By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — For the second time in three days, the Giants emptied their tank–along with their bullpen–to get past the Cubs.

The 452nd pitch of the afternoon thrown by James Norwood was treated to Buster Posey’s classic inside out swing which sent the ball carooming off the padded advertisement at the base of the right field arcade, scoring Brandon Belt.

Posey’s signature All-Star moment ended four and half hours of baseball in the 13th inning with the Giants prevailing 5-4 at AT&T Park on Wednesday. And then it got Posey’s manager and teammates talking about the catcher’s grit and determination.

“For him to drive the ball like that with two strikes, that’s what’s impressive,” manager Bruce Bochy said of Posey’s final swing.

“For Buster to feel something the majority of the season, his hip, and still go out every day and hit the ball like he does, he’s just a different animal,” said Dereck Rodriguez, who as the son of Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez, might understand what Posey deals with shouldering so much responsibility on daily basis despite the constant injuries and nicks earned behind the plate.

A different animal? Yeah, what else would explain catching 225 pitches over 13 innings, then delivering the game-winning hit on your seventh at-bat two days after announcing that an expedited, pain-relieving procedure is needed in a few days just for your season to continue after the All-Star break.

“He’s a future Hall of Famer,” Rodriguez said.

Posey, always in character and in a different tone than Rodriguez, wasn’t in need of All-Star treatment.

“Everybody’s got stuff they’re dealing with. I try not to make more of it than what it is,” Posey said.

Whether business or usual, or Herculean feat, Posey’s big hit kept the Giants trending in the right direction, moving within three games of the Diamondbacks in the NL West. Ultimately, being three games behind–and just three games over .500–won’t get the Giants much. But they continue to hang around, for 95 games now, just in case they’re capable of a whole lot more down the stretch of the season.

The Giants will kick off the Battle of the Bay versus the A’s on Friday night at 7:15 pm PDT.