Fortinet Championship: McNealy still on top, but he’s got company

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Maverick McNealy finished Sat Sep 18, 2021 two under round of 70 and is -14 and tied with Jim Knous who fired a 65 at the Fortinet Championship at Silverado Springs in Napa (file photo PGA Tour)

FORTINET CHAMPIONSHIP: McNealy still on top, but he’s got company

By Jeremy Harness

NAPA–To keep a lead in the Fortinet Championship, you have to shoot under par, and there’s no question about it.

Stanford alum Maverick McNealy, Friday’s leader, finished Saturday’s third round with a two-under round of 70, and predictably, others have caught up by going even lower. He is currently tied for the lead with Jim Knous, who fired a 65 to get into a tie with McNealy at 14-under overall.

He had his struggles on Friday on his back nine, and it continued in to the front nine on Saturday, as he dropped four shots en route to shooting two-over after nine.

However, he steadied himself on the back side, making birdie at the par-4 13th before closing things out with three birdies in a row, and now he’s only 18 holes away from his first PGA Tour win.

“It was a crazy day, I’m not going to lie, that front nine got going pretty quick,” McNealy said. “(I) hit it in a few funny spots. We were on the clock, I think, on, I want to say, the ninth hole, and it was just pretty hectic.

“I just started seeing the lines with the putter. I felt like I could make everything from 40 feet and in. I made the putt on 13, almost made a 40-footer on 14, left it on the edge on 15 from 30 feet and then hit great putts on 16, 17, 18. It took a lot of pressure off my chip on 18. I just thought all I want to do is stick this on the green to give my putter another chance.”

While McNealy finished second at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am earlier this year and has been in the mix on several other occasions, the same cannot be said for Knous. The 31-year-old did not make a single cut in 2021 and has had only one top-10 finish in his career, when he was tied for 10th in this event two years ago.

Their starts were polar opposites as well, as Knous birdied the par-3 second before running off five straight birdies at holes five through nine. He cooled off a bit on the back nine but got things back on track with a pair of birdies on the last three holes to card a seven-under round of 65.

What makes things more impressive for Knous is that he only hit 5 of his 14 fairways and only 11 of 18 greens on Saturday. He has improved his scrambling – getting up and down to save at least a par when not hitting the green – each day and was perfect in that category in the third round.

He is currently fifth in total putting and fifth in scrambling, despite being tied for 100th in the field in driving distance and tied for 74th in greens in regulation.

“It was a great day, putter got hot there late on the back nine, on the front nine, stayed hot pretty much most of the round,” said Knous, who has one more event left on a medical extension and has generally struggled to keep his PGA Tour card. “Especially a nice putt on the last, that was a bonus. Just played solid, just stayed patient, kind of let the course come to me. When it gets firm and fast like that, just got to be patient.”

Another guy in the mix is Max Homa, a Cal alum who won the Genesis Invitational earlier this year, but is probably more known for his legendary roasts of other golf swings – pros and amateurs alike – on social media.

A native of Southern California, Homa enters the final round only two shots back after going seven-under on Saturday. He had an up-and-down front nine but got very hot on the back nine, playing the final nine holes bogey-free with six birdies and closing out his day with three in a row.

“The crowd was awesome,” Homa said. “There were people out there with — obviously mostly Phil (Mickelson) fans, but I had a few in the Cal gear and a couple guys wearing shirts, so it was awesome. Really fun coming to California for me, I have great support out here. And getting to play with Phil, too, you know you’re going to get a big buzz, so it makes everything more fun.”

Vanderbilt no match for Stanford in 41-23 win

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Stanford Cardinal quarterback Tanner McKee prepares to throw downfield to a receiver against the Vanderbilt Commodores on Sat Sep 18, 2021 in Nashville (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

Stanford Cardinal (2-1) quarterback Tanner McKee scored three touchdowns one of the touchdowns McKee ran in for a keeper as Stanford defeated Vanderbilt Commodores (1-2) 41-23. McKee was 19-29 for 218 yards and threw for two touchdowns.

The Cardinal concludes their three game road trip as they prepare to host the UCLA Bruins. Home field for Vanderbilt has not been the friendly confines the loss to Stanford on Saturday is Vanderbilt’s eighth consecutive hone loss. The last time they won a home game was way back on Nov 23, 2019 some four months before the Covid 19 epidemic kicked in.

