By Jeremy Harness

cbslocal.com: The San Francisco Giants Denard Spans (2) crosses the plate past Philadelphia Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz (51) in the first inning of Thursday’s game at Citizens Bank Ball Park

The Giants needed to get a win in the worst win, and Denard Span delivered that for them Thursday afternoon.

The center fielder, who has been a steady presence at the top of the lineup this season, turned on a low-and-inside fastball from Severino Gonzalez in the top of the 10^th inning and sent it into the right-field seats just inside the foul pole for a solo home run.

It was a much-needed hit, as the Giants were able to escape from Philadelphia with at least one win, avoiding a sweep at the hands of the Phillies with a 3-2 win in 10 innings.

“It’s been a steady up and down for me all year, but I’m hoping I can continue this feeling right now,” Span said. “We’ve been struggling since the second half started, and we’ll take any win we can (get) right now.”

Span ended up going 3-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs and crossed the plate twice to increase his batting average to .265.

The Giants got a solid outing from newly-acquired lefty starter Matt Moore, who went six solid innings and surrendered only a pair of runs on three hits and striking out seven hitters, although he did walk six guys in the process.

The bullpen then backed up Moore and combined to give up only one hit over the next four innings.

In fact, Sergio Romo ended up getting the win without having to throw a single pitch, the first time that has happened in the majors since 1990. 

The Giants will now head to Washington to start a three-game series with the Nationals, a series that begins Friday night. This will certainly be a challenge for the Giants, as the Nationals head into this series with a 64-44 record and are the leaders of the National League East, leading the Miami Marlins by seven games.