The Padres entered this game riding a 3 game losing streak and coming off of a series where they were swept by the Dodgers. The Giants on the contrary came into this game riding 7 game win streak. This was the first game of a 4 game series between the Giants and Padres at Oracle Park. If the Giants won this game they would be the first MLB team to clinch a playoff spot. The Giants would attempt to do this with Tommy La Stella (2B) hitting leadoff, Brandon Belt (1B) hitting 2nd, Darin Ruf (LF) hitting 3rd, LaMonte Wade Jr. (RF) hitting cleanup, Brandon Crawford (SS) hitting 5th, Evan Longoria (3B) hitting 6th, Mike Yastrzemski (CF) hitting 7th, Curt Casali (C) hitting 8th, and Dominic Leone (P) hitting 9th. The Padres had Trent Grisham (CF) hitting 1st, Fernando Tatis Jr. (SS) hitting 2nd, Adam Frazier (2B) hitting 3rd, Manny Machado (3B) hitting cleanup, Eric Hosmer (1B) hitting 5th, Tommy Pham (LF) hitting 6th, Wil Myers (RF) hitting 7th, Victor Caratini (C) hitting 8th, and Yu Darvish (P) hitting last. The pitching matchup in this game was between the Giants bullpen and Yu Darvish who was 8-9 with a 3.95 ERA. The Giants starter who was Dominic Leone was 3-3 with an astonishing 1.48 ERA. For the Padres to win they needed to keep the Giants in the ballpark, eat through the Giants bullpen, and find a nice start out of Yu Darvish. For the Giants to win they needed to put runners on base so that homers are more meaningful, find multiple innings out of various members on the bullpen, and get Yu Darvish out of the game early. Would the Giants stay hot and win their 8th straight or would the Padres snap their 3 game losing streak? To the game!
The first pitch of the game was a strike to Trent Grisham. Grisham ended up grounding out to Tommy La Stella. Then Fernando Tatis Jr. popped out to Brandon Belt in foul territory. To end the half inning Adam Frazier grounded out to Tommy La Stella. Yu Darvish’s first pitch was a ball to Tommy La Stella. La Stella ended up hitting a solo homer to dead center field. To follow that up Brandon Belt flew out to Trent Grisham. Then Darin Ruf walked on 4 pitches. After that LaMonte Wade Jr. tripled into triples alley scoring Ruf. Trent Grisham nearly made an amazing diving catch but he just missed. Brandon Crawford then walked on a full count. Evan Longoria kept the rally going with a rocket to left field for a 3 run homer. For the 2nd out of the inning Mike Yastrzemski popped out to Adam Frazier. To end the inning Curt Casali struck out swinging on 3 pitches. This was an amazing inning for the Giants as they took a huge early lead. The Giants led 5-0 after the 1st inning.
To leadoff the 2nd inning Manny Machado flew out to Mike Yastrzemski. Then Eric Hosmer singled to center field on an 0-2 count. After that Tommy Pham grounded out to Tommy La Stella advancing Hosmer to 2nd. To end the half inning Wil Myers struck out swinging. Wilmer Flores pinch hit for Dominic Leone and grounded out to Adam Frazier to start the bottom of the 2nd. Then Tommy La Stella walked. After that Brandon Belt flew out to Wil Myers. To end the inning Darin Ruf grounded out to Manny Machado. This was a nice inning for both pitchers each facing just 4 batters. The Giants still led 5-0 after the 2nd inning.
Jarlín García replaced Dominic Leone to pitch the 3rd inning. To leadoff the 3rd inning Victor Caratini grounded out to Brandon Crawford. Then Yu Darvish grounded out to Brandon Belt. After that Trent Grisham doubled into left center field. Fernando Tatis Jr. took advantage of his opportunity with a double down the right field line scoring Grisham. To end the half inning Adam Frazier struck out looking. To leadoff the bottom of the 3rd inning LaMonte Wade Jr. flew out to Wil Myers in the warning track in triples alley. Then Brandon Crawford grounded out to Adam Frazier. To end the inning Evan Longoria flew out to Tommy Pham. This was a nice inning for the Padres as they made a dent in the Giants lead. The Giants led 5-1 after the 3rd inning.
To leadoff the 4th inning Manny Machado flew out to Mike Yastrzemski. Then Eric Hosmer walked on 7 pitches. Zack Littell then came into the game for Jarlín García to finish the inning. Littell started by getting Tommy Pham to line out to Tommy La Stella. To end the inning Wil Myers struck out swinging. To leadoff the bottom of the 4th inning Mike Yastrzemski hit a solo home run to center field on a full count. To follow that up Curt Casali singled to left field on the first pitch. Then Zack Littell struck out swinging. After that Tommy La Stella flew out to Tommy Pham. Brandon Belt then belted a 2 run home run to right center field. To end the inning Darin Ruf struck out swinging. This was another astonishing inning for the Giants as they blew the game open. The Giants led 8-1 after the 4th inning.
