We could use a little 'Moore' of that

After suffering their third 1-0 loss of the season on Wednesday, one could imagine a Giants hurler chastising his offense: "What do I have to do, throw a no-hitter?" Matt Moore nearly did, making his first victory as a member of the Orange a Black a memorable one on Thursday with a 4-0 victory over The Hated Dodgers.

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Maybe that'll jump start these guys.

Moore came within one pitch of baseball immortality, losing his no-no with two out in the ninth, but he gave the reeling a Giants a much-needed victory to avoid a sweep at the hands of a bitter rival. More importantly, it stopped a four-game slide and pulled the Giants back within two games of the top in the NL West.

Must win? That's a rough call on August 25 but San Francisco needed a victory the way a starving man needs a sandwich. 

It was a night for unlikely heroes. Moore had been the subject of some derision, having dropped his first three decisions since coming over from Tampa Bay at the trade deadline. Poor control had plagued him, but walks don't hurt as much when you don't give up anything else. Add in a two-run homer from Joe Panik and some nifty glove work for support and you've got a winner.

Hero of the night. (AP Photo)

Moore walked three against seven strikeouts, at one point retiring 14 Dodgers in succession. And unlike Johnny Cueto 24 hours earlier, he got some actual run support.

In the fourth, Giants fans got to see something about as rare as Haley's Comet or a civil Donald Trump rally: a lead. We'll pause dramatically while our using out best Shatner voice as you ponder that. Done? Okay, here's what happened.

Brandon Crawford singled to start the inning. No great excitement yet; he'd doubled to lead off the second and stayed glued to the bag. But after Ross Stripling, a guy who knows a little something about no-hitters gone 'poof', bobbled a comebacker and had to settle for a simple 1-3 put-out, Brandon Belt cued a single to right that chased Crawford home.

The Giants had their first lead of the series, and it had only taken 22 innings. Before the faithful could fully digest the incredulity of the moment, Panik lifted an offering into the right field pavilion to pad the lead to 3-0. Panik's bat was immediately confiscated and a representative from Ripley's asked for the official scorecard; or so we heard.

Good fortune struck in the sixth, and it was long overdue. Panik drew a two-out walk from reliever Adam Dayton, then Moore cued a ball to third that Justin Turner butchered. Span made it hurt, hooking a pitch toward the right field corner to chase home Panik with the Giants' fourth run.

Lest we forget, the Dodgers weren't scoring. They weren't scoring because they weren't hitting. Spectacular defense from Crawford and Span helped, but Moore finally performed like the guy San Francisco expected when he was acquired. 

A second-inning walk to Yasmani Grandall and a similar freebie to Corey Seager in the seventh were the only blemishes through seven. A leadoff walk in the eighth heightened the drama and got the bullpen busy as the pitch count reached triple digits and serial killer Chase Utley pinch hit. It took 10 pitches but Moore got Utley swinging. Former Giant Charlie Culberson (and who doesn't remember Charlie Culberson?) hit a fielder's choice comebacker, and Joc Pederson lined out to center.

That's when the drama shifted to the dugout. Moore was a season-high 119 tosses into the night. Would he even see the ninth? Bochy let Moore hit for himself to open the ninth. That was a heck of a hint.

Span made a sliding catch for out number one and a grounder to third was good for the second. All that stood between Moore add immortality was Seager. Dammit! Moore's 113rd pitch of the night was blooped into short right. Moore exited, and Santiago Casilla got the final out on his first and only pitch.

The Giants did have eight hits of their own, with Crawford and Posey getting two apiece. Span, Panik, Belt and Angel Pagan had the others.

The Giants will hope to build on the victory, coming home to open up a three-gamer Friday against a Braves squad that sits 35 games under .500. Joel De La Cruz (0-6, 4.47 ERA) is the foe, with Jeff Samardzija (10-9, 4.47) going for the Giants.

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