© Joe Nicholson | USA Today
SEATTLE – The Giants have finally caught a break. After two extra-inning losses against the Oakland A’s, the Giants eked out a 4-3 away win against the Seattle Mariners thanks to some small-ball magic and a clean save from reliever Will Smith.
In the top of the ninth inning, center fielder Steven Duggar started a one-man rally with astute and aggressive baserunning. After reaching base, he avoided a double play by stealing on an Alen Hanson groundout. Then a pinch-hitting Pablo Sandoval hustled to first on a dribbler to the right side and Duggar came home after a throwing error.
Then the Giants, who lead the National League in blown saves, received a 1-2-3 inning from reliever Will Smith to close out the game.
The majority of the Giants’ offense came from the unlikely sources of second baseman Kelby Tomlinson and a designated-hitting Hunter Pence. Batting from the ninth spot, Tomlinson was a threat at the plate and on the basepath all night, functioning as a second leadoff man.
In his first at-bat in the third inning, Tomlinson tore a ball to deep left-center field and never thought twice about heading to first. Despite a rapid relay from the Mariners, the second baseman found himself safe at third, following a facefirst dive. Tomlinson scored one batter later, as third baseman Chase d’Arnaud hit an odd infield single behind the pitcher’s mound, giving the Giants a 1-0 lead.
But in every inning that the Giants scored, except the ninth, the Mariners responded.
In the bottom half of the third, Mariners center fielder Guillermo Heredia, who came to the plate with just two home runs on the year, sent a ball deep over the center field fence to tie the game at one run.
The cycle repeated itself in the next inning, as Tomlinson came back to bat with Brandon Crawford at second and Austin Slater at first. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Tomlinson ripped a single to center field, scoring Crawford. In the bottom half of the inning, ex-Giants left fielder Denard Span hit a deep sacrifice fly to left field for the Mariners, scoring designated hitter Nelson Cruz from third base to tie the game at two.
To lead off the sixth inning, Pence, who was slotted as the Giants’ designated hitter, sat on a hanging curveball and ripped it high and far over the left field fence for his first home run of the season. It was recorded at 445 feet.
But again, the Mariners responded.
After 5 2/3 innings of two-run work, Giants starter Andrew Suarez was pulled for Reyes Moronta. Moronta, who had been clinical against the Oakland A’s, allowed a walk to his first batter, before relinquishing a game-tying single to left field by a pinch-hitting Ben Gamel.
Despite the error from Moronta, the Giants saw the game through to avoid dropping to .500 on the season. The win keeps the Giants at 4 games back of the second spot in the National League Wild Card race and 4.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West race.