To leadoff the 5th inning Victor Caratini lined out to Mike Yastrzemski. Then Jurickson Profar pinch hit for Yu Darvish and popped out to Tommy La Stella. To end the inning Trent Grisham struck out looking. Tim Hill relieved Yu Darvish to pitch the bottom of the 5th inning. To leadoff the bottom of the 5th inning LaMonte Wade Jr. flew out to Tommy Pham on the left field warning track. Then Brandon Crawford popped out to the shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. in shallow center field. To end the inning Curt Casali flew out to Trent Grisham. This was an amazing inning for both pitchers each with a 1, 2, 3 inning. The Giants still led 8-1 after the 5th inning.
José Álvarez came out of the bullpen to pitch the 6th inning for Zack Littell. To leadoff the top of the 6th inning Fernando Tatis Jr. struck out swinging on a full count. Then Adam Frazier grounded out to Tommy La Stella. After that Manny Machado hit a swinging bunt down the 3rd base line that hit the bag for an infield single. To end the inning Eric Hosmer struck out swinging on 3 pitches. Former Giant who was traded for LaMonte Wade Jr. over the offseason Shaun Anderson entered the game for Tim Hill to pitch the bottom of the 6th inning. To leadoff the bottom of the 6th inning Mike Yastrzemski struck out swinging on 7 pitches. Then Curt Casali flew out to Trent Grisham on the first pitch. To end the inning José Álvarez struck out looking. This was a scoreless inning from both pitchers. The Giants once again led 8-1 after the 6th inning.
Camilo Doval went into the game for José Álvarez to pitch the 7th inning. To leadoff the 7th inning Tommy Pham struck out swinging. Then Wil Myers singled and Victor Caratini walked leaving runners on 1st and 2nd. After that Jake Marisnick pinch hit for Shaun Anderson and struck out swinging on 3 pitches. To end the inning Trent Grisham struck out looking on 3 pitches. Craig Stammen came into the game in relief of Shaun Anderson to pitch the bottom of the 7th inning. To leadoff the bottom of the 7th inning Tommy La Stella grounded out to Adam Frazier. Then Brandon Belt hit a grounder to Eric Hosmer who tossed the ball to Craig Stammen for the out. To end the inning Darin Ruf grounded out to Fernando Tatis Jr. who made an amazing play. This was a disappointing inning for the Padres as they failed to execute on their opportunity and left 2 runners on base. The Giants once more led 8-1 after the 7th inning.
The Giants executed a double switch as Kervin Castro replaced Camilo Doval to pitch the 8th inning and Steven Duggar replaced Darin Ruf in center field forcing Mike Yastrzemski to move to right field and LaMonte Wade Jr. to move to left field. To leadoff the 8th inning Fernando Tatis Jr. popped out to Curt Casali in foul territory. Then Adam Frazier struck out swinging. To end the half inning Manny Machado flew out to Mike Yastrzemski. Dinelson Lamet entered the game for Craig Stammen to pinch the bottom of the 8th inning. To leadoff the 8th inning LaMonte Wade Jr. walked on 7 pitches and Brandon Crawford doubled to left center field leaving runners on 2nd and 3rd. Then Evan Longoria hit a bloop single to center field scoring Wade Jr. and advancing Crawford to 3rd. To follow that up Mike Yastrzemski struck out swinging on 3 pitches. After that Curt Casali struck out swinging. To end the inning Steven Duggar flew out to Tommy Pham. This was a nice inning for the Giants as they tacked onto their lead. The Giants led 9-1 after the 8th inning.
To leadoff the 9th inning Eric Hosmer singled to right field. Then Tommy Pham flew out to Steven Duggar who was up against the wall in center field. After that Wil Myers doubled to right field advancing Hosmer to 3rd. Victor Caratini then popped out to Evan Longoria in foul territory. To end the game Ha-Seong Kim pinch hit for Dinelson Lamet and struck out looking. The Giants won 9-1.
Leo’s Extra Inning: This was an amazing win for the Giants that clinched them a spot in the playoffs. The Giants got this win by taking an early 5 run lead in the 1st inning. The Giants were led by Evan Longoria in this game going 2 for 4 with a run scored, 4 RBIs, and a home run. Brandon Belt hit well too going 1 for 4 with a run scored, 2 RBIs, and a home run. Tommy La Stella chipped in as well going 1 for 3 with a run scored, an RBI, and a home run. The Giants bullpen pitched amazingly in this game with only 6 pitchers pitching and giving up just 7 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, and 0 home runs. Zack Littell struck out 2 and got the win and aall of the other pitchers got no decision. Jarlín García and Dominic Leone each struck out 1, José Álvarez and Kervin Castro each struck out 2, and Camilo Doval struck out 3 batters. The Padres were led by Fernando Tatis Jr. who went 1 for 4 with an RBI. Eric Hosmer had a great game as well going 2 for 3 with a walk. Wil Myers had a nice game offensively as well going 2 for 4. Yu Darvish did not pitch well in this game giving up 6 hits, 8 earned runs, 3 walks, and 4 homers in just 4 innings. Darvish struck out 3 and got the loss. The Padres bullpen pitched very well though with 4 pitchers pitching an inning each and giving up just 2 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, and 0 home runs. Tim Hill and Craig Stammen each recorded 0 strikeouts and got no decision and Shaun Anderson and Dinelson Lamet each struck out 2 and got no decision. Overall, this was an amazing win for the Giants that secured them their first playoff spot in 5 years.
Out of LF 