Chris Mezzavilla/KNBR
There have been plenty of satisfying comebacks this year for a Giants club that has made its identity one of resilience, one that is easier to wear with an offense that always has a pulse.
There have been far more daunting deficits than the 4-1 gap the Giants encountered in the second inning, which lasted until the sixth. This rally, though, was of a different substance.
They were coming back from a tossed starter and the exit of their best player. Another hallmark of the 2020 Giants is a depth they have not had in the past, both in arms and bats, that make off days or ejections more palatable.
And so Thursday’s 6-4 victory over the Mariners was tasty for the Giants, scoring two in the sixth and three in the seventh to move back over .500 and sweep a brief two-game series from the Mariners at the road haven that is Oracle Park for the Giants.
The Giants (25-24) are still in possession of a wild-card slot but now enter the more severe portion of their schedule, which begins Friday with three games in Oakland. That will be Game 3 of the 13-games-in-12-days sprint they face to conclude the regular season that will test them in several ways, particularly in the depth of a bullpen that had to expend a lot of energy in brilliantly keeping the Giants in Thursday’s matinee.
Tyler Anderson lasted 49 pitches, two-plus innings and one too many comments directed toward home-plate umpire Edwin Moscoso, who tossed him after a ball four to Kyle Lewis that appeared to have been a strike. Anderson jawed in a quiet park, Moscoso heard him and out came the hook. In came Wandy Peralta, who had his best day as a Giant.
The lefty previously had maxed out at 33 pitches, all the way back on July 24, his first outing of the season. He ate up a career-high three innings on 49 pitches, going all the way through the Seattle lineup without allowing a hit while walking just one. On a day the Giants were forced to take their MVP off the field, Peralta was the most valuable Giant.
Mike Yastrzemski did not last as long as Anderson, leaving the game in the second inning with what the Giants said was a tight right calf. The team did not have a more immediate update, but any extended missed time for their best player would hurt. Luis Basabe filled in and collected his first big-league hit, walk and steal.
After Peralta’s excellence, the Giants turned to Rico Garcia, Tony Watson, Tyler Rogers and Sam Selman (save No. 1), combining for seven scoreless innings of three-hit ball with nine strikeouts. The relievers gave their offense a chance, which is often all this offense needs.
An Evan Longoria bases-loaded single and Brandon Crawford sacrifice clawed the Giants back in the game in the sixth, though the rally was stalled by Justin Smoak, curiously pinch-hitting for Joey Bart, grounding into a double play.
With two on and two outs in the seventh, though, Wilmer Flores’ first triple since 2017 drove in two, including the go-ahead run, which was followed by Alex Dickerson’s RBI single.
There was plenty to be concerned about afterward: Anderson was not sharp even before the ejection; he was not helped by center-fielder Mauricio Dubon throwing to the wrong base, which helped Seattle score another; Yastrzemski will need to be healthy for the Giants to have a legitimate chance in the playoffs.
But with 10 days left of regular-season play and the Giants in control of the wild-card scene, the final score — as well as the bullpen, resilience and bats — was still awfully encouraging.