By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Didn’t think the record-breaking, home run-hitting Giants had this in their arsenal?

Well, you would be half right, and not the half you believed in.

The Giants nudged themselves past the Diamondbacks, 1-0 on Wednesday night at Oracle Park to reduce their magic number to win the NL West to three. And they did it as small–offensively–as possible, winning on Kris Bryant’s sacrifice fly in the seventh inning that scored Steven Duggar.

The Giants (104-54) have hit a franchise-record 237 home runs and posted a bunch of shutouts, not surprising balance for a team threatening to join the 1975 Reds and 1986 Mets as the winningest single season teams in National League history since divisional play began in 1969. But winning 1-0?

Well, a quick look back reveals they won 1-0 on April 18 at Miami when Alex Dickerson singled home a run in the third inning that stood up. And they bested the Nationals on June 11 when Buster Posey homered in the fourth inning, after Max Scherzer–know that name?–departed with a groin issue after throwing just 12 pitches. But winning 1-0 on a sacrifice fly is smaller brand of offense that, well, the Giants hadn’t accomplished this year.

“We pitched really well and the bullpen’s been nails all year,” starting pitcher Alex Wood said. “I can’t wait for October.”

A couple of things turned this one into a nail biter. D’Backs starter Merrill Kelly played Houdini, walking four and allowing three hits in five innings of work while not allowing a run. Three Arizona relievers followed and were equally as stingy, but Noel Ramirez allowed a single to Tommy La Stella, Steven Duggar then pinch ran for La Stella and stole second. Lamonte Wade Jr. grounded out, moving Duggar to third, where he stood when Bryant delivered the game-deciding sacrifice fly.

A manufactured run if ever there was one, but the Giants will take it.

The Giants were denied a far more comfortable margin of victory in the eighth when Duggar was robbed by Gary Varsho’s catch at the top of the left centerfield wall with two runners on.

Wood was stellar through six innings, allowing three hits and striking out six. Wood had the look of a competitor attempting to insure that he will prominently featured in the Giants’ postseason rotation by issuing no walks then retiring for the evening after throwing an economical 74 pitches. Three relievers (Dominic Leone, Jarlin Garcia and emerging high leverage guy, Camilo Doval) finished the D’Backs, combining to allow one hit with none of three throwing more than 11 pitches in their inning each.

The Giants achieved an incredible first with the win, becoming the first San Francisco Giants’ team to win as many as 104 games in a season. What’s next? The NY Giants of 1905 won 105, the NY Giants of 1904 won 106, and the Mets and Reds–the most inconic NL teams of this era–both won 108.

“It’s a huge accomplishment,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “This team has done so many good things. To say that this club has won more games than any other San Francisco Giants team is quite fulfilling.”

At press time, the Dodgers were locked into an incredible, back-and-forth affair with the Padres, with the score 9-9 in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Dodgers led 5-1 after two, then trailed 9-5 in the bottom of the seventh, only to score five times in the eighth to regain the lead. If the Dodgers lose, the Giants magic number would be reduced to two.

On Thursday, the Diamondbacks–now an incredible 54 games out of first place in the NL West–will bring Madison Bumgarner to the mound in his first pitching assignment in San Francisco since he left the Giants after the 2019 season. The Giants have not announced a pitcher, but Scott Kazmir’s name was being bandied on Twitter as if he would get the call on Thursday, but no announcement has been made.