SAN FRANCISCO — On a night when Yoshinobu Yamamoto was nearly unhittable and Justin Verlander was in vintage form, the pitchers’ duel that made up the first seven innings of Friday night’s clash between the Dodgers and Giants was a mere footnote in the end.
The series of events leading into the bottom of the 10th inning — when Giants catcher Patrick Bailey walked it off, 5-1, taking Dodgers lefty Tanner Scott deep for a grand slam — became the real story.
It was made possible by a pair of impressive outfield assists, including a redemptive defensive gem from Giants right fielder Grant McCray — who was thrown out at the plate for the final out of the ninth, then gave it right back to the Dodgers to set up his team’s victory.
“Nobody likes getting thrown out, especially not me,” McCray said. “I’m a fast guy. I really hate getting thrown out. I just wanted to return the favor.”
Friday marked the first of seven games between the longtime rivals in a span of 10 days. This stretch could be meaningful for both teams’ postseason aspirations: The Dodgers are clinging to a 2 1/2-game lead in the NL West, while the Giants moved a half-game back of the third NL Wild Card.
From the bottom of the ninth on, here’s how the wild sequence unfolded:
The ballgame was tied at a run apiece. With one out, the Giants had the bases loaded for Wilmer Flores after Luis Matos reached on a Mookie Betts throwing error, Rafael Devers singled and Willy Adames was intentionally walked.
Flores lifted the second pitch he saw from Blake Treinen to center field. McCray, pinch-running for Matos at third, tagged up and broke for home, sent by Giants third-base coach Matt Williams.
But it’s dangerous to run on Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages. The Giants tested his arm strength — which ranks in the 97th percentile among qualified Major Leaguers — and paid the price, as the 92.9 mph dart handily beat McCray to the plate and sent the game to extras.
“You’ve got to send him there. They’ve got to make a perfect throw, and they did,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “The way that game went, runs were tough to come by. Their guy throws well in the outfield. Once it got to that spot where it’s the bases loaded, we’re going to try to get our fastest runner in there.”
It wasn’t long before the Dodgers got a taste of their own medicine.
L.A. was positioned well in the top of the 10th, with catcher Ben Rortvedt on second as the automatic runner and the three former MVPs — Shohei Ohtani, Betts and Freddie Freeman — due up.
Ohtani was intentionally walked. Betts flied out to right, where McCray took over in the field. It was a deep enough drive that Rortvedt took off for third base, only for McCray to unleash his own cannon.
McCray’s throw beat Rortvedt to the bag with ease. The 101.7 mph laser was the ninth-fastest outfield assist in the Majors — and the fastest by a Giant — since Statcast began tracking in 2015.
Afterward, Freeman grounded out on one pitch, a quick and quiet end to the Dodgers’ half of the inning.
“We couldn’t have asked for anyone else to come to bat. And obviously, they wanted to go after Mookie instead of facing Shohei,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “And unfortunately, we just couldn’t come up with a hit.”
With one out in the bottom of the 10th, the Dodgers called on a struggling Scott to face fellow lefty Jung Hoo Lee. On a 3-2 pitch, Scott appeared to have gotten Lee to strike out on a foul tip. Home-plate umpire Bill Miller initially thought Rortvedt held onto the ball.
But third-base umpire Chad Fairchild saw the ball hit the dirt first. It was instead ruled a foul ball, and Scott walked Lee on the next pitch.
“It definitely didn’t hit the ground first, but I think the way I caught it, my mitt kind of pinned the ball against the ground,” Rortvedt said. “So I thought I got it pretty flush, but even when I saw the ball, I saw the smallest little scuff mark.”
Then followed an intentional walk to Casey Schmitt, loading the bases for Bailey. And he took Scott deep to the left-field bleachers to win it for the Giants.
“It was a fastball above the zone. Maybe I’m tipping,” Scott said. “I have no friggin’ clue right now. …. It’s terrible. I’m having the worst year of my life. I gotta be better.”
It was a thrilling finish to the opener of a stretch that will be rife with implications for both teams involved. If the first installment is any indication, this late-season edition of the Dodgers-Giants rivalry could be one to remember.
“Electric, from the first pitch,” McCray said. “It was a pitching battle the whole game. It was fun to watch.”
