The Giants overcame three rain delays, the ejection of manager Bob Melvin and another blown save by closer Camilo Doval to beat the Washington Nationals 9-5 in 10 innings on Thursday at Nationals Park.
It took a long time to get it done. The game ended nearly five and a hours after the first pitch.
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For San Francisco, the wait was well worth it.
The victory gives the Giants (59-58) a winning record for the first time in more than two months and completed a solid road trip for the Orange and Black.
San Francisco’s offense slumbered through most of the game before waking up late, as the Giants scored three runs in the ninth then broke the game open with four in the 10th after Doval gave up a game-tying homer in the bottom of the ninth.
Brett Wisely drove in the tie-breaking run with a bunt single that brought home Jerar Encarnacion, who began the inning at second base. Michael Conforto added a two-run single and Matt Chapman followed with an RBI single.
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Mark Canha had his best day for the Orange and Black, collecting four hits and driving in two runs. Conforto had two hits while Tyler Fitzgerald had two hits, two runs and three stolen bases.
Doval (4-1) got the win despite blowing the save and allowing three runs in the ninth inning.
Until then, the Giants’ bullpen had been doing a nice job in relief of Kyle Harrison. Sean Hjelle, Jordan Hicks, Erik Miller and Ryan Walker combined to allow one hit over 3 1/3 innings before Doval’s meltdown.
Melvin was ejected in the first inning after Mark Canha was called out on strikes on a pitch that was up and outside out of the zone. It’s the seventh time this season that Melvin has been tossed.
The Giants took an early lead on Encarnacíon’s two-out walk with the bases loaded in the first inning.
After the Nationals tied it in the bottom of the frame, Mike Yastrzemski hit a ground-rule double into the bullpen in the third inning to drive in Conforto to put the Giants up 2-1.
Washington scored again in the fifth to chase Harrison and set the stage for the late drama.
Here are the takeaways from Thursday’s game:
Patience pays off
Melvin’s ejection was about the only thing that went wrong for San Francisco in the first inning.
The Giants were patient at the plate while driving DJ Herz’s pitch count up. They drew three walks, including Encarnacion’s free pass that forced in a run.
Herz needed 37 pitches to navigate his way through the first frame, which helped expedite his early exit. By comparison, Harrison needed only 14 innings to get out of the first inning.
The early extra work was magnified by the rain delay, as Herz struggled to find any sort of rhythm when play returned and was gone before the end of the third inning.
Harrison's early exit
For the second consecutive start and third time in his last six outings, Harrison failed to make it through five innings.
In his first full season in the majors, Harrison has nearly tripled his workload from 2023 when he first came up and the wear and tear may be taking its toll.
Harrison allowed five hits and two runs against the Nationals. The velocity and spin rate on his fastball, change-up and curve were all noticeably down, which might have led to his early exit after 4 2/3 innings.
Doval's struggles continue
Granted, the Giants haven’t been in a lot of save situations this season but when they are, it’s anything but a guarantee with the way Doval has been.
Doval struggled to close the game out Wednesday and couldn’t get it done Thursday.
San Francisco’s erratic closer, who had converted his previous five save opportunities, struggled to finish things off. Doval walked two of the first three batters he faced, retired Ildemaro Vargas on a fly to deep right then served up a 1-2 cutter that Luis Garcia Jr. powered out to left field to tie the game.