SAN FRANCISCO -- It was a rough Saturday for All-Star closers, but a good one for the Giants.
Camilo Doval blew his third save of the season after surrendering a game-tying two-run single to Justin Turner, but J.D. Davis picked him up by leading off the bottom of the ninth inning with a home run against Kenley Jansen, lifting the Giants to a 3-2 walk-off win over the Red Sox at Oracle Park.
Davis hammered the first pitch he saw from Jansen off the left-field pole and then punctuated his second career walk-off hit with an epic bat flip once he made sure the ball had stayed fair.
“I thought it was pretty cool,” said Davis, whose previous walk-off winner was an RBI single against Cleveland on Aug. 21, 2019. “It was one of my better ones. I didn’t really go up there trying to bat flip it or anything like that. I was just praying that it would be fair so I don’t have to face Kenley again.”
The tide turned so quickly that manager Gabe Kapler didn’t even witness Davis’ game-winning blast in real time, as he was busy game planning with pitching coach Andrew Bailey in case the game extended to extra innings.
“It was a rollercoaster,” Davis said. “We didn’t expect [Doval] to give up two runs. And then on top of that, to have Kenley come in, one of the best closers to ever play in this game.
“Just to get that opportunity, get a pitch to hit and come through for the boys, and get a win to even the series was huge.”
Davis’ team-leading 14th homer salvaged an otherwise frustrating day for San Francisco’s struggling lineup, which went only 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12 runners on base.
Despite their offensive woes, the Giants still managed to hand a two-run lead over to Doval in the ninth, thanks to the superb work of opener Ryan Walker, left-hander Sean Manaea and submariner Tyler Rogers, who combined for eight scoreless innings of three-hit ball.
Doval’s 31 saves are tied with the Reds’ Alexis DĂaz for the Major League lead this season, but Doval uncharacteristically struggled with his command, issuing a leadoff walk to Masataka Yoshida and surrendering a double to Jarren Duran that put runners on second and third with no outs.
That brought up Turner, who bounced a single up the middle that got past a diving Casey Schmitt at second, tying the game at 2.
Rob Refsnyder subsequently entered the game to pinch-run for the 38-year-old Turner, but he was thrown out trying to steal second by catcher Patrick Bailey, helping to halt the Red Sox’s momentum. Bailey has now thrown out 18 of 47 would-be base stealers (38%) this season.
“The way Pat Bailey attacks the baseball to throw out a runner is getting more and more special,” Kapler said. “[Refsnyder] was obviously out by a significant margin. But it was really the energy that he took towards Camilo, how quickly he got rid of that ball and how fast that ball was coming at him that speaks to Pat’s athleticism and natural gifts.”
The Giants lost their designated opener when John Brebbia landed on the injured list with a right lat strain last month. But they’ve found a more than capable substitute in Walker, who worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings in his seventh starting assignment this season.
Walker hasn’t received as much attention as some of the Giants’ other rookies, but the funky right-hander has emerged as a key bullpen contributor over the past two months, posting a 2.50 ERA with 41 strikeouts over 36 innings in 25 appearances.
San Francisco is now 7-0 when Walker has opened games and 13-4 in bullpen games this season.
Manaea replaced Walker with two outs in the third and went on to deliver one of his best outings of 2023, striking out five over 4 2/3 scoreless innings while throwing only 52 pitches. The 31-year-old veteran leaned heavily on his four-seam fastball, which he threw 58% of the time and used to strike out the side in the seventh inning.
“When we are selfless and we put the team first, it tends to really work out well for us as a group,” Kapler said. “I think we’re capable of doing well in those situations. We’ve shown that over not just this year, but several years.
“I just believe in the guys in that room and their ability to take on that responsibility and do it well.”