PHOENIX -- It's not often that a game ends and is determined by a replay review, but on Sunday at Chase Field, the Giants' 2-1 win ended on a double challenge that went San Francisco's way.
"I guess it kind of makes the replay and the review exciting," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy, who, along with his D-backs counterpart Chip Hale, asked to review several parts of the play. "You've got a lot of fans and players waiting to see what the call's going to be.
"It created a lot of drama. It's a great feeling if it goes in your favor."
Here's the scenario:
Rickie Weeks Jr. came up to pinch-hit against Giants closer Santiago Casilla with one out and runners on the corners in the ninth, San Francisco nursing a 2-1 lead. On the 1-2 pitch, the righty-swinging Weeks chipped a grounder to second baseman Joe Panik, who flipped the ball to shortstop Brandon Crawford for the out.
Crawford's relay bounced several feet in front of first baseman Brandon Belt, who had to stretch low and far from the base to make the pick.
Second-base umpire Tripp Gibson called Brandon Drury out at second, and first-base ump Gabe Morales called Weeks safe at first, signalling that Belt's foot had come off the bag. That call allowed pinch-runner Nick Ahmed to score the tying run from third base.
And then the challenges began. Bochy asked for a replay at first, and Hale wanted a look at the neighborhood play at second to see if Crawford actually caught Panik's throw with his foot still on the bag. Incidentally, the replay official also took a look at whether Drury made a legal slide into second.
The verdict: The slide was legal, the out was confirmed at second and the safe call at first was overturned. The 4-6-3 double play took the run off the board and ended the game. The Giants had a sweep of the four-game series and their fifth straight win.
"That's why we have video replay, and they got it right," Hale said. "It was the right call, and if you look at the video, it's pretty obvious. We knew that. Our video guy, Allen [Campbell], had said over the phone that both guys were on."