SAN FRANCISCO -- September is officially in full swing for the Giants, who used 23 players to pull out a 5-4 win over the Phillies on Saturday afternoon at Oracle Park.
The Giants emptied their seven-man bench and used six relievers behind starter Jakob Junis, with flamethrower Camilo Doval converting his second four-out save of the season to close out the tense back-and-forth affair.
“It was a complete team win, top to bottom,” Junis said. “Offensively, defensively, pitching -- those ones feel extra good. Every guy is contributing, and we came out on top.”
By taking the first two contests of this three-game series, the Giants clinched their first series victory since sweeping the Pirates from Aug. 12-14. They are now 2-0 in September, a breath of fresh air following a 10-17 August that essentially left them buried in the National League Wild Card race.
While the Giants’ postseason hopes are all but extinguished, Gabe Kapler still managed Saturday’s contest like a playoff game, taking advantage of his newly expanded 28-man roster to optimize matchups throughout a game that featured five lead changes.
“I think we owe it to the fans to put the best possible product that we can put on the field for the next calendar month,” Kapler said. “We take that responsibility seriously. I think there’s a way to finish strong for us that will create a really good springboard for ‘23. I think we’re all focused on taking that seriously.”
The Giants went ahead for good on Joc Pederson’s bases-loaded walk off lefty Brad Hand in the sixth. Hand entered with the game tied, 4-4, but Kapler countered by using four consecutive right-handed hitters off his bench -- Lewis Brinson, J.D. Davis, Wilmer Flores and Evan Longoria -- to load the bases. Pederson came up with two outs and climbed out of an 0-2 hole to work a free pass and knock in the decisive run for the Giants.
Pederson, who also delivered a pair of RBI singles, finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs to extend his hitting streak to eight games. The 30-year-old slugger is now hitting .542 (13-for-24) with a double, three home runs and 14 RBIs over that stretch.
The Giants’ bullpen has endured a tumultuous season, but the unit worked around some high-stress innings to hold the one-run lead the rest of the way. Kyle Schwarber tripled to lead off the seventh, but John Brebbia retired Rhys Hoskins and Alec Bohm and then passed the baton to lefty Jarlín García, who walked Bryce Harper but then struck out the right-handed-hitting J.T. Realmuto to end the inning.
“It’s particularly high-stress because it’s just damage up and down their entire lineup,” Kapler said. “Their top of the lineup is as good as any in baseball, so it is going to create a lot of stress because they not only hit homers but they’ll grind you down.”
Bryson Stott and Jean Segura opened the eighth with back-to-back singles, but Alex Young managed to get pinch-hitter Donny Sands to ground into a double play. Kapler then decided to bring in the 25-year-old Doval to face Matt Vierling, who struck out on a 100.4 mph cutter to leave Stott stranded at third.
“I think throwing that hard is a gift from God,” Doval said in Spanish. “I just want to take advantage of it and enjoy every single moment.”
The Giants have been careful not to overextend Doval at times this season, but he returned to the mound in the ninth and breezed through a 1-2-3 inning to pick up his 19th save of the year. Doval got an assist from Austin Slater, who is dealing with a dislocated pinkie in his left hand but still made an impressive diving catch in left field to rob Hoskins.
“It was a great catch,” said Doval, who lowered his ERA to 2.78 over a career-high 55 innings this year. “I celebrated with him and showed my appreciation. I didn’t know that he could do that for me.”
Doval blew his most recent four-out save opportunity in Minnesota last week, but he rose to the challenge on Saturday despite shouldering the heaviest workload of his young Major League career this season. It’s another promising step forward for the native of Yamasá, Dominican Republic, who has the arsenal to continue to develop into one of the best closers in the game for years to come.
“Obviously, it was excellent,” Kapler said. “He mixed his pitches, which is something we’ve been pushing really hard with him. He tends to really like his sinker, or he tends to really like his slider, or he tends to really like his four-seam fastball. … But I think he’s going to be most effective in his career … if he’s mixing his pitches.”