Playing his first game for the Giants at Oracle Park, Mark Canha delivered a walkoff sacrifice fly to beat the Tigers, 3-2.
SAN FRANCISCO — On a night where Robbie Ray didn’t have his best fastball or his best command, when their touch-and-go offense was held hitless for six innings, the Giants still managed to pull out the unlikeliest of victories Friday to begin a crucial home stand.
Ray turned in his longest outing yet since returning from Tommy John surgery and was still out of the game by the time his run support arrived, but the Giants’ bats woke up just in time to walk off the Tigers, 3-2, by way of Mark Canha’s ninth-inning sacrifice fly and move two games over .500 for the first time since the end of May.
It’s wins like these that will be required if the Giants (60-58) hope to do more than keep pace in the National League wild card race. They risked falling further back of playoff position after the Padres, Diamondbacks and Cardinals all won earlier in the day but instead gained a game on the Braves and Mets, who both lost.
Unable to come up with a hit against the Tigers’ (55-62) opener, Beau Brieske, or their recently demoted starter, Kenta Maeda, for the game’s first six innings, the Giants put the leadoff man on base and drove him home in each of the final three innings to earn their 12th win when tied or trailing after eight innings.
An 83.5 mph single off the end of Tyler Fitzgerald’s bat snuck through the middle of the infield to break up the combined no-hit bid to begin the seventh, and Canha delivered the walk-off winner with sacrifice fly to deep left field in the bottom of the ninth after the first three batters of the inning reached on an error, a walk and a hit batsman.
It seemed like a minor miracle that Ray recorded a quality start, limiting the Tigers to two runs over six innings while battling his command and traffic on the base paths all but one time he toed the rubber. But not even that fortune was enough to overcome the San Francisco marine layer’s ice-cold welcome home from their road trip’s more conducive offensive conditions.
After Fitzgerald snuck his single up the middle, he advanced to third on an even softer hit from Heliot Ramos — 70.5 mph — and scored on a sacrifice fly from Michael Conforto. They would use the same formula the next two innings, getting a leadoff hit from Canha and a sac fly from Patrick Bailey in the eighth and benefitting from shortstop Javier Báez’s misplay that allowed Ramos to reach base to lead off the ninth against Jason Foley.
Ray walked three batters, allowed five hits and didn’t hit 95 mph once but walked off the mound after recording the final out of the sixth inning with a couple personal accomplishments in his back pocket, completing six innings and exceeding 100 pitches for the first time since undergoing major elbow surgery.
Ray was one out away from getting out of the sixth when something got the attention of head trainer Dave Groeschner. He made his way to the mound with manager Bob Melvin and pitching coach Bryan Price, but Ray waved them away and got Ryan Vilade to fly out on his 105th pitch of the evening.
Despite his gritty effort, Ray handed a 2-0 deficit to the Giants’ bullpen, which was operating without an official closer after Camilo Doval was optioned to Triple-A before the game. Without a save situation, Tyler Rogers took down the highest-leverage outs of the evening with a 1-2-3 eighth inning and was credited with the win.
The Tigers plan to throw another bullpen game Saturday against RHP Logan Webb (9-8, 3.42). First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. PT, but the Giants are advising fans take their seats by 12 p.m. for their 10th anniversary celebration of their 2014 World Series championship.