The second quarter the Cardinal’s Jimmy Wyrick intercepted Vanderbilt quarterback Ken Seal’s pass that gave the Cardinal good field position as McKee handedd off to running back Brycen Tremayne who ran it for a touchdown with 40 seconds to spare in the first half of the game.

The Commodores were forced to punt on a first and three and the Cardinal’s Casey Filkins returned the punt to the Vanderbilt 22 yard line. The Commodores had to move back further after an illegal formation play was called the ball was spotted on the 17 and Stanford kicker Joshua Karty hit a 35 yard field goal and the Cardinal took a 27-14 halftime lead into the dressing room.

The second half the Cardinal scored twice in the third quarter at 11:18 wide receiver Jay Symonds caught a five yard pass from McKee and at 1:44 left in the game EJ Smith carried for one yard to score making it 41-17. For Symonds 2 receptions 31 yards, and one touchdown. For Smith five carries, 26 yards and one touchdown.

The Cardinal host the UCLA Bruins this Sat Sep 25th at Stanford Stadium for the home opener kick off is 3:00 PM PDT.

Earthquakes three unanswered goals top Austin FC in 4-3 comeback win

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Austin FC goalie Austin Stuver gathers his thoughts after surrendering three unanswered goals to the San Jose Earthquakes at Q2 Stadium in Austin on Sat Sep 18, 2021 (AP News photo)

by Marko Ukalovic

AUSTIN, Texas—Minus their head coach, the San Jose Earthquakes flipped the script on their opponent just three days later after blowing a lead in the second half.

Down by a two-goal margin, the Quakes scored three unanswered goals in the second half for a 4-3 comeback victory over the expansion Austin FC on Saturday evening at Q2 Stadium.

San Jose are now 2-2-1 in their last five games. Austin FC have lost their last five matches in a row. With the win, the Quakes jumped from 11th to ninth place in the Western Conference. They sit just three points out of the seventh and final playoff spot with 30 points.

It was San Jose’s first win over the new expansion team. They are 1-0-1 in two matches this season against Austin FC.

Austin FC (5-16-4-19 points) didn’t look like the worst team in MLS as they jumped out of the gate early with the match’s first goal six minutes into the match.

Sebastian Driussi cleaned up a rebound off a header by Moussa Djitte that Quakes goalie JT Marcinkowski saved but wasn’t able to keep the ball out of Driussi’s reach as the center forward buried the ball into the back of the net for his third goal of the season.

San Jose (7-9-9-30 points) answered back in the 17th minute off a corner kick. Carlos Fierro centered the ball back to the middle where a running Marco Lopez from 12 yards outs powered in a header past the reach of Austin FC goalie Brad Stuver for his first goal of the season.

Austin FC played aggressive and attacked the Quakes as they scored two goals in the final 10 minutes of the first half.

A nice give and go between Alexander Ring and Daniel Pereira led to Ring finding Jon Gallagher all alone on the right side as the midfielder tapped home the ball into an empty net for his third goal of the season in the 35th minute.

Right before halftime Ring capitalized on the Quakes relaxed defense. He received the ball just into the attacking zone when he dribbled in and fired a shot from 25 yards out into the lower left corner of the net beating Marcinkowski for his fourth goal of the season.

San Jose, who were without head coach Matias Almeyda as he was serving a one-game suspension for un-sportsman like conduct he directed toward the officials in the match against Real Salt Lake, responded with a bang once the whistle blew to begin the second half.

Lopez serviced a ball from the left sideline into the middle where Benji Kikanovic made a brilliant one-time touch pass to the left to free Espinoza, who got behind the Austin FC defense before he fired a right-footed shot past Stuver into the lower right corner for his third goal of the season in the 49th minute.

The Quakes received a break when Ring was whistled for hand ball inside the box after a VAR review, resulting in a penalty kick for the visiting team in the 56th minute.

Two minutes later, Chofis, who had a hatrick in his last match, converted the penalty with a left-footed shot just inside the right post for his team leading ninth goal of the season.

Chofis wasn’t done, as he answered the bell again just five minutes later to give the Quakes their first lead of the match in the 63rd minute. A bouncing ball found Chofis in the attacking zone. He fired a shot from long range that Stuver punched back out. Chofis picked up his own rebound between three Austin FC defenders, faked a move right then went left before lasering in a shot past Stuver for his 10th goal of the season.

