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San Francisco Giant Luis Gonzalez launches a two run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sat Jul 30, 2022 (AP News photo)

Chicago (41-59). 4. 10. 0

San Francisco (50-51). 5. 7. 1

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–Ring Lardner famously remarked, “I went to the fights last night, and a hockey game broke out.” That was New York; this is San Francisco, where 40,971 thrill seekers went to a love in this afternoon, and an hour later a baseball game broke out. The love in was a celebration of Will The Thill Clark on the occasion of his uniform number 22 being retired. The game was a nailbitting San Francisco Giants’ win over the Chicago Cubs 5-4.

29 year old right hander Jakob Junis toed the rubber at 6:16 with a record of 4-2, and finished his labors for the day after hurling six innings of shutout ball that included five hits and a walk against four strikeouts. He threw 74 pitches, 45 for strikes. Because he hadn’t pitched the requisite five frames, he got a no decision. His performance lowered his ERA to 3.78.

Pitching for the Windy -but not as windy as Clark’s beloved Candlestick Park- City was southpaw Drew Smyly, totting a 3-5,3.93 record with him. He, too, lasted only four innings on the mound, but with less impressive results. He gave up five runs, all earned, on seven hits, two of which left the park (one into McCovey Cove), and a pair of walks He managed to rack up five Ks. He took the loss that left him 3-6, 4.42.

It was the Giants who drew first blood. With one away in the bottom of the third, Darin Ruf drew a walk and motored his way home on Austin Slater’s booming double to center. Slater, in turn, notched San Francisco’s second tally on an authoritative single to left off the bat of Yermín Mercedes. That’s where the score stood when the inning drew to a close, 2-1 in favor of the home team.

The Giants extended their lead in the next frame. David Villar led off with a grounder that bounced off the glove of third baseman Wisdom, going to his left, and into left field for a single. Luis González then launched a 394 foot splash hit for his fourth home run of the season, only to be followed by Joey Bart´s seventh, a 411 shot into the left field bleachers. That one-two punch put San Francisco ahead five zip.

One inning short of qualifying for the win, Junis left the game in favor of submariner Tyler Rogers, who pitched a perfect fifth and sixth. Jarlín García replaced him in the top of the seventh

Smyly also exited after four innings. replaced by Mark Leiter, Jr., whose performance in the home fifth was marred by his beaning Estrada with an 84 mph changeup that kept the Giants’ shortstop supine and motionless, for several minutes before he was moved to the clubhouse. Lieter remained in the game until there were two down and a runner on first in the bottom of the seventh. That’s when Steven Brault relieved him.

After García yielded singles to pinch hitter PJ Higgins and second sacker David Bote, interspersed with a strikeout of Alfonso Rivas, Yuniór Marte took over mound duties of the home team. Nelson Velásquez as pinch hitter was the countermove and he hit a run producing single to right that brought in PJ Higgins with Chicago’s first tally.

It was charged to Jarlin García. Marte then quickly disposed of Willson Contreras and Seiya Suzuki to keep the score 5-1.

Austin Slater just missed a home run to open the Giants’ half of the seventh. He slammed a drive inches outside the left field foul pole before striking out. Leiter walked Yermin Mercedes and then caught Flores looking.

At this point, southpaw Steven Brault came in to face the left handed Belt and Jason Vosler, who had replaced the injured Thairo Estrada. The tactic worked, and we went into the eighth with San Francisco leading the Cubs, 5-1, where it stayed after Marte’s one, two, three put down of the North Siders.

Marte came out in the top of the ninth to face the bottom third of Chicago’s batting order. He began by plunking Yan Gomes with an 85 mph slider. He advanced to second on a hit to third that was so weak it didn’t draw a throw.

But it was enough to drive Marte from the mound and bring in Dominic Leone in search of his third save in six opportunities. David Boite touched him for a first pitch single to center that loaded the bases with none out and the top of the order coming up.

Nelson Velásquez hit a grounder to short, and for some reason second base umpire Charlie Ramos called Bote safe at second, which scored a run. Contreras hit another double play ball to short but Wilson Flores´s relay to first drew Belt off the bag at first. Higgins scored, and Boite went to third.

Suzuki also grounded out to short, which brought in David Bote. Just like that, it was. one run game. Then, with the count at 3-1, Ian Hopp grounded out to second, and the Giants had pulled off a 5-4 skin of their teeth victory.

The scorer named Tyler Rogers as the winning pitcher. He’s now 2-3, 4.56. Leone got that third save.

So far, there has been no report on Estrada’s condition.

The series continues tomorrow at 4:08 pm PDT. Adrian Sampson (0-1, 3.20) will start for Chicago and Carlos Rodón (8-6, 3.18) will take the mound for the home team at Oracle Park.

Chicago Cubs third base coach Willie Harris (33) and Patrick Wisdom (16) get a leg up after Wisdom’s top of the fifth inning home run against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Fri Jan 29, 2022 (AP News photo)

Chicago (41-58). 4. 6. 0

San Francisco (49-51). 2 13. 1

Friday, July 29, 2022

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–The season’s records for Friday’s starting hurlers gave some hope for a pitcher’s duel. As could be expected when San Francisco Giants pitcher Alex Cobb is scheduled to start, the Giants games notes remind us that although “his ERA is ccurrently 4.26, his ERA is 2.88 … that is in the top 14 percent of the MLB,” which prompts the suspicion that perhaps the relevant statistic is Cobb’s age and not his, (for “expected” ERA).

