PHOENIX — The Giants aren’t not done quite yet.
After only mustering one hit through the first 10 innings, the Giants put up in the top of the 11th inning to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1 on Wednesday afternoon, snapping a four-game losing streak and keeping their fading playoff hopes alive.
San Francisco and Arizona both failed to score in the 10th despite advancing the automatic runner to third with one out, pushing the ballgame to the 11th inning. It was here, Justin Verlander and Brandon Pfaadt having long departed from the game, that San Francisco emphatically broke the stalemate.
Matt Chapman, the automatic runner, advanced to third on a passed ball, then Bryce Eldridge drew a leadoff walk to put runners at the corners, the first time he’s reached base in his career. Jerar Encarnacion followed Eldridge’s free pass by flipping a single into center field, scoring Chapman and giving San Francisco a 1-0 lead.
The Giants continued tacking on from there. Following Patrick Bailey’s bloop single to load the bases, Christian Koss delivered the biggest hit of the afternoon by smoking a double to left-center field. Jung Hoo Lee, pinch-running for Eldridge, scored easily; Encarnacion, hustling off contact, followed right behind.
Leading by three runs, San Francisco continued to tack on. Grant McCray, who hadn’t had an at-bat since Aug. 16 drove in Bailey with a sacrifice fly. Devers followed McCray by lining a single to left that scored Koss. By inning’s end, the Giants owned an emphatic 5-0 lead.
Justin Verlander, as he has done many times in recent weeks, put the Giants in a position to win.
After tossing seven innings of one-run ball last Friday against the Dodgers, Verlander followed with seven shutout innings against the Diamondbacks and lowered his ERA to 3.75. This is the first time Verlander has pitched seven innings in back-to-back start since Sept. 6 and Sept. 12, 2023.
Verlander was the beneficiary of several great grabs by center fielder Drew Gilbert. In the bottom of the fifth, Gilbert tracked down Jake McCarthy’s deep drive to the right-center field warning track to keep the game tied at zero. The next half inning, Gilbert lined a single into right field to break up Brandon Pfaadt’s no-hit bid with a one-out single.
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Pfaadt countered Verlander by pitching the best game of his career, tossing nine shutout innings with seven strikeouts and only allowing that lone hit to Gilbert. Like Verlander, Pfaadt got stuck with a no decision as the Diamondbacks failed to score a run against the combined efforts Verlander, Spencer Bivens and Ryan Walker.
Walker nearly allowed his second walk-off in the last 24 hours when the Diamondbacks loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth, but the crossfiring right-hander wiggled his way out of trouble and sent the game to extras.
