© Jake Roth | USA Today
On Monday night, the Giants waited 10 innings to get on the scoreboard for the second time in a 5-3 win over the San Diego Padres. After a three-run second inning, the team watched its lead disappear as the Padres chipped away one run at a time in the fourth, fifth and eighth innings.
Finally, after remaining silent since the second, Gorkys Hernandez put the Giants back on the board in the 12th inning, hitting a solo home run to left. After a walk to Kelby Tomlinson and a single by Andrew McCutchen moved Tomlinson to third, Buster Posey hit a bloop to center. Tomlinson scored to make it a 5-3 game while McCutchen was forced out at second. That was all the offense that was needed, as reliever Will Smith closed the game out in the bottom half of the inning.
Austin Slater, who was playing his third game at first base – with both Brandon Belt and Pablo Sandoval out injured – made a game-saving pick in the 11th inning to keep the Giants alive. With runners at the corners, Padres catcher Austin Hedges laid a bunt down just in front of home plate on the third base side.
As reliever Sam Dyson charged and picked up the ball, he appeared surprised to see Padres third baseman Christian Villanueva waiting at third base. Dyson nearly threw the game away, throwing the ball to Slater at first base, who scooped the ball off the floor to save the game and secure the second out of the inning.
The Giants have played in and lost the third-most one-run games in baseball and Monday exemplified why. After scoring early, the offense fell asleep, while some relief pitching faltered. While Reyes Moronta, Ray Black and Will Smith were excellent in relief – with Tony Watson also securing an out – Melancon allowed a late-inning run.
Third baseman Chase d’Arnaud put the Giants on the scoreboard early in the second inning, hitting his third home run of the season over the left-field porch. Both Brandon Crawford and Slater singled to lead off the inning.
But the team failed to add any runs to their tally following d’Arnaud’s home run, and the lead disappeared by the eighth inning. Reliever Mark Melancon came into the game with a 3-2 lead, but struggled with his command, leaving a number of pitches high in the strike zone.
After striking out right field Hunter Renfroe to open the inning, Melancon allowed a long single to Eric Hosmer and a game-tying double to Christian Villanueva. The next batter, shortstop Freddy Galvis, hit what would have scored the leading run if it was not directly to Evan Longoria at first base. Melancon struck out the next batter, ending the eighth inning with a 3-3 deadlock.
Some of the missteps the Giants had late in Sunday’s 8-5 win over the Milwaukee Brewers resurfaced. In the seventh – which started with a bases-loaded, no-out situation – and eighth innings of Sunday’s game, the Giants stranded five baserunners. After leadoff singles in the top of the third on Monday, the 3-4-5 hitters in Evan Longoria, Crawford and Slater, all failed to advance the runners, striking out, flying out and grounding out, respectively.
The sixth inning was the peak of wasting baserunners for the Giants. After Slater walked, he stole second safely, with no outs. Then d’Arnaud hit a bouncing ball behind Slater between second and third and shortstop Freddy Galvis caught Slater easily for a tag out at third. After Steven Duggar grounded out to Galvis for a force at second next, but reached safely. With two outs, Duggar was caught stealing at second, after stealing safely in the fourth.
Derek Holland had another quality start on Monday. He worked himself back into the Giants’ pitching rotation through quality spot starts, and his (insert line) start against the Padres was no different. In the fourth, he allowed a solo home run to right fielder Hunter Renfroe, and another run scored in the fifth on an error from left fielder Gorkys Hernandez.
Holland allowed a leadoff double to catcher Austin Hedges, and Hernandez’s error both scored a run and put another Padres baserunner at second with one out. Holland worked out of the inning with his fifth strikeout of the game and a soft ground ball to first base. Holland was pulled in the bottom of the sixth inning after giving up a leadoff walk to first baseman Eric Hosmer.