SAN FRANCISCO — The Los Angeles Dodgers’ reputation as the most profligate team in baseball took a major hit this offseason, even as they remained the biggest spenders in the National League.
Prudence took over the front office of a club with an $8.3 billion TV contract, as the Dodgers refused to match the Arizona Diamondbacks’ $206.5 million offer to co-ace Zack Greinke or to outbid the Boston Red Sox for David Price, who got $217 million.
Instead, the Dodgers went for mid-priced starters like Scott Kazmir ($48 million) and Japanese right-hander Kenta Maeda ($25 million), adding depth while slicing nearly $50 million off the payroll.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco Giants were doing a fair imitation of the old lavish Dodgers, signing free agent starting pitchers Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija and center fielder Denard Span at a total cost of $251 million.
The contrasting approaches were put to the test for the first of 19 times this season on Thursday, when the Dodgers brought their spotless pitching staff into AT&T Park as the Giants played a home opener against their longtime rivals for the first time since 2005.
Few conclusions could be drawn from a mere early-April encounter, other than the confirmation these two clubs will be competing throughout the season at least as fiercely as their front offices did in the offseason.
With a sellout crowd of 41,940 often breaking into chants of “Beat L.A.!’’ the Giants overcame a 4-0 fifth-inning deficit to surge to a 12-6 victory behind the seven combined RBI of Joe Panik and Hunter Pence, who broke the game open with an eighth-inning grand slam.
“We’re an offense that, once we get some momentum, we kind of keep rolling,’’ said Panik, who went 3-for-5 with three RBI. “We were a little slow to start off but we have confidence in ourselves, and we knew it was a matter of time.’’
The Dodgers came in with a rebuilt rotation that was largely responsible for them becoming just the second team ever to start a season by tossing three shutouts in a row, outscoring the San Diego Padres 25-0.
Clayton Kershaw, Kazmir and Maeda allowed the Padres just seven hits over 19 innings, allaying some of the concerns of fans who feared Greinke’s defection and injuries to lefties Hyun-Jin Ryu and Brett Anderson would hamper the Dodgers’ pursuit of a fourth consecutive NL West title, not to mention their first World Series appearance since 1988.
“We’ve believed the entire winter and through spring training that our depth is going to keep us where we want to be, keep us atop the division,’’ rookie manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “It’s played out a little sooner than we would have anticipated, and obviously when you win baseball games it helps anything, but regardless we believe in this process.’’
Left-hander Alex Wood, who did not figure to make the season-opening rotation until Anderson and Ryu were sidelined, is one of the key elements of that depth the Dodgers are relying on, and he was nearly untouchable early on Thursday.
Wood stretched L.A.’s streak of scoreless innings to 31, one short of the major league record to open the year, until suddenly losing his sharpness and yielding three runs in the fifth. The Giants followed with a four-spot in the sixth, and Pence’s sixth career grand slam pretty much let the hovering seagulls know they would soon be able to feast on ballpark leftovers.
The sudden turn of events proved a major downer for Wood, who was just two outs away from matching the record for the Dodgers until yielding Denard Span’s RBI groundout, followed by a Panik triple and a Buster Posey double.
“You can’t not think about it, but at the same time, it doesn’t change what I’m trying to do,’’ Wood said of the streak. “We lost today, that’s all that really matters. In terms of whatever record, who really cares?’’
The Giants have a different type of record in mind. They’re seeking to become the first NL team to win four World Series in seven years, and they’re buoyed by more than the belief even years are their time to shine, after claiming championships in 2010, 2012 and 2014.
Besides adding Cueto and Samardzija, whom they see as the needed upgrades to a rotation that had fallen in disrepair, the Giants have put together an all-homegrown infield — first baseman Brandon Belt, second baseman Panik, third baseman Matt Duffy and Gold Glove shortstop Brandon Crawford — that could be their anchor for years, along with their superstar catcher Posey.
In a way, the infield quartet brings to mind four key figures who helped propel the Dodgers’ glory days of the 1970s — the legendary infield of Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Ron Cey and Bill Russell.
The economics of the game have changed dramatically since then, but it’s just as vital for teams to develop their own players.
“You need your farm system to give you production that allows you at times go out and sign free agents,’’ Giants general manager Bobby Evans said. “It’s certainly an advantage for us.’’
