Photo credit: @SFGiants
By Jeremy Kahn
SAN FRANCISCO — When the San Francisco Giants needed the biggest hit of the game, they turned to the spark plug of the first half, Gorkys Hernandez.
After sitting on the bench for eight and a half innings, Hernandez hit a single to left field in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Giants defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0 before a crowd of 37,276 at AT&T Park on Tuesday night.
With the victory, the Giants are now six games behind the D-Backs, who are now with the Colorado Rockies atop the National League West, while the reigning National League Champion Los Angeles Dodgers are a game behind.
This was the first walk-off hit of Hernandez’s career, as the Giants have won four in a row and six out of their last nine since being swept by the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark from August 17-19.
As for the first-place D-Backs, this was their fourth loss in their last five games and it was seventh time this season that they have been shutout.
The Giants have held the D-Backs scoreless over the past 23 innings, as the D-Backs last scored in the bottom of the fifth inning of the series finale on August 5.
Steven Duggar came up huge on both the offensive and the defensive sides of the diamond in the shutout win for the Giants.
After Austin Slater grounded out for the first out of the inning, Duggar drew a walk against losing pitcher Brad Ziegler. Then Nick Hundley singled to left field, and Duggar rounded second and was heading to third before putting on the breaks and slid back into second.
It was on that play where Duggar slid into second that showed everyone why the Giants called him up to be their everyday center fielder, as he jammed his shoulder into the ground and after stretching for the training staff, Bruce Bochy and others, Duggar did a few stretches and stayed in the game. Alen Hanson was announced as a pinch hitter, but Torey Lovullo countered with left-hander Jake Diekman and Hernandez was called onto pinch-hit and he came up with the biggest hit of the night to win the game for the Giants.
Duggar came up huge on defense in the top of the eighth inning, as he cut off a ball hit by David Peralta, threw to Brandon Crawford, who in turn, threw to Hundley to get Nick Ahmed at the plate after he went through the stop sign of third base coach Tony Perezchica.
Madison Bumgarner was sharp once again, as he went seven innings, allowing just four hits, walking four and striking out five, as he did not fare in the decision.
Bumgarner got into jams in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, but it was vintage Bumgarner and he got out of all the jams unscathed.
Ketel Marte led off the top of the fifth inning with a double, but then Bumgarner regrouped to get Jeff Mathis and Clay Buchholz, but then John Jay walked and then A.J. Pollock flew out to Duggar in center for the final out of the inning.
Things got real dicey in the top of the sixth inning, as Bumgarner gave up a base hit to Paul Goldschmidt off the left field wall that kept Goldschmidt at first base and then walked Eduardo Escobar. Bumgarner got Steven Souza for the first out, but then Ahmed singled to load the bases.
Evan Longoria made a heads up on a Marte hit ball, as he threw to Hundley for the second out of the inning and the inning nearly came out of control, as Brandon Belt snared the Hundley throw before it went into the outfield to give the D-Backs the lead. Bumgarner then got out of the jam, as he got Mathis to fly out to Duggar to end the inning.
Once again, things got a little hairy in the top of the seventh inning, as Bumgarner fanned Buchholz for the second time, but then Slater lost the ball in the lights for a three-base error that allowed Jay to get to third base. Pollock then walked, but Goldschmidt, who just feasts on Giants pitching, was not able to get the run across, as he popped out to Joe Panik for the second out of the inning and then Escobar grounded out to Panik to end the seventh inning and yet another escape for the Giants and Bumgarner.
Buchholz also went seven innings, allowing just five hits, walking two and striking out three, as like Bumgarner, he did not fare in the decision.
It was a tough start to the night for Panik, as he grounded into a double play just moments after it looked like Andrew McCutchen stole second base in the bottom of the first inning, but Panik fouled the Buchholz pitch back to the screen.
Two innings later, Panik hit a ball to centerfield that sent McCutchen to third base and it looked like Panik got into second safely; however, Lovullo challenged the call and after a nearly two-minute review, the call was reversed and Panik was called out to end the inning.
NOTES: This was the Giants’ 12th shutout of the season, and their sixth at home.
It was the third time this season that they have shutout their opponents in back-to-back games, as they shutout the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first two games of the season, then the Philadelphia Phillies on June 1-2 and now the D-Backs.
This was the ninth walk-off win of the season for the Giants, and the first since Buster Posey singled in the bottom of the 13th inning to defeat the Chicago Cubs on July 11.
UP NEXT: The Giants and D-Backs close out their series with a Wednesday night finale at 7:15 pm PDT.
Dereck Rodriguez looks for his seventh win of the season on Wednesday night, as he takes the hill in the series and season finale against the D-Backs, who will send 13-game winner Zack Godley to the mound.
