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Reporting from ORACLE PARK
A five-run fifth inning and Casey Schmitt‘s walk-off double proved to be all the offense San Francisco needed as they snuck past the Cincinnati Reds with a 6-5 victory to take the rubber match Sunday afternoon.
Despite scoring five runs to beat the Reds on Saturday, the Giants (19-23) entered Sunday slashing .226/.291/.342 over their last 16 games. The inconsistent offense has largely resulted from a handful of players in the middle of the order struggling to find their rhythm.
LaMonte Wade Jr. hasn’t been among them.
This story will be updated with quotes and post-game material from the Giants clubhouse at Oracle Park.
After Matt Chapman ripped an RBI single off his former A’s teammate and Reds starter Frankie Montas to put the Giants closer at 3-1, Wade caught up to a 96 mph fastball near his eyes and deposited a soaring fly ball just barely over the right field wall. The 321-foot blast would have cleared the fences only at Oracle Park.
The game-tying two-run blast was Wade’s second homer of the season.
Wade now has reached base in 13 consecutive games and is slashing .344/.479/.462 with five doubles, two homers and 14 RBI in 40 games. Entering Sunday, Wade’s .479 on-base percentage and 19.5% walk rate were both the best in baseball (min. 100 PA). He also extended his hitting streak to nine games.
Later in the fifth, the Giants added more on a Heliot Ramos go-ahead RBI single and later came across to score from first when Blake Sabol‘s infield single turned into a circus around the bases as shortstop Elly De La Cruz‘s throw to first sailed down the right field line to make it 5-3.
With the Giants leading by one run in the eighth, former Giant Mike Ford crushed a game-tying shot to straightaway center off reliever Ryan Walker to knot the score at 5-5.
Bob Melvin turned to Camilo Doval with two outs in the eighth inning to face De La Cruz, arguably Cincinanti’s most dangerous hitter. Doval started out De La Cruz with a 101.8 mph fastball and finished him off on strikes with a 101.7 mph fastball — an epic matchup to retire the side.
With the ghost runner on second base in the bottom of the tenth, Schmitt, who was called up earlier this week from Triple-A, roped a walk-off ground-rule double to bring home the victory. It was Schmitt’s first career walk-off hit.
The Giants have placed four position players on the injured list in the past week and there’s now a chance they could be without center fielder Jung Hoo Lee, one of their key spark plugs atop the lineup.
Lee was removed in the first inning following a rough collision against the center field wall.
Giants starter Kyle Harrison struggled with command early, walking three Reds hitters — including a hit-by pitch to begin the afternoon — to load the bases for first baseman Jeimer Candelario. On Harrison’s 28th pitch of the inning, Candelario launched a scorching 104.8 mph fly ball to center field, sailing all the way to the warning track. In more than half of the major league stadiums, it would have cleared the fences for a grand slam.
Lee attempted a superhero-esque leap at the wall with his glove outstretched, but came up empty and crushed his left arm against the padding. He immediately went down and grabbed his left shoulder in pain. Lee walked gingerly off the field, keeping limited movement in his arm.
The Giants called Lee’s injury a left shoulder strain.
Sunday marked Lee’s first Lee’s comeback to the Giants’ lineup following a four-game absence due to a foot injury. Now, he’ll likely miss an extended period of time.
To make matters worse for the Giants and their health situation, Patrick Bailey, who was just activated from the 7-day injured list on Friday after suffering a concussion during the recent road trip, was scratched just minutes before Sunday’s matchup with a viral illness.
Bailey was slated to serve as the designated hitter and was replaced in the lineup by Wilmer Flores.
Harrison settled down after an erratic first inning, finishing the afternoon with five walks and five strikeouts in five innings of work. He threw 98 pitches.
Up Next
For the first time this season, the Giants welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers to Oracle Park for a three-game series starting Monday. Jordan Hicks takes the ball (3-1, 2.30 ERA) for Game 1 against Dodgers Japanese righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto (4-1, 2.79 ERA), who the Giants will face for the first time.
Notes
Michael Conforto is the latest Giants position player to land on the 10-day injured list as he hits the shelf with a right hamstring strain after taking a wide turn around first on a single during Saturday’s win against the Reds. Luis Matos was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento. … Blake Snell made a rehab start for Single-A San Jose as he recovers from a left adductor strain. The left-hander fired four perfect innings — including an immaculate inning in the top of the first — and recorded seven strikeouts on 46 pitches. Snell told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he may need an additional rehab outing with Triple-A Sacramento to improve his conditioning. Slusser reports he’ll discuss what’s next with team doctors and organization officials this week.
