By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — 103 pitches into a terrific outing on Wednesday night, Madison Bumgarner found himself in a race he could not win.

Facing the planet’s hottest hitter, Clay Bellinger, in a 1-2 count with Kike Hernandez at second as the potential tying run, Bumgarner was either a pitch from departing with a shutout and a lead, or something a whole lot worse given he was facing a guy with a franchise-record 14 home runs in the Dodgers’ first 32 games of the season. A hot grounder down the first base line somehow didn’t elude Brandon Belt giving the first baseman a chance to record an out if he could connect with his pitcher running from the mound to the bag before Bellinger barreled down the line.

But again, Bumgarner was in a race he couldn’t win with a deceptively speedy runner determined to give his team a chance. The former World Series MVP pulled up short, conceding the hit, and taking Belt’s throw 20 feet from first, only to turn toward home and see Hernandez racing home with the tying run.

Giants’ best player in a favorable spot with a chance to win?

Not always going to work out for these punchless Giants. But this game provided a reprieve for Bum and the Giants as Buster Posey came up with a tie-breaking, ninth inning single in the team’s 2-1 win over the Dodgers.

“Just an all-around great game,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “Both sides pitched so well. It was a hard-fought game. Great win for us.”

The Giants’ biggest win to date also captured the series, a nice follow-up for the last-place club after being swept by the Yankees over the weekend. The Giants have won five of nine, but it’s never easy. Four of those five wins have been by one run.

The walkoff win against the defending National League champs was the story, but so was Bumgarner. In six innings of work, he was near perfect, allowing one run on four hits, striking out eight. The fourth and sixth frames were marathons for the pitcher, but he escaped in a tie game, despite little support, a first inning, run scoring sacrifice fly from Belt.

Not the first time Bumgarner’s dealt against the hated blue, or faced some adversity courtesy of Hernandez (23 of 45 lifetime against Bumgarner with six doubles and four homers). But rarely has he looked this good, long awaited news for Giants’ fans, who still haven’t seen the pitcher defeat the Dodgers since 2016.

“Been studying stuff and trying to try different things to get to where I want to be which in my mind is a perfect delivery,” Bumgarner said. “I don’t think it’s there but it’s definitely better than it has been. Everything felt much better today than it has in a while.”

Just like Bum’s outing, the game-winning rally was tense. Steven Duggar and Gerardo Parra singled with one out, and Belt struck out with a chance to end it. Manager Dave Roberts then summoned Pedro Baez, who surrendered the searing base hit to Posey that scored Duggar despite a close play at the plate.

The Giants travel to Cincinnati Thursday in preparation for a four-game set with the Reds that starts Friday night. Tyler Beede will make his season debut in a matchup with Sonny Gray, who is 0-4 thus far for the Reds.