Giants power surge erases four-run deficit to claim fourth-straight win

The D-Backs have come and gone, and unfortunately for the Giants, they won’t be able to beat up on them anymore this season.

Tuesday night, the red-hot San Francisco Giants (22-21) welcomed the playoff-hopeful Seattle Mariners (19-23) to Oracle Park for a quick two-game series to finish up the homestand.

For some reason, Oracle Park has turned into a hitters ballpark, because the Giants have been hitting home runs left and right in 2020. Tuesday night, clutch hitting from Donovan Solano (3-for-4, 3B, 2B), Alex Dickerson (1-for-3 HR, RBI), Mauricio Dubon (1-for-3, HR, 2 RBIs), and Darin Ruf (1-for-1, HR, RBI) erased a four-run deficit to claim a 6-5 victory.

Rookie righty Logan Webb (ND, 5 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 BBs, 4 Ks) took the mound for the Giants Tuesday night against Mariners righty Ljay Newsome.

The Mariners got to Webb immediately in the top of the first. A walk to J.P. Crawford, followed by a hit-by-pitch of Dylan Moore, put two runners on with no outs. A ground-out advanced both runners and a second ground-out scored Crawford from third. Mariners take a 1-0 lead.

Brandon Belt wasn’t pleased with the early deficit. With two outs in the bottom of the first, Solano tripled to right-center. Next batter, Belt, dropped a single to right field scoring Solano. Game tied at 1-1.

More trouble for Webb in the top of the second inning. Both Evan White and Luis Torrens singled, followed by a walk from Shed Long Jr. to load the bases. Crawford cleared the bases with a three-run triple down the left field line. A huge blow to Webb and the Giants, who find themselves trailing 4-1.

In the bottom of the second, Brandon Crawford lined a hard-hit ball back to the pitcher Newsome, off his arm, and caught by the shortstop. Newsome appeared hurt, exiting the game immediately.

The Mariners continued to hit Webb hard in the top of the third inning. With one out, Ty France tripled to right field, past Mike Yastrzemski. Jose Marmolejos single to right, Mariners extended their lead to 5-1.

Webb revealed what Gabe Kapler said to him in the dugout after the rough inning, and how it motivated him to go deeper into the game:

“After that second inning, when I got in the dugout, [Gabe Kapler] pulled me aside and he said ‘hey, you’re going to go five, maybe six, you’re going to keep us in this game, and you’re going to get a win,’ and that gave me the confidence to keep going out there and to keep competing.”

Dickerson launched a solo home run that bounced into McCovey Cove in the bottom of the third.

Solano followed with a two-out double, coming around to score on an RBI single off the bat of Belt. The Giants inched closer, now trailing 5-3.

In the bottom of the fourth inning. Joey Bart singled up the middle, and Dubon followed with a moonshot of a two-run homer to left field. Just like that, the Mariners lead was gone with the game tied at 5-5.

Webb’s night was over in the top of the sixth inning. Caleb Baragar, who had been throwing the ball very well, replaced him.

Giants manager Gabe Kapler discussed his rookie’s outing Tuesday night, and the struggles he faced early on:

“It certainly was not his best outing. Early in the game he was struggling to find the zone, and falling behind hitters. This is something that he’s been working on and dealing with all season. Even in his better games, it’s something that has been an issue for him. It’s something that we’re working on. He has another gear in there, he’s got the kind of stuff where sometimes his third, fourth and fifth innings, if thats the guy that we see early in the game, we’re going to see him pitch into the seventh inning more frequently.”

The Mariners offense had a good night. No matter who the Giants pitched, they were locked in. With one out in the top of the sixth, White singled, followed by a double from Torrens. Runners at second and third.

Baragar escaped with out allowing a run, a great recovery from a messy start to the inning.

Tyler Rogers came in for the top of the eighth inning. Surrendering a walk and a base hit, he was able to keep the game tied for another inning.

The Giants offense did what they do best Tuesday night, come from behind using the long ball. In the bottom of the seventh, pinch hitter Ruf launched a solo home run to left field for a 6-5 San Francisco lead.

Both Ruf and Dickerson, the Giants’ two left fielders, homered Tuesday night in crucial situations. That kind of production from a platoon is something a manager dreams of. Kapler was thrilled about what he got out of his left fielders:

“It’s a lot of fun. Mainly because most of the time you know it’s not going to work out that way where you get a home run from the left side and then [Darin] Ruf’s going to come in a pinch hit and hit a big home run. That just doesn’t happen that frequently, so when it does work out in your favor, you remember how often it goes the other way. You really do appreciate it. In order for that to happen, you gotta have [Alex] Dickerson prepared for the beginning of the game and Ruf see that spot coming from a mile away, so he can be prepared for it.”

The Giants bullpen continued to dominate Tuesday night. Jarlin Garcia came in for the top of the eighth inning, retiring the Mariners in order.

Offensively the Giants went down quietly in the eighth. Tony Watson came in for the ninth, looking to secure the Giants fourth-straight win.

Three of the four Giants relievers Tuesday night were left-handed pitchers, and they call carved up the Mariners lineup. Kapler discussed his left-handed pitchers’ success:

“I think it’s an advantage against teams that tend to struggle against left handed pitching for sure. The Mariners have upgraded their bats against left handed pitching, but i do believe in the lefties in our bullpen, and i like having multiple weapons to go up and down an opposition’s lineup with good, quality left-handed options.”

Watson surrendered a two-out single to Kyle Lewis, which brought the go-ahead run to the plate in Kyle Seager. Seager grounded out, and Watson secured the Giants fourth-straight win.

Taylor Wirth is SFBay’s San Francisco Giants beat writer. Follow @SFBay and @WirthTM on Twitter and at SFBay.ca for full coverage of Giants baseball.