Giants win in drama-filled game at Wrigley Field

Giants win in drama-filled game at Wrigley Field originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area

The drama. Ah, the drama.

Monday night Giants win 7-6 against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field had it all. Great defensive plays. Flies deep in the Windy City. Even an ejection.

And, of course, heroism at the end of the game.

“These guys are really trying hard and it seems like for a lot of the year our hitting gets better late in the game,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said after the win.

Getting the biggest hit of the game with the No. 8 hitter is also a luxury.

Thairo Estrada threw the first pitch he saw in the ninth inning and launched a three-run blast over the ivy and into the left-field stands to complete the Giants’ comeback for their second straight victory. The San Francisco second baseman hit a 90 mph fastball 370 feet for his ninth home run of the year.

After three consecutive hitless games, Estrada is now on a four-game hitting streak behind back-to-back two-hit performances. The Giants now have five wins since May 22, trailing by several runs in the eighth inning or later, according to MLB’s Sarah Langs.

The Giants in the first five innings got their only run of the day on a triple by Mike Yastrzemski. Over the next four innings, the Giants and Cubs combined for 12 runs, starting with the Cubs scoring two in the bottom of the sixth. The Giants, however, continued to respond.

They then scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning, only for the Cubs to score four in the bottom half of the inning. The Giants’ response: One run in the eighth – a solo shot by catcher Patrick Bailey off the scoreboard in right field to cut the deficit to two runs.

Along the way, the Giants also got two big pitches from the outfield.

Melvin didn’t have to wait long to don his cap in the outfield. Former Giant Mike Tauchman walked four pitches to lead off the Cubs in the bottom of the first inning. He then curiously tried to test Michael Conforto from left field on a deep — but not too deep — fly ball from Christopher Morel, who then turned a walk into two quick outs.

A three-inning drive later drew much more attention.

With two hits and one out in the bottom of the fifth inning, and the Giants leading 1-0, Yatrzemski raced in from right field to catch a fly ball from Cody Bellinger on the run. Yastrzemski, without hesitation, then unloaded for a perfect throw to home plate to knock Patrick Wisdom into his path.

“These are momentum swings,” Melvin said of both moves.

For pitcher Jordan Hicks, both laser double plays that required perfect pitches brought him back to his days roaming the outfield.

“Obviously, the throw got me super excited,” Hicks said when asked about Yastrzemski’s defensive play. “One of my favorite plays in baseball is the outfield assist. It’s almost like a lost art in this game.

“When that happens, it keeps me going. I played outfield in high school and that was my favorite thing: kicking guys out.

Finally, it’s time for Camilo Doval to close the door on the Cubs.

The 2023 MLB All-Star gave up four earned runs with four hits and two innings a 13-6 victory against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday. It was the second time this month that Doval allowed four earned runs in a game, which is a career high for the 26-year-old.

Doval threw two straight balls to start the bottom of the ninth, leaving many watching from home biting their nails and hoping for an ugly result. No drama needed, though. Doval went up three and down three to erase his bad luck from the night before, exclaiming one of the wildest wins of the 2024 MLB season.

“That’s what he does,” Melvin said. “It was difficult to bring him into that game yesterday because that was all we had left and we’re trying to play chess with this thing and have certain guys available for a certain day and that’s not an ideal situation for a closer matchup.

“It’s no surprise he came back and pitched the way he did today.”

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