Wilmer Flores' home runs lead SF Giants to 11-10 victory over Reds
In a game as stormy as the weather that pushed the opening pitch back by half an hour, the SF Giants survived against the Cincinnati Reds to push their record to 54-41. Just an hour and a half after the actual end of Monday's game, the Giants squared off against the upstart NL Central team once more.
Wilmer Flores got things started early with a deep shot down the left field line, a 404-foot blast solo blast that put the Giants up 1-0 in the top of the first. But things tilted back in the Reds' favor almost immediately when DeSclafani allowed two-run home runs in each of the first two innings, putting the Giants in a 4-1 hole. Those home runs were especially frustrating given the pure stuff DeSclafani showed, striking out five in the first two innings.
Things got wild in the third inning. After Brett Wisely and Casey Schmitt reached base, Joc Pederson and LaMonte Wade struck out, threatening to snuff a nascent rally. Wade's at-bat was particularly concerning, as he left with an undisclosed injury that removed him and his .405 OBP from the game. But then Wilmer Flores stepped up to bat, and he went from 'hot' to 'nuclear,' crushing a mammoth home run - his third in two games - tying the game at 4.
The chaos only escalated from there. Michael Conforto smashed a line drive off the arm of Reds' starter Luke Weaver, knocking him out of the game. Weaver's replacement, Alex Young, retired Yastrzemski to end the inning. Once in the bottom of the third, the Giants also swapped pitchers, turning to Sean Manaea for bulk inning work. The Reds put runners on with a bunt hit and a HBP, but Manaea executed a well-timed pickoff move to catch the runner at second in a pickle. The only problem? Manaea's throw to Davis at third was well off-line, allowing Cincinnati to score the go-ahead run and put a runner on third. It took a sharply executed play at the plate from Casey Schmitt to escape the danger and keep the deficit at one.
With Pederson manning first in Wade's stead, the Giants began to settle things down. A scoreless fourth from Manaea preceded a fifth-inning rally against former Giant Derek Law, with Michael Conforto driving a ground ball through the middle to tie the game. With two outs and runners on first and second, Mike Yastrzemski worked the count full before driving a double to deep right-center and putting San Francisco up 7-5.
But that advantage wouldn't last long. In the bottom of the fifth, a pair of runners reached before Sean Manaea was replaced by Mauricio Llovera. That's when Christian Encarnacion-Strand turned Llovera into a goat, and into a slider, going deep to left-center. That home run was his first major league hit, and put the Reds up 8-7.
The Giants got a gift in the top of the 6th, when the Reds flubbed a potential double play to put runners on first and second. Joc Pederson's walk loaded the bases with one out, bringing Wilmer Flores to the plate. Flores delivered with a short sacrifice fly to right field, but Luis Matos was thrown out trying to advance to third to end the inning. Still, the Giants managed to tie the game up at 8 before all was said and done.
In the top of the 7th, the Giants pulled ahead once more. The Giants loaded the bases with more small-ball tactics to bring up Casey Schmitt with two outs. Reds' reliever Tony Santillan nearly walked Schmitt on four pitches, but even then, Schmitt worked a full-count walk to give the Giants a 9-8 lead. It only took four pitches for Luis Matos to follow with a line-drive single that scored two, pushing the Giants' lead to three.
But as per the nature of this game, there would be no shutdown inning to follow. Jakob Junis entered in the bottom of the seventh, and allowed a slew of baserunners around a clutch double play. With a runner on, old hand Joey Votto brought the Reds within one on a two-run shot. With the score at 11-10, the Giants and Reds officially became the 10th and 11th teams to score double-digit runs on Tuesday, nearing an MLB record.
In the top of the eight, the Giants nearly broke the game open for good. With two on and two outs, Patrick Bailey hit a shot to deep right field, and Reds' outfielder TJ Friedl made the defensive play of the game.
With the Giants hanging on to a one-run lead, Camilo Doval was summoned to close out his second game of the day. Despite already throwing 13 pitches in the conclusion of the first game in the doubleheader, "The Iceman" came out firing. He recorded a quick out against Encarnacion-Strand, but got in a jam after an infield single and a walk. But with his back against the wall, Doval induced a 4-3 double play to end the game.
The Giants will resume this 4-game series against Cincinnati tomorrow at 4:10 PM Pacific.
