Posey notches walk-off hit in 10th to beat LA

June 11th, 2016

SAN FRANCISCO -- There would be no deja vu Saturday at AT&T Park, as Giants catcher Buster Posey hit a walk-off RBI single to beat the Dodgers, 5-4, capping a frenetic 10th-inning comeback in what has turned out to be a thrilling series.
"It's a big one," said Posey, who took a Kenley Jansen cutter back up the middle for his third career walk-off hit. "It was one of those games where I felt like we were kind of on the ropes from the get-go."
Denard Span ignited the rally with a one-out double and came around to tie the game on an RBI single by Joe Panik off Jansen. Brandon Belt followed, blooping a single to right field that Trayce Thompson -- who was playing in front of both his brother and Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson and Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who were in attendance -- misread. Posey then handed San Francisco its sixth walk-off win of the season.
• Klay Thompson supports brother, wears Dodgers cap at AT&T Park

The comeback came just a half-inning after Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez hit a go-ahead solo home run off Chris Stratton to make it 4-3, depositing it into the left-field stands over a leaping Jarrett Parker. Dodgers third basemen Justin Turner hit a go-ahead homer in similar fashion off San Francisco closer Santiago Casilla on Friday night.

But the rookie Stratton minimized damage, getting three straight outs to hold Los Angeles to just one run. It proved fruitful, as the bats responded and gave Stratton his first career victory and a celebratory postgame beer shower.
"That inning could have easily spiraled out of control," Posey said. "For him to limit it to one run was really important."
• Stratton hangs tough after HR, earns 1st win
Both teams put the potential game-winning run on base in the ninth inning. Turner again faced Casilla, but grounded into an inning-ending double play. San Francisco outfielder Gregor Blanco struck out with a runner on first to end the bottom of the ninth.
Los Angeles had several chances late, as the Giants used five relievers in the seventh but couldn't hold a one-run lead. Cory Gearrin walked Thompson -- one of three Dodgers walks in the inning -- to tie it, 3-3. But Joc Pederson lined out to center, stranding the bases loaded.

"We got to their bullpen early and Adrian had big hits for us," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "They grind out at-bats. They just put good swings on the ball."
Neither starter factored into Saturday's decision. Roberts pulled Scott Kazmir in the sixth inning after the lefty put the first two batters he faced on base. Matt Duffy made them pay, driving in the go-ahead run off Louis Coleman in the inning to make it 3-2. Kazmir allowed three runs while walking five over five innings.

"Early on, I didn't feel like I had it," Kazmir said. "It was frustrating. It felt like I got out of my game plan to attack the zone."
The Dodgers chased Jeff Samardzija early on a two-out double by Gonzalez, knotting the score at 2 in the fifth inning. Saturday marked the third consecutive start the right-hander failed to pitch past the fifth inning. He gave up two runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Seventh inning stretched out: Giants manager Bruce Bochy's final reliever of the seventh inning, Cory Gearrin, inherited a bases-loaded situation and walked Thompson, battling back after falling behind 3-0 only to miss with a 3-2 fastball away. Five relievers combined to walk three batters in the inning -- the most crucial a walk by lefty specialist Javier Lopez against Gonzalez -- in a shaky inning, but ultimately did enough to put San Francisco in position to win.
"I'm not a big fan of that, to be honest," Bochy said. "I was going for the matchups trying to keep it 3-2. I think we walked three that inning, but I was trying to hold on to the lead."
Speed on the basepaths: Thompson's daring baserunning in the second inning paid off for the Dodgers. After singling to lead off, Thompson tagged and advanced to second on Joc Pederson's fly ball to left field. He scored on Yasmani Grandal's single. Klay Thompson was shown on the videoboard wearing a Dodgers hat, drawing a mixture of cheers and boos from the crowd.

Instant gratification: Bochy moved Belt into the third spot of his lineup and slid Duffy to fifth against the lefty Kazmir, saying pregame he'll consider keeping this lineup moving forward as well. It paid off right away, as Belt walked with two outs in the first. Posey followed with another walk, setting up Duffy's RBI single and an eventual two-run first inning. Duffy also plated the go-ahead run in the sixth, grounding into a forceout on a potential double-play ball.
Another blown save: Jansen has recorded three blown saves since his streak of 25 straight ended May 20.
"The bullpen has been awesome," Kazmir said. "This one hurts. It felt like we had this game."
• Dodgers keep faith in Jansen after blown save
QUOTABLE
"Even when he's missing pitches he's still throwing good pitches. It just wasn't our day." -- Grandal on Jansen
"These are two quality teams that battled it out to the end. So far it's been great matchups." -- Kazmir
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The Dodgers are 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position this series and have left 14 runners on base.
WHAT'S NEXT
Dodgers: Nineteen-year-old Julio Urias is set to make his fourth start of the season and in his career in Sunday's 5:30 p.m. PT series finale. He has yet to win, though he threw better in his last start, striking out seven in four innings and allowing a run on three hits.
Giants:Jake Peavy starts Sunday in the series finale with the Dodgers. The right-hander has struggled this year, going 2-6 with a 6.41 ERA in 12 starts, but rebounded some in May. He allowed four runs in five innings in his start last Sunday against the Cardinals.
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