Choifis has been played like a man possessed in the past two matches with five goals.

“”I am very happy for him,” said Almeyda about his foward’s recent success. “There was great sacrifice in getting him to San Jose and reaching the level he is currently at after going a year and a half without playing. He changed the way he trains and lives football, including his professionalism and calmness. When I see him progressing in the sport, it makes me very pleased because he is progressing in life, and no one talks about that.”

Ring received his second yellow card of the match and an automatic red card when he made a hard tackle foul on Eric Remedi in the 65th minute. Ring will be suspended for the next match.

Despite being down a man for the final 35, plus nine minutes of stoppage time, Austin FC controlled the play of the rest of the match with numerous scoring chances and corner kicks in the final 15 minutes of play. However, the Quakes defense anchored down led by saves from Marcinkowksi to escape the Lone Star state with three points in the end.

“Resiliency is a great word,” said Marcinkowski when being asked how the team have been resilient this season. “I think it’s something we always talk about in our locker room. The belief and fight and just the will to win. I think we’ve been in so many close games this year and I think we’ve been a little bit hesitant or have been missing the final pass or final goal, or final save from me. I think we showed tonight that we can do it and have nine games left to show it and show the rest of the league that we’re a team to really watch out for.”

Marcinkowski finished the match with seven saves on 10 shot on target to earn his seventh win of the season. Stuver made four saves on eight shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: Each team conceded eight corner kicks to each other.

The Quakes are now unbeaten in eight consecutive road matches, the longest such run in club history (2003).

San Jose’s last two matches have resulted in 14 total goals (for and against), the most in consecutive matches in club history.

Lopez now has three goals in his MLS career. His goal also marks the first goal against Austin FC in Earthquakes history.

Fierro’s assist on Lopez’s goal, marked his third assist of the season and 10th of his MLS career.

Chofis became the first Quakes player to score 5+ goals in a two-game span since Chris Wondolowski tallied six from May 18, 2019 (4) to May 26, 2019 (2).

Kikanovic’s assist on Espinoza’s goal, marked his first assist of the season and of his MLS career. The match also marked his second MLS start.

Defender Tommy Thompson started and played 68 minutes. It marked his first appearance since June 22.

UP NEXT: San Jose returns home to host LAFC on Saturday 9/25 at 7:00pm at Pal Pay Park.

Casali drives in both runs in Giants win 2-0

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San Francisco Giants hitter Curt Casali swings for a two RBI single as Atlanta Braves catcher Travis d’Arnau looks on in the fourth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco Sat Sep 18, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Alex Wood made his return to the starting rotation, but his return was a short one.

Wood, who was reinstated from the injured list prior to the game went only three innings, allowing zero runs on zero hits, walking no one, striking out four and hit by a batter and the San Francisco Giants defeated the Atlanta Braves 2-0 before a crowd of 32,058 at Oracle Park.

With the victory, the Giants maintained their two-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers, who defeated the Cincinnati Reds 5-1 earlier on Saturday at Great American Ballpark.

On the other side of things, this was the fourth loss in a row for the Braves and their lead in the National League East now stands at one game over the Philadelphia Phillies, who have won four in a row.

The Giants finally got to Charlie Morton in the bottom of the fourth inning, Curt Casali hit a two-run single to right field that scored both LaMonte Wade, Jr., and Brandon Crawford with what proved to be the only runs of the game.

Wade, Jr., walked to lead off the inning, then Crawford singled to right field to send Wade, Jr., down to second base. The duo then advanced an additional 90 feet, when Mike Yastrzemski dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt that he nearly beat out and then Casali hit the two-run single.

Once again, the Giants bullpen was dazzling in relief of Wood, as the combination of Zach Littell, Jay Jackson, Jarlin Garcia, Jose Alvarez, Tyler Rogers and Dominic Leone combined to go the final five innings, allowing zero runs on five hits, walking three and striking out five.

Morton went the first five for the Braves, as he allowed two runs on four hits, three walks and struck out three.

It looked like the Braves took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning, as Jorge Soler it looked like he hit his 24th home run of the season; however, Steven Duggar robbed him of the home run, when he brought the ball back into play and it was called a double off of Littell, who then gave up a single to Freddie Freeman.

Littell was able to get out of the inning unscathed, as he struck out Austin Riley on a foul tip that was reviewed and confirmed after 67 seconds to be the third strike, then Littell struck out both Adam Duvall and Travis dArnaud to get out of the jam.

