Giants lose to Twins on a extra-inning, walk-off walk in brutal rain-delayed game
SF Giants hold lead when rain delay starts and lose game in extras
Saturday’s game between the San Francisco Giants and Minnesota Twins went into weather delay after seven innings with the Giants up 1-0. The real game started with the delay lifted an hour later.
The Twins beat the Giants, 3-2 on a walk-off walk in the 10th inning, ending a brutal night for the Giants in what has been a disappointing few days for the team. They’ve scored three runs over their three straight losses on the road.
Minnesota threatened in the eight inning, leaping on reliever John Brebbia right out of the delay. Carlos Correa and Jake Cave hit back-to-back singles. Brebbia bounced back to get two outs down, including a strikeout, and make way for Camilo Doval for the four-out save attempt. Doval forced Gio Urshela into a fly out to end the threat.
The Giants scored a key insurance run in the ninth, loading the bases on a trio of singles from Wilmer Flores, Thairo Estrada and Brandon Crawford. Slater’s sacrifice fly gave the Giants a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.
But Doval issued a four-pitch walk to Max Kepler to lead the ninth inning. With two outs down, Doval walked Luis Arraez to bring Carlos Correa to bat. Correa hit a single to right field to score Kepler. Cave followed with a game-tying single. Doval escaped with the tie, but it was his third blown save of the year.
Luis Gonzalez, the ghost runner to start the 10th, attempted to take third base on a soft ground ball to shortstop Correa, who nabbed him to eliminate the free runner in scoring position in a fruitless inning.
Dominic Leone pitched the 10th and loaded the bases on an intentional walk to Kepler and a walk to Gio Urshela. Leone couldn’t find the strike zone, throwing four straight balls to Gilberto Celestino to score the game-winning run without the Twins having to register a hit in the inning.
It put to rest a quiet first seven innings in which Alex Cobb delivered a strong outing.
Equipped with strong splitter, Cobb went toe-to-toe with Twins starter Sonny Gray to keep Minnesota scoreless through five innings. He struck out seven batters and allowed four hits.
Cobb navigated trouble just twice. He walked back-to-back batters with two outs in the second inning, but LaMonte Wade Jr.’s diving stop of Sandy Leon’s sharp ground ball down the first base line saved a run.
With two outs the fourth, Urshela fouled off a handfull of pitches and shot a single into right field on the seventh pitch of the at-bat for the Twins’ second hit against Cobb. Max Kepler singled to put, Urshela in scoring position. Cobb struck out Gilberto Celestino looking at a sinker to end the threat.
The Giants were hitless against Gray until Joey Bart knocked a hanging breaking ball to left field for a double. The hit followed Gray picking off Austin Slater, who walked, at first base. But Gonzalez, re-called before the game, was hit by a pitch in the following at-bat. He moved to third on Bart’s double and scored the Giants’ run on a Tommy La Stella sacrifice fly.