The Diamondbacks entered this game riding a 2 game losing streak. The Giants entered this game riding a 4 game win streak. This was the 2nd game of the series between the best and worst 2 teams in baseball. If the Giants won they would secure a series win but if the Diamondbacks won they would force a rubber match. The Giants would attempt to get a series win with LaMonte Wade Jr. (RF) hitting leadoff, Kris Bryant (LF) hitting 2nd, Buster Posey (C) hitting 3rd, Brandon Crawford (SS) hitting cleanup, Evan Longoria (3B) hitting 5th, Wilmer Flores (1B) hitting 6th, Mike Yastrzemski (CF) hitting 7th, Donovan Solano (2B) hitting 8th, and Alex Wood (P) hitting 9th. The Diamondbacks had Ketel Marte (2B) leading off, Henry Ramos (RF) hitting 2nd, Daulton Varsho (LF) hitting 3rd, Carson Kelly (C) hitting cleanup, Christian Walker (1B) hitting 5th, Ildemaro Vargas (3B) hitting 6th, Jake McCarthy (CF) hitting 7th Geraldo Perdomo (SS) hitting 8th, and Merrill Kelly (P) hitting last. The pitching matchup in this game was between Merrill Kelly who was 7-11 with a 4.59 ERA and Alex Wood who was 10-4 with a 4.00 ERA. For the Diamondbacks to win they needed to take a sizable lead, get Alex Wood out of the game early, and find a great start out of Merrill Kelly. For the Giants to win they needed to take an early lead, get Merrill Kelly out early as he’d given the Giants trouble in the past, and find a nice start out of Alex Wood. Would the Giants secure the series win or would the Diamondbacks make the NL West standings closer with a win? To the game!
The first pitch of the game was a strike to Ketel Marte. Marte ended up lining out to Donovan Solano. Then Henry Ramos struck out on a foul tip caught by Buster Posey. To end the half Daulton Varsho grounded out to Donovan Solano. Merrill Kelly’s first pitch was a ball to LaMonte Wade Jr. who ended up grounding out to Ketel Marte. Then Kris Bryant was hit by pitch and Buster Posey walked leaving runners on 1st and 2nd. After that Brandon Crawford lined out to Jake McCarthy. To end the inning Evan Longoria grounded into a fielder’s choice. This was a nice 1st inning for both pitchers. The Giants and Diamondbacks were tied 0-0 after the 1st inning.
To leadoff the 2nd inning Carson Kelly singled to left field. Then Christian Walker grounded into a 5, 4, 3 double play. To end the inning Ildemaro Vargas struck out looking. To leadoff the bottom of the 2nd inning Wilmer Flores singled to left field on the first pitch. Then Mike Yastrzemski grounded into a fielder’s choice. After that Donovan Solano walked after being down 0-2 allowing Yastrzemski to advance to 2nd. Next up was Alex Wood who sacrifice bunted out advancing the runners to 2nd and 3rd. To end the inning LaMonte Wade Jr. grounded out to Ketel Marte. This was a nice inning for both pitchers as Wood faced just 3 batters and Kelly got out of a jam. The Giants and Diamondbacks were still tied 0-0 after the 2nd inning.
To start the 3rd inning Jake McCarthy was hit by pitch and Geraldo Perdomo singled leaving runners on 1st and 2nd. Then Merrill Kelly struck out on a foul bunt. After that Ketel Marte grounded into an inning ending double play. To leadoff the bottom of the 3rd inning Kris Bryant struck out looking on 7 pitches. Then the Giants loaded the bases with a Buster Posey walk, a Brandon Crawford single, and an Evan Longoria walk. After that Wilmer Flores failed to execute and lined out to Daulton Varsho. To end the inning Mike Yastrzemski struck out looking. This was a very disappointing inning for the Giants as they were unable to score with the bases loaded and 1 out. The Giants and Diamondbacks were once again tied 0-0 after the 3rd inning.
To leadoff the 4th inning Henry Ramos lined out to LaMonte Wade Jr. in right field. Then Daulton Varsho lined out to Alex Wood. To end the half inning Carson Kelly grounded out to Evan Longoria. To leadoff the bottom half of the frame Donovan Solano grounded out to Ildemaro Vargas. Then Alex Wood grounded out to Geraldo Perdomo on the first pitch. To end the inning LaMonte Wade Jr. struck out looking. This was an amazing inning for both pitchers each with a 1, 2, 3 inning. The Giants and Diamondbacks were still knotted at 0-0 after the 4th inning.
To leadoff the 5th inning Christian Walker struck out swinging. Then Ildemaro Vargas reached base on an error by Evan Longoria. After that Jake McCarthy grounded into a fielder’s choice. Geraldo Perdomo came up next and singled advancing Vargas to 2nd. To end the half inning Merrill Kelly struck out looking. To leadoff the bottom of the 5th inning Kris Bryant grounded out to Ildemaro Vargas on the first pitch. Then Buster Posey singled up the middle. After that Brandon Crawford grounded into a fielder’s choice. To end the inning Evan Longoria struck out swinging. This was yet another scoreless inning for both pitchers. The Giants and Diamondbacks were still scoreless after the 5th inning.