With the Giants scoring the two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, it gave the win to Littell and he raised his record to 4-0 on the season and Leone, who came on to close the game picked up his second save of the season.

NOTES: Wood was reinstated, as he started the game for the Giants, to make room for Wood, Sammy Long was optioned to Sacramento and Chadwick Tromp was designated for assignment.

The Giants home run streak came to a halt at 12 consecutive games (26 home runs overall) and this was the longest streak by the team since they hit home runs in 13 straight games from June 25-July 12 of 2019 and hit 25 home runs during the streak.

When Donovan Solano hit his pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the ninth inning on Friday night, it was the 16th pinch-hit home run of the season for the team and are one shy of the Major-League record set by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017, when they hit 17.

The Giants record of 97-52 thru 149 games is the best by the team since they moved to California in 1958, passing both the 1962 and 1993 team that was 93-56 thru 149 games.

This was the 1,250th win by the Giants over the Braves all-time and have lost 1,097 times and tied 26 times.

UP NEXT: Anthony DeSclafani goes to the mound for the Giants, as they look for the sweep and DeSclafani goes for his 13th win of the season, while the Braves will send Max Fried to the hill, as he looks for his 12th win of the season.

It’s a shootout Cal bests Sacramento State 42-30

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Cal Bears quarterback Chase Garbers passes against the Sacramento State Hornets at Cal Memorial Stadium during the home opener at UC Berkeley on Sat Sep 18, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Morris Phillips and Michael Duca

Cal Bears quarterback Chase Garbers lead Cal to the Bears first victory of 2021 with a convincing 42-30 win over the visiting Sacramento State Hornets at Cal Memorial Stadium. Garbers had himself an afternoon throwing 22-34 for 288 yards and two touchdowns. The Bears offense dominated in the first half 21-6 and the Hornets made it interesting in the second half outscoring the Bears 24-21 but the Bears hung on for the 12 point win.

The Bears Nikko Remiglio returned a second half kick off for a touchdown. Bears head coach Justin Wilcox said that winning in college football is not an easy task and he’s not taking the Bears first win of the season for granted, “You never minimize a win. It’s hard winning in college football, regardless of who you’re playing. … It’s good to get a win. But we all know that we need to be much, much better.” said Wilcox.

The Bears upon returning back to Berkeley and a full season schedule wanted to avoid going 0-3 for the first time since 2001 and in the abbreviated season of six games in 2020 the Bears lost the first three games of the season.

The Bears offense has improved over the last two games, Garbers didn’t waste anytime contributing to getting the Bears on the scoreboard on the first two drives Garbers gave to Bears running back Damien Moore who carried twice for four yard touchdowns. Moore had 87 yards in Saturday’s game.

Cal wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter caught a Garbers pass for a 45 yard touchdown. Hunter would come away with five receptions for 78 yards and the one touchdown. The Bears Trevon Clark scored a 12 yard touchdown in the third quarter and carried for a 16 yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“Each and every week we have gotten better, we have taken steps forward. As the season goes on and weeks go on, we’ll keep taking that next step.” said Garbers. Remiglio’s kickoff return to open the second half a 99 yard return really set the tone and the Bears confidence carried the rest of the game.

It’s off to Seattle and the Washington Huskies next Sat Sep 26th the Huskies got a huge win this Saturday against the Arkansas Redwolves 52-3. Huskies quarterback Dylan Morris went 23-39, 367 yards and two touchdowns against Arkansas.

Las Vegas Raiders podcast with Rich Perez: Incognito out of the line up for Sunday; Raiders focus on shutting down Steelers Roethlisberger

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Las Vegas Raiders offensive lineman Richie Incognito in drills back on Wed May 26, 2021 will not be in Sunday’s line up against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh (AP News photo)

On Las Vegas Raiders podcast:

#1 Rich, offensive lineman Richie Incognito will not be in the line up Sunday and Denzelle Good is out for the season the pressure to hold the Steel Curtain Sunday will be on John Simpson like last week against the Ravens. Simpson will have to be on his A game against the Steelers defense Sunday.

#2 Rich, talk about the front seven and how difficult it will be for Raiders center Andre James and the offensive line against the Pittsburgh Steelers front seven Sunday at Heinz Field.

