The Giants hit a three-run home run, Pablo Sandoval knocked in four runs and Buster Posey stole home. Seriously.
Well, sort of.
On Friday evening in Chicago, Sandoval snapped his franchise record 0-for-39 hitless streak with a towering blast into the right field bleachers, Posey raced home on a failed double steal and Matt Moore pitched well enough to earn a victory in the Giants’ 9-2 defeat of the White Sox.
In a battle of two teams still within striking distance of earning the No. 1 pick in the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft, a series of wild and wacky events helped San Francisco pull out a win against the American League’s worst team.
With two outs in the top of the fourth inning, Sandoval stepped to the plate against White Sox starter Lucas Giolito and promptly delivered a three-run home run that changed the complexion of Friday’s contest. Sandoval entered that at-bat riding an 0-for-39 stretch after he surpassed Johnnie LeMaster’s franchise record 0-for-37 streak from 1984 with a flyout on Wednesday evening. But thanks to a Giolito changeup that found the heart of the plate, Sandoval ended the worst slump of his career and gave the Giants an early advantage.
Remarkably, Sandoval’s home run was not the most stunning occurrence from Friday’s game, as that moment belonged to Posey.
In the top of the sixth inning, Hunter Pence drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch that appeared to catch the outside corner of the plate. Shortstop Brandon Crawford was on first base and running with the pitch, and because White Sox catcher Kevan Smith thought Giolito delivered strike three, Smith threw a strike down toward second base in an effort to nab a stealing Crawford. The issue, of course, is that the pitch was a ball, so Crawford had a free pass to take second, and on the throw, Posey came racing across home plate.
The entire scenario confounded the White Sox, who were convinced Giolito recorded a punchout. Giolito was so riled up by the situation that chirped at home plate umpire Gabe Morales, who ejected him from the game even though his manager Rick Renteria had already motioned toward the bullpen for a reliever. Just for good measure, Renteria offered Morales a parting line, and he too received an early trip to the showers.
Ultimately, the game’s official scorer ruled that Posey came across on a fielder’s choice, which takes all the fun out of the concept of the Giants’ catcher stealing home. But for those of you who pay close attention to scoring decisions, there’s a possibility Major League Baseball will overturn the call after the game. Because the pitch was a ball –resulting in a Pence walk– there was technically no play to be made on Crawford at second base, thus rendering a fielder’s choice impossible.
The Giants already had one call overturned this week, as a double in Monday’s loss to the Rockies was later changed to an error on left fielder Mac Williamson, so there’s still hope for Posey.
Posey’s run gave the Giants a 4-2 lead, and the next batter, Sandoval, upped the edge to 5-2 with a sacrifice fly to left field. In the late stages of the game, a Crawford RBI double and Denard Span’s 11th home run of the season helped the Giants turn Friday’s game into a blowout.
The offensive output was enough for Moore and the Giants’ bullpen, as the southpaw left-hander lasted 6.2 innings while allowing five hits and striking out four. It was Moore’s first appearance since he made a two-inning stint out of the bullpen in the Giants’ loss to the Cardinals on Sunday.
As Moore’s season winds down, he’s now surrendered two or fewer runs in four of his last five starts, which should give the Giants every reason to believe that exercising his $9 million club option for the 2018 season is the smart decision. Even though Moore struggled in epic fashion during the first half of the year, he’s just 28 years old and still projects as a relatively cheap back end of the rotation option for next season.
And while the Giants have already begun thinking about next year, their mission is still to avoid 100 losses this season, so they were most appreciative of Moore’s ability to navigate a weird one on Friday.