The grounds crew stomped the mound repeatedly, their tools stabbing and smoothing and pounding dirt. Alex Wood looked over their shoulders approvingly.
In the first inning, Wood threw nine of his first 13 pitches for balls, walking a batter and hitting another. Though he escaped unscathed, it was clear something was afoot. Oracle Park had just removed the mound to host an international soccer match the night before.
Clearly, the hill problem was resolved from there, as Wood took a no-hitter through a career-high six innings. Wood, known last year as “The Stopper” for his propensity to perform after Giants losses, halted San Francisco’s season-high seven-game losing streak with a gem.
A two-run seventh undid what would’ve been a masterpiece, but Wood drove the Giants (49-50) to a 4-2 win over Chicago. It was their first win since before the All-Star break.
“We play good defense, and I feel like we’ve got a chance to win every night,” Wood told reporters postgame.
The veteran shut down the Cubs, strangely, without having his best stuff. At least once, he yelled at himself because he was frustrated with his command. He threw 54 of his 92 pitches for strikes.
“It was kind of a weird outing overall,” Wood said. “I’m just used to commanding the ball better.”
Wood enjoyed a lead because the Giants, for once, benefitted instead of suffered from defensive ineptitude in the third inning. Cubs third baseman Patrick Wisdom let a routine pop-up drop on the infield grass to preserve the inning.
Then with two outs and the bases loaded, Yermín Mercedes worked an 11-pitch at-bat, finally hacking at a slider at his shoulders for a two-RBI single.
In classic Yermín fashion, Mercedes slapped his chest and flexed on first base. His team hadn’t held a lead for more than half an inning since before the All-Star break.
Thairo Estrada followed Mercedes with a single to put the Giants up 3-0. It was the first crooked inning in what has felt like a lifetime.
San Francisco took advantage of more Cubs fielding mishaps in the fourth when David Villar reached on a throwing error, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on an Austin Slater double. Shoe, meet other foot.
Wood, with a 4-0 lead, worked efficiently. After needing 20 pitches to get through the bumpy first — aided by a Joey Bart caught stealing — he needed just 30 to get through the next three combined.
Throwing a no-hitter in front of this Giants defense would be even more impressive than normal. Ranked last in Fangraphs’ catch-all defensive metric for most of this season, SF has consistently struggled converting balls into outs. At times, every live ball has been an adventure.
Wood said he couldn’t really remember a game, even when San Francisco was rolling, when they executed in all three phases of the game.
But Thursday, the Giants’ field stood upright behind Wood. Bart erased a swinging bunt. Brandon Belt scooped a low Villar throw. Mike Yastrzemski slipped but recovered in time to make a play, then made a basket catch over his shoulder toward Triples Alley later. Wilmer Flores charged a richotched ball up the middle.
Earlier this year, after his seven-inning shutout of San Diego, Wood giggled when he heard manager Gabe Kapler call it one of his best starts ever. The 10-year veteran had been an All-Star and received Cy Young votes. He’d pitched seven double-digit strikeout games and come up big in the postseason.
But he’d never pitched six no-hit innings before — until Thursday’s misty night in Oracle Park. Then All-Star Ian Happ slapped Chicago’s first hit on Wood’s 81st pitch. With two outs in the seventh, Wisdom wall-scraped a two-run shot just past Joc Pederson’s rob attempt to halve SF’s lead.
That was it for Chicago, though, as Dominic Leone, John Brebbia and Camilo Doval backed up Wood firmly. The closer struck out three for his 13th save of the season.
In games Wood started immediately following a loss last season, the Giants went 14-1. That includes his NLDS Game 3 shutout in Dodger Stadium.
San Francisco needed a back-to-the-wall performance desperately. During SF’s first 0-7 road trip since 1985, its playoff odds cratered from 52.5% to 22.8%. The Giants had dipped below .500 for the first time since the first week of 2021. Their ace kicked a bat, nearly injuring his teammate. Their Captain said “everything needs to change.”
The way the Giants have been playing, and the point of the schedule in which they’ve done it, Wood might as well have been pitching with postseason stakes Thursday. He left after Wisdom’s home run to a standing ovation.
The Giants won’t be able to approach the Aug. 2 trade deadline from a position of strength. That possibility vanished with their seven-game losing streak. But if they’re going to turn things around, maybe Wood’s gem could become a demarcation point.
“You could see it in guys’ eyes and faces after the game: just get one,” Wood said. “And start building for there. Guys are hungry. We know what we can do. It’s just a matter of going out there and showing it.”