SAN FRANCISCO — On Monday night, the Giants beat the Cubs in miraculous fashion…twice.
Joe Panik proved to be the ultimate hero, launching an RBI double off the Levi’s Landing in right field to give the Giants a 6-5 walk-off victory in the 13th inning, in what will go down as an instant classic.
The game winning extends the Giants’ season, with the Cubs holding on to a 2-1 lead in the series heading into Tuesday’s Game 4.
It appeared as if Conor Gillaspie would be the Giants’ game winning hero once again, when the nondescript third baseman gave the the Giants a 4-3 lead on a three-run triple in the eighth inning, smacking a 103 mph fastball off Aroldis Chapman into deep right center field. In case you haven’t been paying attention, Gillaspie was also the Giants’ savior in the NL Wild Card game against the Mets, when his eighth inning home run broke a 0-0 tie to keep Giants’ postseason dreams alive.
It was another legendary Giants postseason moment from a relative unknown, but it would prove to be far from the final chapter, when Chicago’s Kris Bryant silenced the jubilant AT&T crowd by tying the game right back up with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth off Giants closer Sergio Romo.
The game ended as bizarrely and improbably as it began, when Jake Arrieta proved to be the unlikely individual to break Madison Bumgarner’s scoreless streak at 24 and 1/3 innings, launching a two-strike fastball into the left-field bleachers, giving Chicago a 3-0 lead. It was the first home run Bumgarner has ever given up to a pitcher.
In what was expected to be a pitchers duel, neither starter was dominant. Arrieta got the best of Bumgarner on the mound as well as with the bat, allowing two runs and striking out five in six innings of work. Bumgarner had his shortest postseason start since 2012, lasting just five innings while striking out four, with the only earned runs coming from the Arrieta home run.
Hunter Pence was AT&T’d in the third inning, when his 390 foot shot to right was caught in triples ally, a hit that in most other ballparks would’ve tied the game with a runner on. According to Daren Willman, the Director of Baseball Research for MLB.com, it’s the first ball hit at that speed and launch angle that wasn’t a home run in 2016.
The Giants got on the board in the third inning when Buster Posey hit an RBI single up the middle. Brandon Belt added a run with a deep sacrifice fly to right, scoring Denard Span who reached third on a one-out triple in the fifth.
Having thrown only 86 pitches, Arrieta returned for the sixth and seemed to be the beneficiary of a controversial call to open the inning, when replay clearly showed that Gillaspie was safe at first, and that Anthony Rizzo’s foot came off the bag when he stretched to make a catch. Despite the evidence the call wasn’t overturned, and Arrieta closed his night out with a 1-2-3 inning.
Derek Law spelled Bumgarner in the sixth and was dominant, pitching two innings of scoreless ball while not allowing a single hit.
The Cubs turned to their ninth inning flamethrower Aroldis Chapman in the eighth inning for a six out save, when the Giants opened the frame with a Brandon Belt single and a Buster Posey walk.
It was the Giants unlikely hero in the NL Wild Card victory, that would again keep their season alive on Tuesday night, when Gillaspie got the best of one of the best closers in baseball, scoring both runners with his triple to give the Giants a 4-3 lead. Crawford gave the Giants a run of insurance run with an RBI single.
It was the kind of play that the even-yeared Giants so often make, but it was far from the end of the story.
Romo has been lights out since taking over as the closer for Santiago Casilla, but couldn’t put it together in the most pressure packed moment of the season. With a runner on, Romo made a mistake to Kris Bryant, and the MVP candidate launched one into the left field bleachers, tying the game at 5-5 and silencing the raucous crowd at AT&T Park.
Romo returned in the 10th and tossed a 1-2-3 inning, finishing the two frames having thrown 32 pitches.
Rookie Ty Blach joined in the fun in the 11th inning, picking up right where he left off in his last start, knocking down the Cubs in order with ease.
Denard Span made what would’ve been the most incredible play of the night in the 12th, saving a double with a diving backhanded catch that seemed so improbable the umpires initially ruled it a hit before consulting the replay.
Brandon Crawford put the Giants back in the driver’s seat in the 13th, opening the inning with a double down the right field line.
The Giants will try to turn Monday’s victory into another magical postseason run when Matt Moore takes to hill to face Chicago’s John Lackey. First pitch is at 6:38 pm on KNBR 680.
Notes
– Angel Pagan was scratched just minutes before the first pitch do to back spasms, and was replaced with left-fielder Gregor Blanco.