In Thursday afternoon’s series finale, Denard Span helped reverse the fortune of the Giants, who fell in 12 innings Wednesday night.Span’s line-drive home run to lead off the top of the 10th inning off Severino Gonzalez gave the Giants a 3-2 win and avoided a sweep in Philadelphia.Santiago Casilla pitched a clean 10th inning to earn his 25th save.The win provided a positive feeling for a team that entered Thursday with a major-league-worst 4-13 record since the All-Star break.Matt Moore, acquired at the trade deadline from Tampa, made his first start for the Giants.San Francisco (62-46) gave Moore a lead in the first inning off Phillies starter Vince Velasquez.
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The Phillies (50-60) got the run right back in the bottom half of the first.
The Giants blew a 4-0 lead and managed just two hits against six Philadelphia relievers, who combined for seven shutout innings.
“They’ve been swinging the bats well, and what?” Wednesday’s come-from-behind win was the first time the Phillies came back to win a game they trailed by four or more runs in their last 41 tries.
“I’d say that’s one of our bigger hits”, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Span’s homer.
“Everyone does a really good job of that”, Franco continued. “We showed a lot of energy and everyone did something to help the team”.
In a pool report after the game, Davidson said the fan used a homophobic slur toward him, prompting him to have the fan removed.
The come-from-behind win began in the seventh, thanks to the elder statesman in the Phillies lineup, Ryan Howard.
Right-hander Phil Klein, who is 0-1 with a 5.19 ERA in eight relief appearances for the Texas Rangers this season, will instead start Game 2 of the three-game series against the San Francisco Giants. Rupp now has 12 homers this season.
The Phillies scored two runs in each the seventh and eighth innings to force extra innings before Maikel Franco walked them off with a single for a 5-4 win in 12 innings. Smith was lifted for Sergio Romo, who surrendered the go-ahead single up the middle to Aaron Altherr. Bumgarner allowed eight runs – four earned – on 10 hits in five-plus innings while striking out four and walking two. Hunter Pence chugged all the way around to score from first base, putting a real test on his recently healed right hamstring.
“That’s not how I wanted the first one to go”, Smith said.
“I guess it started developing over time, a bullpen or something like that”, Velasquez said. Still two more months.
Angel Pagan’s two-run homer in the sixth gave the Giants their first lead of the game, but it was shortlived.
And then there was the bullpen. But it wasn’t just about what the did on the mound, either.
Franco stung the Giants with four hits and four RBIs on Tuesday, but it only took one swing to leave his stamp on Cueto’s start before he walked-off his team in the 12th.
“That was key”, Mackanin said of Garcia’s bunt.
The Giants (61-45) were thrilled to bolster their rotation with Moore, another affordable, left-handed pitcher who will make his debut Thursday and slot in between right-handers Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija.
“I didn’t realize his curveball was that good”, said Span, who had a direct view from center field. Pagan stole second and with one out Posey grounded a single up the middle, scoring both runners.
Now, about that game-ending play.
When the Phillies returned to the clubhouse after the walk-off win, they were under the impression that Franco’s hit wasn’t a hit, but a fielder’s choice.
That awoke an offense that Cueto breezed through the first six frames, allowing just two different Phillies to reach base with Howard getting on twice.
Cueto’s night was long over when the game ended in odd fashion.
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“And people cheered me, which is unusual in this town for me”, he said. “It just kind of got sore a little bit”. “I definitely feel awful about it, but I learned from it”.
