“This game took years off my life“ - Fans react to nail-biting San Francisco Giants win that brings them within striking distance of the Dodgers

Don't look now, but those pesky San Francisco Giants have clawed their way back into the NL West race discussion. With a 3-2 win on Saturday, they now stand just 4 1/2 games behind the division-leading Dodgers. Prior to the matchup between the two bitter rivals, social media was abuzz with speculation on both ends, especially with Clayton Kershaw's highly-anticipated return.

In light of Los Angeles' recent struggles, fans joked about the significance of his reinstation.

This is how this fan sees Kershaw's return.

Overshadowed by Dodger Ace's return to the hill was an intriguing roster move by the San Francisco Giants, who brought up their top prospect, Heliot Ramos.

Yet, the stars seemed aligned for a Dodgers victory with Kershaw's return to the hill. However, in typical San Francisco Giants fashion, they defied the odds. They did it last season, and they're doing it under-the-radar again this season.

Twitter shots hurled early in true rivarly battle

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 11: Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches in the bottom of the first inning against the San Francisco Giants

A powerhouse offense against an underwhelming bottom-10 bullpen game seemed like a good Dodger recipe for success. When Kershaw surrendered a solo home run in the second to put the Giants ahead, Dodger fans wasted no time voicing concerns over Clayton's worrisome mistakes.

This fan let it be known that Kershaw shouldn't have come off the injured list to immediately play against the Giants. The fan suggested that he should have, instead, played against the Diamondbacks first.

It didn't stop there, as other disgruntled fans didn't hold back obscenities as they voiced their personal thoughts on the matter.

For Kershaw, he just seemed unable to find a good grip on his slider Saturday afternoon. Furthermore, his location with the pitch was noticeably off early. Both factors were showcased by the second-inning solo shot he surrendered to Thairo Estrada, who put the Giants up 1-0.

As Smith set up low and inside, Clayton's slider hung out over the top half of the zone to tee Estrada up for the big fly. The hang and mistake to location are two obviously uncharacteristic Kershaw traits, a sure indication that he was refamiliarizing himself with the rubber early on. After a game-long bullpen duel, the Giants emerged victorious by clinging to a 3-2 win that came down to the wire.

Social Media Aftershock

Following a tense game that nearly saw the Dodgers emerge with late-inning heroics at Oracle Park, fans of both teams took to venting the outcome on social media.

This fan lamented the amount of time this had taken.

It's exactly the kind of game you expect between these two division-winning hopefuls. If you're a Giants fan, it's a thrilling win, but a demoralizing loss if you're a Dodgers fan. Thus, a Twitter battle ensued between the two fan bases.

This fan called this "one of the most infuriating losses."

This fan questioned what we were watching -- a Dodgers game or Zombieland?

San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers Recap

Thairo Estrada #39 of the San Francisco Giants reacts after turning a double play to end the top of the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers

Let's summarize the intensity of what transpired in Oracle Park on Saturday evening. For pitchers on both sides, every out seemed like a battle. From late counts to numerous close calls at first base, each at-bat brought pitchers to the brink in a game that saw the Dodgers leave a franchise-history 30 men on base.

Unfortunately, for the Dodgers, it was Kershaw's uncharacteristically early struggles that set the tone for another disappointing Dodgers loss. Two runs and four-innings later, Kershaw got the hook in favor of Almonte with Los Angeles trailing 2-0. From then on, it was a nail-biting bullpen match, one that saw the Men in Orange display encouraging flashes of last season's top-ranked bullpen.

In the eighth, the San Francisco Giants added some insurance, taking a 3-1 lead into the top of the ninth. As we've come to understand about Dodger/Giants matchups, no win is certain. Freddie Freeman reminded us of that when he led off the ninth with a moonshot to the deepest part of the yard beyond the 415 marker in right-center field, closing the gap to 3-2. When Turner followed that up with a hard-hit single, it seemed like the Dodgers had a shot. But with two outs and two on, who else but Thairo Estrada sealed the deal.

Back-to-back wins couldn't have come at a better time for the Giants against a Dodgers team that held a 6.5 game lead on them just two games ago. That lead has shriveled down to 4.5, with an opportunity for the Giants to bring that to as little as 3.5 with a sweep tomorrow. It looks as if the San Francisco Giants are just fine cruising along as underdogs because they seem to thrive in the face of seemingly impossible odds.