Crawford lifts Giants past D’backs in 10th
SAN FRANCISCO (TNS) – The choice for the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 10th inning Wednesday seemed easy enough – give an intentional walk to one of the hottest hitters in the Major Leagues and then bring in a right-hander Fernando Salas to face the Giants’ struggling Evan Longoria.
Brandon Crawford, who would deliver a two-out run-scoring single to give the Giants a 5-4 win at AT&T Park, wasn’t looking at it that way.
“Longoria’s a good hitter on deck,” Crawford said. “Whether he’s struggling or doing well, I try not to think about that. He’s a good hitter. I don’t think they want to face him either.”
Crawford, after a pair of swings and misses against low breaking balls, got a slider to his liking on a 3-2 count and drilled it into right field to send the crowd of 41,402 home happy at the conclusion of a 5-1 home stand.
Those who were still around, anyway. A sizable number left in the ninth inning before Alen Hanson hit a two-run, two-out pinch-hit home run against closer Brad Boxberger to tie a game manager Bruce Bochy called “a great win ... could be our best win this year.”
Bay Area News Group/tns The San Francisco Giants’ Brandon Crawford follows through on his game-winning hit against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the 10th inning of Wednesday’s game in San Francisco.
The Giants, 31-31, are just 1½ games behind Arizona (32-29) in the log jam that is the National League West.
Crawford, hitting .429 in his last 32 games, said, “It feels great. I don’t know if you categorize wins necessarily, but it was against a first-place team in our division. So yes, it was pretty big win.”
For Hanson, it was his fourth consecutive pinch hit, and the utility player said he had never hit a game-winning pinch-homer in his career.
“I went with a positive mentality, approach to the plate where I was going to go to the plate and get one good swing,” Hanson said.
Following Hanson’s home run, Strickland
pitched a harrowing scoreless 10th inning that improved his record to 3-2.
Daniel Descalso opened with a walk before Daniel Peralta narrowly missed hitting a two-run home run down the right field line, a foul ball that was upheld on review.
Peralta struck out on wild pitch, with Descalso moving to second. Strickland uncorked another wild one to Chris Owings that moved Descalso to third. Owings was walked intentionally, but Strickland wriggled out of it by striking out pinchhitter Ketel Marte and then retiring Nick Ahmed on a pop-up to second base.
Andrew Chafin (0-2) got Joe Panik to line to first and then retired Pablo Sandoval on a ground ball to third before Andrew Mccutchen doubled over the head of center fielder Jarrod Dyson.
That set the stage for Crawford’s game-winner.
The Giants, who left for Washington and open a 10-game road trip Friday against the Nationals, departed with a successful homestand despite losing Brandon Belt to an emergency appendectomy June 2.
Rangers 8, A’s 2 ARLINGTON, Texas – Daniel Mengden is probably hoping the calendar never flipped from May to June.
Mengden was roughed up Wednesday night as the A’s fell to the Rangers and were swept in a short twogame series.
After an phenomenal May that saw him go 4-1 with a 1.51 ERA in six starts, Mengden was tagged for six runs on five hits and three walks over just four innings in what was his first start of June. His four home runs surrendered matched the total amount he gave up all of May and were a career-high in a single game for him. He also walked three batters after walking just four the entire month of May.
The only two runs of the game for the A’s came in the fifth inning when Khris Davis crushed a two-run home run to center field off Bartolo Colon. It was Davis’ 15th homer of the season.