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Reporting from ORACLE PARK
Patrick Bailey opened the Giants weekend series with a bang Friday night, smashing a walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning that sent Oracle Park into a frenzy and lifted San Francisco to a 5-1 win over the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers.
Justin Verlander, no stranger to playoff pressure, served up seven gutty innings, giving up just a single run on a seventh-inning Michael Conforto homer. The 42-year-old right-hander struck out four, walked four, and kept the Giants in the mix all game.
This story has been updated with quotes and post-game material from the Giants clubhouse at Oracle Park.
Today marks Verlander’s 20th year in the major league and still remains sharp this late in the season.
“It’s a long journey, a lot of ups and downs,” Verlander said. “My life has changed a lot. It’s not about the service time, it’s just about that chunk of my life and looking back and where I started, to where I am now off the field particularly. It’s pretty special to have that perspective.”
Giants’ Manager Bob Melvin tips his cap to the veteran pitcher.
“10 years is kind of the pinnacle, 20s unheard of,” Melvin said. “And I think all of our guys are kind of learning, not just the younger guys, but the veterans that it’s what it takes to be that type of player and extend your career this long and then pitch your best baseball at this time of the year, it’s unheard of.”
Willy Adames continued his hot streak in the first. His double to center turned into a run when Andy Pages misplayed the ball, allowing Rafael Devers to score from first for a 1-0 Giants lead.
From there, Verlander set the tone. He froze Shohei Ohtani with a curveball, blew fastballs past Freddie Freeman, and carried a one-run cushion deep into the night. Conforto’s blast briefly silenced the sellout crowd, but the Giants bullpen – Joey Lucchesi, Ryan Walker, and Juan Peguero – kept Los Angeles stuck at one run until the San Francisco bats could gather steam.
Pinch hitter Luis Matos came to pick things up for the Giants in the bottom of the ninth, by reaching base off an error from Freeman. Devers followed with a single and Adames was intentionally walked. But Pages redeemed himself with a strike from center field to cut down pinch-runner Grant McCray at the plate, sending the game into extras.
In the 10th, Bailey erased all doubt. With one out and the bases loaded, he launched a Tanner Scott fastball 388 feet into the left center bleachers. Bailey flipped his bat, the Giants spilled out of the dugout, and 40,509 fans roared like it was a playoff game.
“His defense is off the charts,” Melvin said. “He’s back there for nine innings, and you’re comparing it to what three or four at-bats may look like. And now his workload is probably as extreme as it’s ever been here to come down the stretch as much as he’s playing right now, and he’s swinging the bat as well as he had all year. So there’s a lot to like about Patrick Bailey and a lot to believe in.”
The win pushed the Giants (75–72) within one-half game of the National League Wild Card spot held by the New York Mets, who lost Friday night 8-3 to Texas.
Up Next
Logan Webb (14-9, 3.12 ERA) gets the ball Saturday at 6:05 p.m. as the Giants look to seize control of the series.