#3 Raiders cornerback Nate Hobbs impressed the coaching staff in camp and in practices to earn the job at starting nickel back. The coaches after the Baltimore game said Hobbs hasn’t seen competition until he faces the Steelers Sunday.

#4 Rich, Hunter Renfrow had himself a game the coaches say he was a huge part of the receiving core last Monday night with six catches for 70 yards and of those 59 yards came from catching them in the slot.

#5 The Raiders defense will try and read the Steelers offense all game long Sunday. The Steelers handled the Buffalo Bills in their last win last week 23-16. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was 18-32 for 188 yards and threw for one touchdown. How do you see the Raiders defense attempting to shut down Roethlisberger’s game down Sunday?

Join Rich for the Raiders podcasts each Sunday morning at http://www.sportsradioservice.com



San Francisco 49ers podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: 49ers gear up for a potent Eagles offense led by QB Hurts

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Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts carries the football against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta in the first half of action last Sun Sep 12, 2021 during week 1 (AP News photo)

On the 49ers podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 San Francisco 49ers inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw who picked off Detroit Lions quarterback Jerod Goff’s pass for a 39 yard return last Sunday during week one will have surgery for an injured groin. Greenlaw is one of three starters for the 49ers who will be out of the line up this Sunday in week 2 in Philadelphia. Greenlaw is expected to be out of action for six to eight weeks.

#2 The other two 49ers who will be lost for the rest of the season are cornerback Jason Verett and running back Raheem Mostert out with knee injuries.

#3 Azeez Al-Shaair will taking over Greenlaw’s spot at linebacker Al Shaair impressed head coach Kyle Shanahan in the game in Detroit last Sunday with seven tackles, two of those he threw for loses, and broke up two passes.

#4 The 49ers will used Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles who will be in the starting line up Sunday at strongside linebacker. Flannigan-Fowles was a safety when he came in as a 2019 undrafted free agent.

#5 The Philadelphia Eagles will host the 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia for week 2. Last week the Eagles crushed the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta 32-6. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts put the hurts to the Falcons with 27 completions out of 35 throws for 264 yards and three touchdowns. How do you see the Eagles matching up against the 49ers in week 2?

Join Jeremiah for the 49ers podcasts each Saturday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s Win Game One of Angels Series 5-4

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Los Angeles Angel designated hitter Shohei Ohtani takes a few warm up swings on the on deck circle in preparation in facing Oakland A’s reliever Jake Diekman in the top of the seventh inning at the Oakland Ring Central Coliseum in Oakland on Fri Sep 17, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

After winning their series with the Kansas City Royals the Oakland A’s traveled to southern California to take on the Los Angeles Angels in a three game series.

Cole Irvin was on the mound for Oakland and Jhonathan Diaz started for the Angels. Irvin has a 3.97 ERA and Diaz comes in with a 10.80 ERA.

The A’s took the early lead 2-0 in the second inning and Los Angeles answered with four runs in the same inning leading 4-2. Suzuki had a solo home run in the second inning to start off the scoring for the Angels.

The A’s would score a run in the third inning to pull to within one 4-3. The A’s had the bases loaded in the fifth inning and came up empty. This was a great opportunity squandered by Oakland and is something that they have struggled with this season. Leaving runners stranded has been a sore spot for the team.

In the sixth inning the A’s would take the lead 5-4 and win it in this closely contested ballgame.

After going six innings Cole Irvin was relieved by Jake Diekman in the seventh inning. Oakland needed the bullpen to step up and protect the slim lead. It was a three up, three down for Diekman.

With two innings left in the game the A’s needed an insurance run or two to take this first game of the series.

The Angels threatened in the eighth inning but a brilliant throw from Starling Marte to Matt Chapman tagged Kean Kong out at third for the third out of the inning.

Sergio Romo would take the mound to try and close out this game for Oakland. The A’s would hang on for their 80th win of the season. It was a very nice outing for the Oakland bullpen. There were no long balls for the A’s in this one but some great defensive play which salvaged this game for the A’s Game Two is scheduled for 6:07.

Fortinet Championship: A little local flavor on top

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Maverick McNealy takes the lead with a eight under par 64 lead and is on top of the leaderboard with a -12 at the Silverado Resort Fortinet Championship in Napa (file photo birdiesforeducation.com)

FORTINET CHAMPIONSHIP: A little local flavor on top

By Jeremy Harness

This tournament has been known for guys going low throughout the weekend, and for the leaderboard to change rapidly at a moment’s notice.