In any case, Friday the 10 year veteran began the day at 3-4, and the aforementioned 4.26. His best game came on July 16 when he dominated Milwaukee here at Oracle Park, allowing only one run, and that unearned, in 7-1/3 inning of work.

The extent of his improvement since his recovery from a shoulder inflammation was still to be determined. Cobb’s progress, on the basis of tonight’s activity, has been more than satisfactory. When he left the game in the top of the seventh, Giants were trailing, 1-0, but Cobb had been terrific.

There was a runner on first, Nico Hoerner, who had just received the only base on balls Cobb had issued all night. Cobb had thrown 90 pitches, 55 of which were counted as strikes. The one tally he had surrendered was earned and came on a home run that was one of the only three hits charged to him, one of which could easily have been scored as an error by Jason Vosler. He reduced his ERA to 4.06, but he still took the loss, leaving him at 3-5.

His opposite number for the visiting Chicago Cubs, Marcus Stroman, stood at 2-5, 4.38 at game time. In his last outing, six days ago in Philadelphia, he held the Phllies to one run on five hits and a walk over six innings, leaving with a no decision.

Like Cobb, he has been hampered by injuries. In his two previous starts he had posted an ERA (real not expected) of 1.26 over 14-1/3 innings.His performance at Oracle Park this evening consisted of six frames of shutout ball in which he yielded eight safeties and a walk.

He struck out three Giants and threw a total of 95 pitches, 67 going down as strikes and brought his earned run average down to an even 3.00. He got the win, putting his W-L numbers at 3-5.

In the end, the Cubs prevaled in an exciting 4-2 battle.

Before game time, the Giants announced a piece of bad news that put a damper on last night’s sturing 4-2 win over the Cubbies, in which all the breaks had seemed to be in San Francisco’s favor.

Joc Pederson, who had banged his head against the wall leaping in vain to catch Patrick Wisdom’s seventh inning home run, was placed on the seven day IL with a concussion, at least the second he’s received in an MLB game. His roster replacement was Jason Vosler, who started tonight at third, batting in the eighth position.

The teams traded zeroes for four innings until Chicago broke through with a lead off the fifth with a home run by Wisdom, his 19th roundtripper and 50th RBI of the year. It travelled 368 feet, into the left field bleachers and came on a 94mph sinker. It was only the Cubs’ second hit of the contest.

After Cobb walked Hoerner to open the seventh, Dominic Leon relieved him and walked the first two Cubs he faced. Things looked dire, but Leone induced a rally killing 6-4-3 double play by Christopher Morel.

Scott Effross took over for Marcus Stroman after the fans murdered “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” He got two outs after granting a free lead off pass to Yermín Mercedes, hitting for Joey Bart. Wilmer Flores doubled to left, and Brandon Belt drew a full count walk, but the budding rally was nipped when Mike Yastrzemski grounded out to first.

It was John Brebbia on the mound for the orange and black in the top of the eighth. He set the Cubbies down in order.

Mychal Givens was the next hurler to hop on the Windy City carrousel, coming on board to start the home eighth. With one out, LaMonte Wade, Jr. lifted a fly ball to left center that fell for a Texas League double, a good example of why baseball should adopt the concept of a team error.

Austin Slater went to second as a pinch runner, and Vosler went down swinging for the second out, bringing on Austin Wynns, who replaced Bart behind the plate. He struck out swinging, stranding Slater at second, the 12th man San Francisco had left on base in eight innings.

Camilo Doval took over on the mound for the visitors’ ninth. After disposing of Ian Happ on a bounder to the mound, he walked Hoerner on four pitches, and then the roof fell in. Jason Wisdom hit a shot to left that third base umpire Charlie Ramps called fair before it bounced out of play.

The Giants challenged the call, but Jeff Nelson and Mark Wegner in New York let it stand. The rule book double put runners on second and third. Hoerner scored on a little nubber to the mound, and Wisdom followed suit when Alfonso Rivas singled to right, ending Doval’s abortive attempt to hold Chicago in check.

Sam Moll got Morel to hit a soft fly near the right field line that bounced off the heel of Yastrzemski’s glove. It looked like an error, but for some reason it was scored as a hit. Between innings, the scoring error was corrected, and Yastrzemski was charged with an error. Moll got his next two men, but the damage was done.

All that Chicago needed to even the series was for David Robertson, who came on in the bottom of the ninth, to hold the Giants to three runs or less and retire three batters. Tommy La Stella opened the inning with a double to right center, but Luis González flew out to left.

Flores brought the crowd to its feet with a high fly, deep to the left field corner that made it over the fence. All of a sudden, the score was 4-2. Belt singled to left, bringing Yastrzemski to the plate as the potential tying run. The only redemption Yaz got was that Belt moved into scoring position on his ground out to second. David Robertson kept him there by fanning Thairo Estrada to end the game.

The Giants will retire Will Clark’s number Saturday evening. The ceremony will start at 5:00, followed by a 6:05 start with the Cubs Drew Smyly (3-5,3.93) going against the Giants’ Jakob Junis (4-2,2.98)