Giovanny Gallegos was leaving his four-seam fastball over the plate. It didn’t matter against Blake Sabol. Or Brandon Crawford. As the Giants emptied their bench against the hard-throwing closer, they were down to their last strike.
Then Gallegos left one too many fastballs down the middle.
Mike Yastrzemski, in a 2-2 count, torched a belt-high 95 mph fastball over the right-field fence in Busch Stadium. His game-tying blast left his bat at 107 mph and completed a comeback.
Yastrzemski tied the game in the ninth, then scored the go-ahead run in the 10th as the automatic runner. With their late-game execution, the Giants (36-32) erased a three-run deficit to win their fourth straight game. They swept the Cardinals, the expected contender with impressive talent that has spiraled to last place in a weak National League Central. Their 27-42 record is better than only Oakland and Kansas City.
The unexpected win gives San Francisco its three-game sweep in St. Louis since 1998.
The Giants needed Yastrzemski’s ninth-inning homer — his eighth of the year — because they fell behind from a short start from Anthony DeSclafani.
DeSclafani either struck batters out or allowed barreled balls. The veteran fanned seven of the 17 batters he faced. Of the 10 he didn’t strike out, seven crushed base hits — including Tommy Edman’s grand slam in the second inning.
DeSclafani pitched just three innings, matching his season-low. As a mid-rotation starter, his job is to pitch into the sixth inning. He’s done that in nine of his first 14 starts this year, but six of those came in his first seven turns.
But DeSclafani’s short start wasn’t disqualifying because of an early burst from the Giants. San Francisco started the game with four singles and a walk against Jordan Montgomery, jumping out to a 2-0 first-inning lead. Still, when DeSclafani exited, the Giants trailed 5-2.
In that rally, Luis Matos — hitting second in his MLB debut — hit a single in his first career at-bat. The hit snuck through the left side of the infield with an exit velocity of 91.3 mph.
When he got to first base, Matos tapped his chest, pointed to the sky and then clapped both hands together.
The Giants called up Matos — the youngest Giant to debut since Madison Bumgarner in 2009, not only because he was lighting up Triple-A pitching, but because veteran outfielder Mitch Haniger fractured his right forearm. Had that injury not happened Tuesday night, the Giants wouldn’t have had a roster spot for Matos despite him doing everything possible to make himself undeniable.
When Giants manager Gabe Kapler texted Matos to congratulate him on his promotion, the outfielder responded with a string of fire emojis. That reaction was fitting for a hitter who is as hot as one can be; Matos hit six home runs in his last six Triple-A games for the River Cats. In 24 total games with Sacramento, he had 14 multi-hit games and posted a .398 average.
Matos didn’t record multiple hits, but lined into two outs in his 1-for-3 day. Like Schmitt, he was aggressive early in counts, seeing eight pitches in three plate appearances. His main objective in the minors this year has been to improve his plate discipline and swing decisions, which he demonstrated at both the Double-A and Triple-A levels.
Matos’ debut ended prematurely, when manager Gabe Kapler pinch-hit Michael Conforto for him in a leverage spot in the seventh inning. The Giants were chasing a comeback, and the veteran Conforto gave the club a better chance to cut into STL’s two-run lead. But Conforto grounded out and Matos watched the last three innings from the dugout.
In the ninth inning, Kapler tapped lefty Blake Sabol to hit for Casey Schmitt against closer Giovanny Gallegos. As the tying run, Sabol struck out looking.
Since each of the Giants rookie position players — Schmitt, Sabol and Patrick Bailey — have debuted, SF hasn’t shied away from subbing them out in big spots. They’ve each impressed, at various times, in their own ways, and will eventually earn opportunities in clutch situations.
Yastrzemski, the veteran, is no stranger to leverage spots. His two-run homer off Gallegos was his sixth game-tying or go-ahead home run in the ninth inning or later.
Same goes for Estrada, Flores and LaMonte Wade Jr., who each knocked in a run in the top of the 10th inning.
San Francisco’s three-run 10th inning was an all-around barrage. Third base coach Mark Hallberg made two excellent sends, Kapler and the coaching staff used a loophole to ensure reliever Tyler Rogers didn’t have to serve as the automatic runner, and the veterans came through.
Matos wasn’t involved in the action, but he got to witness his first MLB comeback, and first sweep.