Friday’s second round did not disappoint, as several players took advantage of the calm conditions at Silverado Resort & Spa, and the birdies continued to roll in without ceasing. And yes, there were a band new set of leaders atop the Fortinet Championship.

Maverick McNealy, a Stanford grad who is seeking his first professional victory and whose best finish is second in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am earlier this year, shot up to the top of the leaderboard with an eight-under round of 64 on Friday.

Starting on the 10th hole, he got off to a very nice start to his round, birdieing his first two holes and then adding three more birdies on his front nine. He hit a major snag on his back nine by bogeying the first three holes there but quickly rallied with four birdies in a row and capped things off with an eagle at the par-5 ninth.

“It’s great, but there’s a lot of great players on this leaderboard and every shot’s going to matter,” McNealy said. “I just keep telling myself every putt you make now is one less you have to make later and you have to keep the pedal down. My goal tomorrow’s to get out there and give myself a birdie look on the first hole. I’m just going to have to keep doing that. Yeah, it’s great to be at the top of the leaderboard now, but it means a heck of a lot more to be at the top at the end of 72 holes.”

If you ask any good player the easiest way to shave strokes off your game, that person will most likely tell you to work on your putting. You want proof? Take a look at McNealy’s second round.

He drove the ball less accurately off the tee – he hit only six fairways Friday, compared to eight on Thursday – and didn’t hit it as far as he did in the first round, and he hit fewer greens in regulation (13 as opposed to 15) as well.

However, he made considerably more putts on Friday than was the case the day before, resulting in four more birdies and four fewer strokes. He is now second in the field in putts-per-green-in-regulation with 1.536.

While many were going low,first-round leader Chez Reavie went the opposite direction, carding a three-over round of 75. He was even-par after nine, but this time, he did not get hot. Instead, he went four-over in holes 11 through 13, including a double at the par-3 11th. He made back-to-back birdies at the 14th and 15th, but the damage was done.

He did not make nearly as many putts as he did in the first round. In fact, he lost more than a full stroke to the field in putting, in addition to being at a severe disadvantage off the tee and got up and down only 33 percent of the time on Friday, as opposed to 80 percent the day before.

Gausman wins it in extras with a sacrifice fly edge Braves 6-5 in 11

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By Jeremy Kahn

San Francisco Giant pitcher Kevin Gausman in front of Brandon Belt (9) and Brandon Crawford (35) celebrate Gausman’s pinch hit sacrifice RBI that scored Crawford in the 11th inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco to edge the Atlanta Braves on Fri Sep 17, 2021 (AP News photo)

SAN FRANCISCO-If you had Kevin Gausman to get the game-winning run batted in for the San Francisco Giants, you should be a gambler.

Gausman came off the bench to pinch hit for Camilo Doval and hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 11th inning, as the Giants came back to defeat the Atlanta Braves 6-5 before a crowd of 26,644 at Oracle Park.

Coupled with the Cincinnati Reds win by the final of 3-1 at Great American Ballpark over the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Giants lead over the Dodgers is up to two games in the National League West with 14 games to play.

The Giants, who ran out of position players after Curt Casali came off the bench to pinch-hit in the bottom of the ninth inning, were forced to send a pitcher to the plate to bat and the call went to Gausman, who walked in his only previous pinch-hit at bat.

Last walk-off RBI by a Giants pitcher prior to tonight was September 25, 2018 versus the San Diego Padres when Madison Bumgarner singled home Gorkys Hernandez in the bottom of the 12th inning.

Brandon Crawford was the runner on second in the bottom of the 11th inning, and after eventual losing pitcher Justin Webb threw his pickoff attempt into centerfield, Crawford got up and moved to third base. Webb then intentionally walked Evan Longoria, but then Webb was able to get Steven Duggar to fly out to Adam Duvall for the first out of the inning; however, Crawford was unable to score.

Webb then walked Donovan Solano intentionally for the second intentional walk of the inning and the fourth between the 10th and 11th innings alone that brought up Gausman, who ran the count to 3-2 and then on sixth pitch of the at-bat, launched the ball into right field and Crawford beat the throw from Joc Pederson to give the Giants one of the most dramatic wins of the season.

In each of the last 10 losses by the Braves, they have been by one or two runs. During the streak, they have seven one-run losses and three two-run losses and this was the 29th one-run loss by them this season, only the New York Mets with 32 have more.

