Pagan, reserves provide another Giants walk-off

It’s a pretty sure bet there won’t be a Doug Eddings Fan Club started in the Bay Area any time soon. But whether or not you approved of the home plate umpire’s performance, there was plenty to complain about Sunday at AT&T Park. Fortunately, the final score wasn’t among the gripes.

Is this a walk-off or dance-off? (AP Photo)

When everything is going your way, you just enjoy the ride. Shaky pitching, poor base running and missed offensive opportunities abounded, and none mattered as San Francisco walked off the Phillies 8-7 on Sunday afternoon. Oh, and there was Eddings’s rather fluid interpretation of the strike zone.

Johnny Cueto, in search of his 12^th win, just didn’t have whatever the “it” is. The Giants trailed just nine pitches into the game but rallied to take a four-run lead only to see Cueto cough it up. Philadelphia overcame deficits of 5-1, 6-5 and 7-6 to force the Giants to use all of its at-bats before two of the “other” guys put the game away.

Getting the Giants to that point had a lot to do with the bat of Angel Pagan, whose four-hit day powered a 16-hit attack. Pagan scored three times and drove in a pair of runs as the G-Men ran their record to 49-28; tied with Texas for (gasp) the most wins in baseball. They stretched their lead in the NL West to eight games over The Hated Dodgers, who dropped their third straight to Pittsburgh.

Remember when San Francisco was under .500? The run since that May 10 low point is nothing short of historic. The Giants have won 13 of their last 15 and 32 of 42. Put in perspective, during a streak covering a full quarter of a Major League season the Giants have won at a .761 clip, and this with major parts doing extended stints on the DL.

                                                             

Philly tried to spoil the show, giving the Giants fits all weekend with a trio of one-run games, but heroes (like GOP Presidential candidates) keep coming from unlikely places. On this day, however, they didn’t come from either pitching staff. The two team combined for 28 hits.

Cueto was shaky but still pitched into the seventh, which seemed more commentary on the bullpen than Cueto’s performance. He allowed six runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out he same number. He left a 6-6 tie after failing to get an ought in the seventh, surrendering a game-tying homer to Odubel Herrera and a single to Peter Bourjos before Bruce Bochy came with the hook.

Cueto gave up a quick run on a double, sacrifice and fly ball in the first but it was the Giants who took early command. Brandon Crawford's high hopper in the first evened the score, and San Francisco exploded for four runs in the third when Pagan, Buster Posey and Jarrett Parker stroked RBI hits and Gillaspie was hit by a pitch with the bases filled.

The Phillies couldn't get much going until Cueto hit Phillies cleanup hitter Maikel Franco with a pitch with two outs in the fourth. After home plate umpire Doug Eddings issued a warning to both teams (Philly starter Aaron Nola had already hit three Giants hitters), Philadelphia responded with back-to-back RBI singles to cut the lead to 5-3. And the Giants bench was chirping, because the strike zone after the warning was considerably more narrow than before.

Philly added two more in the fifth to tie it, but SF came right back with Brandon Crawford driving in Pagan to recapture a lead that lasted only until Herrera’s shot. The see-saw action continued when Pagan doubled to score Gregor Blanco and retake a 7-6 lead in the bottom half of the inning, but Josh Osich surrendered the equalizer before recording an out.

Posey takes two and an RBI. (AP Photo)

Ramiro Pena doubled down the right-field line off Severino Gonzalez with one gone in the ninth to set up the decider. Pena lofted a high fly into the corner that somehow eluded Bourjos in right and fell untouched on the warning track. Pena might have had more but didn’t break on contact and had to settle for two bases.

It didn’t matter. Conor Gillaspie’s second hit of the day was directed to the same spot, and Pena scored easily. Noteworthy: Pena was Panik’s day-off sub while Gillaspie is filling in for the ailing Matt Duffy. Neither was on the opening day roster. Yet the Giants keep on winning.

Pagan’s four hits led the offense but Gillaspie, Pena, Crawford, Brandon Belt and Buster Posey all two hits apiece. The 16 hits were augmented by the three hit batters, two bases on balls and a Philadelphia error. The Giants left 11 men on base and were 5-for-15 with runners in scoring position.

Bochy became the fourth manager in franchise history to reach the 800-win mark, joining John McGraw (2,583), Dusty Baker (840) and Bill Terry (823). Bochy also had 951 wins with San Diego and leads active managers with 1,751; now 16th on the all-time list. Yeah, he’s headed for the Hall of Fame.

A new/old challenge arrives Monday as the Bay Bridge Series with Oakland resumes. Jeff Samardzija (8-4, 3.59 ERA) lasted just three innings in his most recent outing and has been roughed up in four of his last five starts. The Athletics counter with Daniel Mengden (0-3, 3.00), making his fourth start.

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