To leadoff the 6th inning Ketel Marte struck out swinging on 3 pitches. Then Henry Ramos popped out to Donovan Solano in shallow right field. Solano tripped over LaMonte Wade Jr. after making the but everyone was okay. After that Daulton Varsho reached base on an error from Wilmer Flores on the first pitch. To end the inning Carson Kelly grounded out to Alex Wood who made a great play to get the out. Taylor Widener came into the game for Merrill Kelly to pitch the bottom of the 6th inning. To leadoff the bottom of the 6th inning Wilmer Flores struck out looking on a full count. Then Mike Yastrzemski grounded out to grounded out to Ketel Marte. To end the inning Donovan Solano flew out to Jake McCarthy in right center field. This was another scoreless inning from both pitchers. The Giants and Diamondbacks were still tied 0-0 after the 6th inning.
Dominic Leone replaced Alex Wood to pitch the 7th inning. To leadoff the 7th inning Christian Walker singled to right field. Then Ildemaro Vargas grounded into a 6, 3 double play. To end the inning Jake McCarthy struck out swinging. Noé Ramirez entered the game for Taylor Widener to pitch the bottom of the 7th inning. To leadoff the bottom of the 7th inning Tommy La Stella pinch hit for Dominic Leone and singled to right field. Steven Duggar pinch ran for Tommy La Stella. In the middle of LaMonte Wade Jr.’s at bat, Steven Duggar stole 2nd. Wade Jr. ended up sacrifice bunting out allowing Duggar to advance to 3rd. Then Kris Bryant hit a sacrifice fly to Henry Ramos scoring Steven Duggar from 3rd. To follow that up Buster Posey singled up the middle. To end the inning Brandon Crawford grounded out to Geraldo Perdomo. This was an amazing inning for the Giants as they scored first. The Giants led 1-0 after the 7th inning.
Steven Duggar remained in the game in center field forcing Mike Yastrzemski to move to right field. Jarlín García replaced Dominic Leone to pitch the 8th inning. To leadoff the half inning Geraldo Perdomo flew out to Mike Yastrzemski in foul territory. Then Kole Calhoun pinch hit for Noé Ramirez and struck out swinging. To end the half inning Ketel Marte popped out to Brandon Crawford. Tyler Clippard relieved Noé Ramirez to pitch the bottom of the 8th inning. To leadoff the bottom of the 8th inning Evan Longoria grounded out to Geraldo Perdomo. Then Wilmer Flores struck out swinging. After that Mike Yastrzemski and Donovan Solano hit back-to-back singles leaving runners on 1st and 3rd. To end the inning Steven Duggar flew out to Daulton Varsho who made an amazing in left center field that may have robbed Duggar of a home run. This was a disappointing inning for the Giants as they were robbed of a 3 run homer. The Giants still led 1-0 after the 8th inning.
Camilo Doval replaced Jarlín García in hopes of getting the save in the 9th inning. To leadoff the 9th inning Henry Ramos struck out swinging. Then Daulton Varsho lined out to Mike Yastrzemski. After that Pavin Smith pinch hit for Carson Kelly and struck out swinging ending the game. The Giants won 1-0.
Leo’s Extra Inning: This was an astonishing win for the Giants as it cut the magic number down to 3 wins. It would’ve been 2 runs if the Dodgers hadn’t had a 4 homer inning to comeback from down 4 runs. This win also marked the most wins in San Francisco Giants history. The Giants were relied heavily on their pitching staff and they came through in this game as the starter Alex Wood went 6 innings and gave up just 3 hits, 0 walks, and 0 runs. Wood also struck out 6 and got no decision. The Giants relievers pitched amazingly as well with 3 pitchers pitching an inning each and giving up just 1 hit, 0 walks, and 0 runs combined. Dominic Leone struck out 1 and got the win, Jarlín García struck out 1 and got a hold, and Camilo Doval struck out 2 and got the save. The Giants were led by Kris Bryant offensively who went 0 for 2 but got the only RBI in the game. Buster Posey hit well too going 2 for 2 with 2 walks. Donovan Solano was also pretty good going 1 for 3 with a walk. The Diamondbacks pitchers were nearly lights out as well with their starter Merrill Kelly went 5 innings and gave up just 3 hits, 4 walks, and 0 runs. Kelly recorded 4 strikeouts and got no decision. The Diamondbacks bullpen pitched well too with 3 pitchers pitching an inning each and giving up just a combined 4 hits, 1 earned run, 0 walks, and 0 home runs. Taylor Widener struck out 1 and got no decision, Noé Ramirez got 0 strikeouts and got the loss, and Tyler Clippard struck out 1 and got no decision. On the offensive side of things the Diamondbacks were led by Geraldo Perdomo who went 2 for 3. Carson Kelly and Christian Walker each went 1 for 3. Overall, this was a great win for the Giants where despite having almost no run support the Giants pitchers came through with a shutout.
Out of LF 
Thanks for the great recap. I watched the game but enjoyed the analysis of a rare small ball victory for the Giants.
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