Solano, who was walked intentionally in the bottom of the 11th inning sent the game into extra innings, as hit a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning with two strikes and two outs off of former Giants closer Will Smith.

This was the 16th pinch-hit home run of the season for the Giants, the most in the National League.

Solano, who was out for 21 games and in quarantine for a period of 14 days after tested positive for Covid-19.

Dominic Leone pitched a perfect eighth inning after replacing Logan Webb, who pitched a fantastic first seven innings for the Giants.

Tyler Rogers came on to close it out for the Giants, but got into immediate trouble in the top of the ninth inning, as he allowed back-to-back hits to Riley and Duvall and nearly gave up a third straight hit; however, Tommy La Stella made a great catch off a ball hit by Eddie Rosario for the first out of the inning. Then dArnaud launched what looked like a game-winning three-run home run into the left field bleachers just out of the reach of Kris Bryant that gave the Braves a short-lived 5-4 lead.

Brandon Belt, Crawford and Lamont Wade, Jr., joined Solano as they each hit home runs for the Giants.

Go figure, on the night that the Giants would hit three home runs, bringing their total to 227, passing the 2000 team for the second-most in team history and trailing the 2001 team for the most in team history, when they hit 235, the man who hit 122 of those home runs, would be at the game and his name is Barry Bonds.

Logan Webb pitched fantastic, as he went seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits, walking not a single batter and striking out nine, but did not fare in the decision.

Webb fell into a jam in the top of the first inning, as after he struck out the first two batters of the game, he then gave up three straight hits to Freddie Freeman, Austin Riley and Duvall, who drove in both runs in the inning, when he doubled off of Webb. Both Freeman and Riley singled prior to the Duvall double.

That lead would not last long, as Ian Anderson walked Darin Ruf to lead off the bottom of the first inning and then on a 2-0 pitch, Belt hit his team-leading 26th home run of the season.

Crawford gave the Giants the lead for the time being in the bottom of the second inning, as he led off the inning with his 21st home run of the season on a 3-1 pitch.

Wade, Jr., hit the third home run of the night for the Giants in the bottom of the fourth inning, as he hit a solo home run into McCovey Cove. It was the second Splash Hit of the season for Wade, and the 91st since the ballpark opened on April 11, 2000.

Crawford not only came up big at the plate, he also came up with a dazzling play in the field off of the bat of Riley in the top of the sixth inning. In what looked like was going to go into left field, Crawford dove into the hole, snared the ball with his glove, got up to throw across the infield to get Riley by a few steps at first base.

Anderson pitched the first 5.2 innings for the Braves, as he allowed four runs on five hits, walking two and striking out and like Webb did not fare in the decision.

Leone came on to replace Webb and promptly got out of the inning, as he retired the Braves in order, including Freeman, the 2020 NL MVP on a ground ball to end the inning. Freeman went 2-for-4 on the night.

Bryant doubled in the bottom of the sixth inning, it was the 16th straight game that Bryant would reach, his longest streak since July 4-26, 2019, when he also reached in 16 games, while with the Chicago Cubs.

NOTES: Solano returned from his rehab assignment and reinstated from the IL, while Jay Jackson was recalled from Sacramento, Jake McGee was placed on the 10-day IL (retro to September 14) with a right oblique strain and Thairo Estrada was optioned to Sacramento.

The Giants tied for the third most hits in a game, that were all extra base hits (since 1901): 5/5/1901 Reds: 10 8/18/1998 Braves (vs SF): 9 Tonight Giants: 8 6/3/2017 Yankees: 8 7/10/2010 Tigers: 8 9/18/2002 Cardinals: 8, this according to Sarah Langs.

The only other time that the Giants received a game-winning pinch hit RBI from a pitcher was Don Robinson on July 31, 1990 at Candlestick Park against Juan Agosto of the Houston Astros, when Robinson singled to score Brett Butler from third base.

This was the 16th four-home run or more game of the season, passing the Toronto Blue Jays for the most in the Major Leagues.

Also, the Solano home run was the 74th by the team this season, ranking third in the majors, behind the Tampa Bay Rays and the Blue Jays.

UP NEXT: Alex Wood takes the mound on Saturday night for the Giants, as he looks for his 11th win of the season, while Charlie Morton will take the mound for the Braves, as he looks for his 14th win of the season for the visitors from Atlanta.