ANAHEIM — The Giants’ extended offensive struggles have compelled them to function with out a lot margin for error in latest weeks. They discovered a strategy to outhit their errors on Monday night time.
After squandering a lead behind defensive miscues by outfielders Luis Matos and AJ Pollock, the Giants erupted for six runs towards All-Star nearer Carlos Estévez within the prime of the ninth inning and rolled to an 8-3 series-opening victory over the Angels at Angel Stadium.
San Francisco trailed, 3-2, earlier than rookie Patrick Bailey sparked the late comeback with a two-run, go-ahead double that obtained previous a tumbling Randal Grichuk in left discipline. The Giants stored the rally going with RBI hits from Mark Mathias, Thairo Estrada and Blake Sabol, marking the primary time they scored 4 or extra runs in a regulation inning since June 23.
With the win, San Francisco (62-51) snapped its eight-game highway shedding streak and moved a half-game forward of the Phillies for the highest spot within the National League Wild Card race.
“We’ve come in after wins, and it’s always got a little extra life,” supervisor Gabe Kapler mentioned. “But today it was a different level. I think the players felt how good it can be when we string a bunch of hits together like we did there late in the game. Winning games late is always fun. The offense did a really nice job there.”
The Giants entered Monday batting solely .199 over their earlier 17 contests, however they opened the scoring within the fourth after Wilmer Flores doubled and scored on Bailey’s RBI single off left-hander Patrick Sandoval. Still, the Angels took benefit of a defensive breakdown to erase the deficit within the sixth.
Shohei Ohtani led off the inning with a hustle double off Logan Webb and dashed dwelling on C.J. Cron’s two-out RBI single to tie the sport, 1-1. Mickey Moniak adopted with one other single to heart discipline that was misplayed by Matos, who bobbled the ball earlier than making a throw again to the infield.
With Matos struggling to discipline the ball cleanly, the Angels determined to wave dwelling Cron, who was dominated secure after Bailey couldn’t dangle on to Estrada’s relay throw to the plate. Matos and Bailey have been every charged with an error on the play, which put Los Angeles forward, 2-1.
“It hit my glove and bounced out,” Bailey mentioned. “I went to close it and it wasn’t there. It happens.”
J.D. Davis tied the sport together with his team-leading fifteenth dwelling run of the 12 months within the seventh, however poor protection got here again to chunk the Giants once more within the backside half of the inning.
Pollock, who was acquired from the Mariners together with Mathias on the Trade Deadline, misinterpret Grichuk’s routine fly ball to left discipline, permitting it to fall for a one-out triple. The subsequent batter, Luis Rengifo, got here by with an RBI single, placing the Angels again in entrance.
“We’re not always going to be able to overcome defensive miscues,” Kapler mentioned. “We really want to limit those. I think we’ve played overall pretty good defense over the course of the season. The last couple of games have been less so. We want to limit days when we have rough games on defense because ultimately, as we saw in ‘22, they have a bit of a cascading effect and force more pitchers into the game.”
The Giants got here inside inches of tying the sport once more when pinch-hitter Joc Pederson despatched a drive deep to heart discipline with two outs within the eighth, however Moniak robbed him with a spectacular leaping catch on the wall.
Still, the dejection didn’t linger lengthy for the Giants, who responded within the ninth with one among their greatest rallies of the second half of the season. While the outburst lifted spirits throughout the group, Mathias and Sabol’s contributions proved notably significant.
Mathias, a Fremont, Calif., native who grew up rooting for the Giants, collected his first hit together with his hometown membership with a two-run flare to heart discipline. Sabol, who hails from Aliso Viejo, Calif., and cheered for the Angels as a child, capped the large inning by delivering an RBI single in his first profession at-bat at Angel Stadium.
“This is the place I dreamt of playing when I was little, so it was really cool to be able to get a knock in my first at-bat here,” Sabol mentioned. “That’s my first hit in a while that’s really put a big smile on my face.”
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