Mike Yastrzemski's walk-off homer lifts SF Giants to 7-4 win over Padres
The SF Giants extended their winning streak to eight games on Monday night with an improbable comeback victory over the Padres.
The SF Giants returned to Oracle Park hot on a seven-game winning streak on Monday night. Beginning a four-game series against the San Diego Padres, the Giants kept their winning ways going with an unlikely extra-inning 7-4 comeback victory against their division rival. After the win, the Giants are now a game ahead of the Dodgers in the National League West and are 3.5 games back from the Diamondbacks for the top spot.
SF Giants pitcher Ryan Walker throws against the Padres on June 19, 2023. John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
With originally scheduled starting pitcher Alex Cobb hitting the injured list on Sunday, the Giants turned to a bullpen game on Monday. Rookie Ryan Walker faced a tall task going up against the top of the Padres lineup to start the first inning. Fernando Tatís Jr. led off the game with a double, putting a runner in scoring position for Juan Soto.
Tatís thought he could move 90' closer to scoring, attempting to steal third base on Walker's next pitch. Giants third baseman David Villar was playing way off the bag but recovered in time for catcher Patrick Bailey (Giants preseason #21 prospect) to deliver a perfect throw to get Tatís out. While the Padres star was called safe on the field, the call was quickly overturned following a Giants challenge.
Tatís' failed stolen base attempt immediately proved costly when Soto blasted a breaking ball from Walker over the left-field wall for a solo home run. While the Padres were happy to have a 1-0 lead, it easily could have been twice as large.
Walker settled down after facing the Padres' two best hitters, retiring four of the next five hitters he faced. Ha-Seong Kim reached on an infield single with two outs in the top of the second, and manager Gabe Kapler decided to call upon veteran lefty Taylor Rogers with left-handed hitter Trent Grisham due up.
Rogers struck out Grisham to end the inning and returned in the top of the third. Tatís led off the inning with a hard-hit ground ball to shortstop Brandon Crawford that slid under his glove for his seventh error of the season. Rogers retired Soto but was replaced by long reliever Jakob Junis. Junis surrendered a single to Manny Machado, which put runners on the corners with one out, but he escaped the jam by inducing an inning-ending double play from Xander Bogaerts.
Junis was unable to complete a similar tightrope act in the fourth. A single by Jake Cronenworth and double by Rougned Odor put two runners in scoring position with one out. Kim lined a 1-2 breaking ball from Junis over Estrada's head for a two-run single that gave San Diego a 3-0 lead.
Keaton Winn (Giants preseason #18 prospect), who was recalled when Cobb landed on the injured list, entered in the top of the fifth inning. Winn's first career pitch at Oracle Park was deposited in the left-field bleachers by Soto for his second home run of the game.
Winn was not shaken by giving up a homer to one of the best hitters in MLB. He quickly rebounded and pounded the strike zone. Winn only allowed two more runners to reach base across five innings of work, recording four strikeouts and zero walks in the process.
Padres starter Michael Wacha pitches against the SF Giants on June 19, 2023. John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Padres starting pitcher Michael Wacha entered play on Monday with a 2.89 ERA on the season and continued looking like a high-end mid-rotation arm against the Giants. At the same ballpark where he surrendered a walk-off home run to Travis Ishikawa in the 2014 NLCS, Wacha will have much better Oracle Park memories from his latest outing.
Wacha has remade his career over the past couple of years, transforming from the young high-octane arm he was early in his career with the St. Louis Cardinals into a soft-tossing sinkerballer who relies heavily on an excellent changeup. He only recorded two strikeouts but did a great job keeping the Giants' offense off-balance on Monday. He allowed just two runs on four hits and a walk across six innings of work.
The Giants did eventually cut into the Padres' lead against Wacha. David Villar (fifth inning) and Mike Yastrzemski (sixth) each hit solo home runs against the veteran righty before his day was done. Villar has been quietly productive since Wilmer Flores and J.D. Davis' injuries opened up an opportunity for him. He is now 3-for-8 with two doubles, a home run, a walk, and just one strikeout over the past week.
Padres manager Bob Melvin turned things over to his bullpen in the top of the seventh. The Padres used closer Josh Hader in both of their games over the weekend, so Melvin wanted to avoid going to him. So, he asked sidearm lefty Tim Hill to give him two innings of work. Hill retired six consecutive Giants hitters across the seventh and eighth inning, setting the table for their usual setup man Luis García.
García entered the game with a 5.23 ERA and zero saves on the season. Pinch-hitter Blake Sabol (Giants preseason #33 prospect) led off the inning with a four-pitch walk to bring the tying run to the plate. Yastrzemski singled, to put runners on the corners with nobody out for Luis Matos (Giants preseason #4 prospect).
A wild pitch allowed Sabol to score and Yastrzemski to advance to second base. Matos flew out to deep center field, allowing Yastrzemski to advance to third base. So, Davis came to the plate with one out in the inning. García walked Davis to put the potential winning run aboard. Melvin had seen enough, calling upon a different righty, Drew Carlton, to face Bailey.
Bailey hit a soft line drive to left field. Soto caught the ball and Yastrzemski tested his arm. The throw bounced into home and Yaz slid in safely to tie the game at four.
Villar and Casey Schmitt (Giants preseason #3 prospect) each worked a walk against Carlton, loading the bases for Joc Pederson. Melvin did not want to let Pederson bat with a platoon advantage, so he made yet another pitching change, bringing in lefty Ray Kerr. The third Padres pitcher of the inning could finally stop the Giants rally, striking out Pederson to force extra innings.
Camilo Doval took the mound for the Giants in the top of the tenth. The Giants opted to intentionally walk Soto to put runners on first and second for Machado, Bogaerts, and Cronenworth. Doval struck out Machado, induced a groundout from Bogaerts, and a fly out from Cronenworth.
It pays to have one of the best closers on the planet.
With Pederson on second base as the free runner to start the bottom half of the tenth, the Padres intentionally walked Thairo Estrada. Sabol laid down an excellent sacrifice bunt to bring up Yastrzemski, who crushed a walk-off three-run homer.
Somehow, someway, the Giants extended their winning streak to eight games.
Now 40-32 on the season, the SF Giants will send Anthony DeSclafani to the mound on Tuesday night. The Padres are expecting righty Seth Lugo to return from the injured list and start for them. First pitch at Oracle Park is scheduled for 6:45 PM Pacific.
Source: Sports Illustrated
