SAN FRANCISCO – Wilmer Flores didn’t have a hit but still made the difference when he drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk-off walk to force in the winning run as the Giants rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Chicago Cubs 5-4 on Monday at Oracle Park.
Matt Chapman, who homered earlier in the game, started the comeback with a leadoff double, Thairo Estrada followed with a perfect bunt down the third base line that moved Chapman to third, Luis Matos hit a sacrifice fly to drive in one run and Austin Slater later drove in another run with his own sacrifice fly before Heliot Ramos was intentionally walked. Flores patiently worked the count to 3-1 before he finished the walk for his 12th career walk-off RBI.
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That put a happy cap to an evening when the Giants paid tribute to the greatest player in franchise history.
Coming off a frustrating and disappointing 1-5 road trip, the Giants hoped a return to Oracle Park would provide some comfort. Chapman, Nick Ahmed and Ramos certainly felt good at home. Chapman and Ahmed hit solo home runs while Ramos singled twice and doubled to raise his average to .301.
Beyond that, the Giants' offense was mostly silent until the ninth.
San Francisco Giants
Cubs starter Justin Steele retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced, setting the side down in order in three consecutive innings.
In the eighth, the Giants’ season-long nemesis – hitting with runners in scoring position – reared its ugly head again. San Francisco got runners to second and third but left them stranded when Wilmer Flores struck out swinging and Jorge Soler flew out to short right.
The Giants made it tight in the ninth when Chapman hit a leadoff double, moved to third on Thairo Estrada’s pretty bunt down the third base line and scored on Luis Matos’ sacrifice fly.
The pitching side wasn’t very good, either.
Erik Miller served as San Francisco’s opener and was followed by Spencer Bivens, who pitched two scoreless innings before giving way to rookie Raymond Burgos in his major league debut. Luke Jackson got roughed up for three runs while retiring only one batter.
Credit Spencer Howard, who earned the win, for providing a big lift out of the bullpen, which pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings and had eight strikeouts.
The evening started on an uplifting note.
The Giants held a pre-game ceremony honoring Willie Mays, with members of Mays’ family (including godson Barry Bonds) attending. All Giants players and coaches wore Mays’ jersey number 24, appropriately coming on June 24 of 2024.
Here are the takeaways from Monday’s game:
Burgos' Debut A Bit Rocky
Burgos made his major league debut after getting called up from the minors earlier in the day, and it wasn’t the kind of thing worth writing home about.
The 25-year-old reliever, who had been pitching very well for Triple-A Sacramento over the past month, allowed three hits and one run in his only inning of work.
Burgos didn’t have a lot of luck on his side. The first batter he faced, Cody Bellinger, reached safely on a single that rolled slowly down the third base line and just got past Chapman. Later in the inning with the bases loaded, the Cubs' No. 7 hitter, Michael Busch, legged out an infield single to shortstop while Bellinger scored.
Burgos threw 25 pitches, 14 for strikes. Because of the Giants’ pitching situation, especially this week, the kid probably will get more opportunities to prove worthy of the call-up.
Chapman's Power Drought Ends
Chapman had gone more than a month – 25 games – without a home run before he took Steele deep while leading off the bottom of the fifth.
The solo shot was the ninth home run of the 2024 MLB season for Chapman, and his first since May 23. During that time Chapman was in a deep drought at the plate, batting just .190 with only three RBI in that span.
Chapman has had three seasons with at least 27 homers, so the power is there. Batting behind Jorge Soler, even though Soler has yet to really get going, should get Chapman good pitches to hit. Getting him going at the plate is key to sparking the rest of the lineup.
Slater, Ramos Get Defensive
Mike Yastrzemski has provided a lot of defensive highlights while roaming right field for the Giants. On Monday, it was Austin Slater’s turn to make a web gem.
In the seventh inning, Slater chased a fly ball by Ian Happ into foul territory near the Cubs' bullpen, then jumped into the stands to make the catch -- an absolutely brilliant play that had the Oracle Park crowd of 30,701 roaring.
Slater’s play might have inspired center fielder Ramos, who closed out the inning by running down Tomas Nido’s deep fly to center and made the catch running toward the warning track.
It wasn’t exactly Mays style, but on a night when the Giants celebrated the legendary Say Hey Kid, it was definitely appropriate.
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