COMING THROUGH
Wade Jr. clubs go-ahead, two-run pinch-homer in ninth to lift Giants
OAKLAND >> During a miserable eighth-inning sequence, the Giants proved they might be one of the worst “small ball” teams in the majors as catcher Curt Casali failed to execute a sacrifice bunt before Brandon Crawford was caught stealing third base by A’s reliever Jake Diekman.
The 2021 Giants, however, aren’t built to win by playing small ball. They win with the long ball, and that’s exactly how they stormed back to stun the A’s on Saturday at the Coliseum.
Kris Bryant, Brandon Belt and Darin Ruf all homered for the Giants in Saturday’s 6-5 win, but the defining blow of the afternoon came from LaMonte Wade Jr. who stepped off the bench and blasted a go-ahead, two-run home run off A’s closer Lou Trivino in the ninth inning.
“It was just such a great game,” Wade said. “Our offense was able to come from behind and put together some real strong at-bats and I just wanted to follow suit and do the same thing.”
After Belt drew a walk against Trivino, Giants manager Gabe Kapler sought a
platoon advantage and substituted Wade in for Ruf. The move paid off as the left-handed slugger belted his 16th home run of the season to send the Giants to a muchneeded victory that kept the club 1.5 games ahead of the Dodgers in the National League West.
“This is as good of a time as any to talk about how difficult it is to pinch hit for Darin Ruf,” Kapler said. “He’s just been such a quality at-bat for us all year.”
Wade’s home run came two innings after Belt and Ruf hit backto-back blasts off A’s reliever Andrew Chafin, who had only allowed one home run all season entering Saturday’s outing and had yet to give up a run since joining Oakland at the trade deadline.
“I looked up at the scoreboard and saw Belt’s history against Chafin, I think he was 0-for-16 going into that plate appearance,” Kapler said. “I actually leaned over and said something to (bench coach Kai Correa) and sure enough, the next pitch he put in the seats.”
The late charge allowed the Giants to overcome one of their sloppiest performances of the season and completely changed the tune for a team that looked destined to lose in embarrassing fashion.
The Giants’ issues began in the bottom of the first, when starter Kevin Gausman began his outing by inducing a routine groundball to Wilmer Flores at third base. Flores threw wide of Belt, who didn’t move off first base fast enough to prevent the ball from skipping away into foul territory. The defensive mistake immediately haunted the Giants as batter Mark Canha raced all the way around to third base on the play before coming into score on a Starling Marte double.
With two outs in the inning, Gausman gave up a bloop single into left field to A’s right fielder Seth Brown that brought home two more runs to put the Giants in a 3-0 hole.
No A’s batter hit a ball harder than 99 miles per hour off of Gausman, but the A’s still tagged him for five runs in just 3 2/3 innings as he allowed an RBI double to Josh Harrison in the third inning before giving Oakland a run with a fourth-inning wild pitch.
“I haven’t been as sharp as I was early in the season,” Gausman said. “My split is still re- ally good, but I feel like it hasn’t had that extra little bit toward the end. If I usually get a swing and miss, I’m getting more foul balls.”
The outing only added to the recent questions surrounding Gausman’s effectiveness and ability to lead the Giants rotation in the playoffs. In seven starts during the season’s second half, Gausman has only completed six innings once and has posted a 5.17 ERA, which provides a stark contrast to the 1.73 ERA the right-hander took into the All-Star break.
“The book is out on me,” said Gausman, who primarily uses a fastball-splitter combination. “If I’m not on, they can do a good job of fouling pitches off.”
Gausman isn’t the only Giants starter failing to pitch deep into games of late, but his struggles are the most pronounced because the organization is counting on him to anchor the rotation. Instead of inspiring confidence in the Giants’ chances of playing deep into October, Gausman’s performances over the last month have led to concern over how the pitching staff will hold up down the stretch.
Fortunately for Gausman and the Giants, the team’s bullpen has been one of the best in the majors for the last few months and the club received a huge contribution from left-hander Jarlín García, who tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings before Kapler put the game in the hands of his high-leverage arms, Dominic Leone, Tyler Rogers and Jake McGee.
“He’s been a huge asset for us,” Kapler said of García. “I love giving him the ball after me. Anytime he comes in, you feel confident he’s going to attack the hitter and it seems like in big situations, he only kind of elevates his game.”