Playoff hopes still alive despite late heartbreaker
Grisham’s 3run shot lifts Padres in Game 2
This has been one of the Giants’ most memorable seasons for many reasons, its required reduction notwithstanding. Projected to be eliminated from the playoff chase long ago, they’re still breathing with two games remaining.
In fact, the Giants are positioned in the eighth and final playoff spot after splitting Friday’s doubleheader at Oracle Park, beating the Padres 54 and dropping the nightcap in a heartbreaker 65.
Back in their familiar neighborhood of .500 (2929), the Giants would assure themselves of their first postseason since 2016 by winning both weekend games. It’s possible they could advance if they win
just once more, but that would require help elsewhere.
A win in the second game would have narrowed the Giants’ magic number to one, but Sam Coonrod, who inherited a 53 lead, had little command and coughed up a threerun home run to Trent Grisham.
Strangely, the Giants lost on a walkoff home run in their own ballpark.
Wilmer Flores homered in both games, putting the Giants ahead each time, and his threerun shot in the sixth inning of the second game would have provided a dramatic comefrombehind win had Coonrod held the lead.
With the Game 2 pitching matchup of 35yearold Jeff Samardzija, who was reinstated from the injured list Friday, and San Diego’s Dinelson Lamet, who had a 2.07 ERA in his first 11 starts, it was crucial for the Giants to win the opener.
Mission accomplished, thanks to Mike Yastrzemski’s fruitful return to the lineup after being omitted from the lineup seven games with a calf strain (he hit a gamedeciding home run into McCovey Cove and doubled) and Tyler Anderson pitching into the seventh and final inning.
Doubleheader games during the coronavirus pandemic last just seven innings, and Anderson had a 51 lead through six. He was replaced after yielding a double to the first batter in the seventh, Jurickson Profar.
Tony Watson was asked to get the final three outs, usually a routine proposition for the lefty, who had given up one run in 17 innings, but a threerun rally, aided by a Watson throwing error, turned it into a onerun decision.
Samardzija returned to the mound for the first time since Aug. 7, having finished his shoulder rehab and looking forward to possibly his last Giants start because his fiveyear contract is winding down.
Samardzija retired his first seven batters and hit 93 mph on the radar gun, which he hadn’t done in a bigleague game in a long time, but the Padres rallied for three runs in the third on Grisham’s RBI single and Fernando Tatis Jr.’s mammoth tworun homer.
That gave the Padres a 31 lead, which normally is plenty of cushion for Lamet, but the righthander walked off the mound with an apparent injury two outs into the fourth inning, a serious blow for a team that already had Mike Clevinger out with an elbow impingement.
Without Lamet, the Padres used a string of relievers, including former Giant Drew Pomeranz, who was victimized by a threerun rally. Donovan Solano reached on an infield single, and pinchhitter Austin Slater walked.
That’s when Flores stepped up and hit his majestic homer to put the Giants on top 53. Manager Gabe Kapler used relievers Caleb Baragar, Jarlin
Garcia, Shaun Anderson and Sam Selman to get through six innings, but Coonrod couldn’t finish the job.
Tommy Pham reached on an infield single, and Coonrod issued a oneout walk to Greg Garcia. He had trouble finding the strike zone, at least until Grisham ended the long night, which could have been amazing for the Giants but was simply bittersweet.