Following one of the most gut-wrenching losses and facing a potential 1-5 road trip, the Giants played one of their best all-around games of the season.
Alex Cobb was effective, Wilmer Flores continued raking, new acquisition Paul DeJong made a huge impact on both sides and their defense was clean. The Giants even got a key pinch hit from Austin Slater, who had been oh-for in August.
On the first day since June 12 in which San Francisco had less than a coin flip chance at reaching the postseason, the Giants looked like a playoff team.
At least they did for 24 outs.
An encouraging, complete effort from the Giants went bust when All-Star closer Camilo Doval blew his fourth straight save. Doval didn’t get an out in the ninth when trying to protect a 5-2 lead, as Bryce Harper’s game-tying homer hit the left-field foul pole.
Despite Doval’s meltdown, the Giants rallied with three runs in the 10th to stave off a sweep. Their 14 hits were the most they’ve had in a game since June 17. They treated the matchup like a playoff game, using practically every available player.
Wade Meckler, the already embattled rookie, stutter-stepped in left field to collect the final out of a game the Giants desperately needed to win. San Francisco (66-61) can fly back to the Bay Area with an 8-6 win.
Flores, the only Giant with a .300 batting average or a .900 OPS, continued his one-man show by getting SF on the board in the first inning. His 18th home runs on the season leads the club
Perhaps more impressive than his home run was Flores’ third-inning single. With two outs and two strikes in the count, he delivered the type of hit the Giants have been lacking for months.
Since June 1 — the same span in which Flores ranks in the top-five of MLB in wRC+ — the Giants have been the worst team with runners in scoring position. They’ve hit .259 since in that situation since June 1, which is a much more forgiving number than how they’ve performed in large stretches within that time frame.
But against Lorenzen, Flores came through. Flores went the other way on a Lorenzen sinker, just like Thairo Estrada did one at-bat before to keep the inning alive.
Flores, who signed a two-year, $13 million extension during last year’s campaign, is a mainstay. DeJong, the newbie, joined him in the damage department.
DeJong, hitting ninth and manning shortstop in his Giants debut, crushed an elevated fastball that stayed flat for a 401-foot, two-run shot.
In one swing, DeJong recorded more total bases than he did in 13 games with the Blue Jays. Toronto designated him for assignment after he went 3-for-44 with 18 strikeouts and no walks for an OPS+ of -62. By the time the game ended, he matched his hit total as a Blue Jay.
Any production DeJong can give at the shortstop position would be welcomed. DeJong’s blast was the first home run from a Giants shortstop since Brandon Crawford on Aug. 1.
All the while, Cobb silenced a dangerous Phillies lineup. Twelve of Cobb’s first 20 pitches — which got him through two entire frames — were splitters. By relying heavily on the pitch, the veteran retired the first 11 Phillies he faced.
In four August starts before Wednesday, Cobb had a 7.59 ERA. He’s inexplicably struggled on the road and in day games — both of which were the case in Philadelphia.
DeJong made a beautiful back-handed play at shortstop and Joc Pederson also helped Cobb with a diving catch in left.
Cobb finally stumbled in the sixth, when Kyle Schwarber led off with a solo shot. Since he got moved to the leadoff spot, he’s been Wilmer Flores-level dangerous. On the very next pitch, Trea Turner launched Cobb out of the game with a solo homer of his own. Cobb still finished with two earned runs in five innings, a clear improvement over his previous August outings.
Another nice play from Pederson and a sliding grab by Michael Conforto preserved the Giants’ 4-2 lead.
Then Slater, with his first hit since July 29, put the Giants up 5-2. The Giants never wavered in his pinch-hitting ability, sticking with him through an 0-for-24 stretch.
After two scoreless innings, it was Doval time. The All-Star didn’t have command of the zone, leading to his seventh blown save. He mixed his pitches much better than he did the night before, but walked Schwarber and Turner to start the ninth. Harper, then, smoked a line-drive blast 112.9 mph off the bat for his third bomb of the series.
Harper opened his palms up to the sky as he crossed home plate as if he was in disbelief. But given how Doval has looked recently, and how the Giants’ season has been heading, the exchange was far from shocking.
A spectacular leaping grab at the center field wall from Slater prevented the Phillies from walking Jakob Junis off in the ninth. The catch ended up saving the game.
The 10th was as eventful as the previous nine innings. Craig Kimbrel looked uncomfortable, and DeJong knocked a two-run single into the gap for his third hit. After a historically bad stretch with the Blue Jays, he just about single-handedly won a game.
To add an insurance run, Wade Meckler (2-for-3, BB, HBP) made a heads-up play to tag up on a double play and sprinted home just in time.
The Giants used both Taylor Rogers and Ryan Walker — SF’s ninth and 10th pitchers of the night — in the bottom of the 10th. They needed to throw everything they had at Philadelphia, and it was just enough.