylor with runners on second and third with two outs in the fifth.

Blach (1-0) wound up yielding three hits and three walks. He struck out three.

Kershaw went six innings, allowing the one run on eight hits. He walked two and struck out seven.

He had beaten the Giants 4-0 in 2013 and 2-1 in 2011 previously on Opening Day, allowing no runs and just eight hits in 16 innings in those games.

Left-hander Josh Osich, righty Cory Gearrin and lefty Tony Watson kept the Dodgers scoreless through the eighth, setting the stage for righty Hunter Strickland in the ninth.

Strickland, filling the closer role at the start of the season with Mark Melancon injured, gave up a leadoff single to Matt Kemp before striking out Yasmani Grandal, getting Forsythe to foul out and inducing pinch hitter Joc Pederson to ground out to shortstop for the save.

Panik and Hunter Pence had two hits apiece, while Buster Posey drew a pair of walks for the Giants, who out-hit the Dodgers 8-6.

Grandal and Kershaw collected two hits each for Los Angeles.

--Field Level Media