What we learned as Giants outlast Braves in thrilling extra-inning win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – Talk about a crazy way to get a walk-off win.
Tyler Fitzgerald scored on a two-out wild pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning, giving the Giants a 5-4 win over the Atlanta Braves at Oracle Park on Friday night.
It was a wacky but fitting end to a game during which the Giants flipped the tables on just about everything they had been doing this season.
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San Francisco’s pitching, which has shouldered the bulk of the load this season, suffered through a tough evening as starter Hayden Birdsong struggled with his command and normally reliable reliever Ryan Walker was tagged for a momentum-changing home run by Braves slugger Matt Olson in the seventh inning.
Conversely, Camilo Doval shook off a month’s worth of ups and downs and struck out the side in the ninth inning.
Things were a little more encouraging at the plate, too.
With a history of failing to generate much offense this season, San Francisco opened with three runs in the first inning against Atlanta, the second-most runs put up in the opening frame by the Giants this season.
Leadoff hitter Heliot Ramos had three hits and scored a run. Wilmer Flores also had two hits and scored twice. Fan favorite Jung Hoo Lee reached base three times (single, two walks) and Dominic Smith drove in two runs.
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Birdsong’s fourth start since being taken out of the bullpen didn’t go very far, primarily due to a heavy pitch count. The Braves were patient at the plate, forcing Birdsong deep into counts which quickly depleted him on the mound.
Birdsong allowed just two hits and two runs to go with five strikeouts before his night ended in the middle of the fifth inning.
Tristan Beck followed Birdsong and retired four batters before Ryan Walker took over.
Walker got Ronald Acuna Jr. to strike out swinging to end the sixth then ran into immediate trouble in the seventh. Austin Riley singled leading off the inning before Olson crushed an 0-1 slider over the brick wall in right field to tie the game at 4-4.
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The game was paused briefly in the fourth inning when someone in the stands threw a baseball onto the field at the same time the Braves scored a run on Michael Harris II’s RBI single.
Here are the takeaways from Friday’s game:
Let’s Get It Started
The Giants’ offensive struggles over the past month have been well-documented, which made their first inning against the Braves impressive.
San Francisco began the inning with three consecutive singles, with Wilmer Flores’ bloop hit to right driving in Heliot Ramos. Dominic Smith added a sacrifice fly and Flores later scored on a wild pitch.
It’s the third time this season that the Giants have put up three runs or more in the first inning. Their season-high for runs in the first inning is five, which they put up against the New York Yankees in a six-inning rain-shortened game on April 11.
Hayden’s Control Issues
For most of the season Birdsong has done a fine job of not giving up free passes but the right-hander wasn’t able to sustain that against the Braves, which wound up being a big reason for his early exit after 4 1/3 innings.
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Birdsong missed his target much of the night, throwing only 52 of 93 pitches for strikes, while matching his career-high of five walks.
To put that in perspective, Birdsong had given up 12 walks all season and just four in his previous five starts.
Baserunning Blunders
The Giants did a solid job of getting men on base. Keeping them there was another matter altogether and a big reason that the Orange and Black went quiet over the final half of the game.
Heliot Ramos singled leading off the eight but was thrown out trying to steal second base. The following batter, Lee, drew a walk but was promptly erased after being picked off by Braves reliever Craig Kimbrel. In the eighth, Fitzgerald reached on a two-out single but was picked off by Braves pitcher Pierce Johnson.
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For a team that has struggled to score this season, the Giants have no reason to let up in situations like that. Rhose mistakes were magnified in a game this close.
