One hallmark of this San Francisco Giants season has been the ability to bounce back from losing streaks. And in Saturday’s game against the Chicago Cubs, the Giants did in fact bounce back with a complete offensive effort that powered the team to a 5-4 series-evening win.
The Cubs commenced the game’s scoring in the second when Giants starter Chris Stratton walked Jason Heyward with the bases loaded, forcing in Willson Contreras for the Cubs’ first run of the game. Kyle Schwarber added on in the third with a deep solo home run.
Brandon Crawford answered in the fourth with a with a two-run homer to the opposite field. And though Javier Baez countered with a solo home run in the bottom of the frame, Andrew McCutchen answered back with a double to score Gorkys Hernandez, and Brandon Belt singled home McCutchen to give the Giants their first lead of the series.
The Giants added an insurance run in the seventh when Hernandez scored on a Belt sacrifice fly. They needed it in the eighth, as Anthony Rizzo singled in Kyle Schwarber to put the Cubs within one.
The Giants loaded the bases in the ninth with two out, earning a chance to add one or more insurance runs, but Pedro Strop struck out pinch-hitter Miguel Gomez to end the threat. The missed opportunity eventually turned out to be moot, as Hunter Strickland retired the Cubs in order to end the game.
Stratton was shaky early, but settled down to limit the Cubs to three runs in five innings. Cubs starter Jose Quintana, meanwhile, lasted 5.1 innings, but conceded four runs.
The series concludes Sunday in Chicago.