What we learned as Giants crush four homers, hold on to beat Padres

What we learned as Giants crush four homers, hold on to beat Padres originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — For three innings on Sunday, it looked like Joe Musgrove might chase his second career no-hitter.

But baseball can be a very, very strange game.

After striking out six times in their first 10 at-bats, the Giants got a one-out double in the fourth when Fernando Tatis Jr. lost Heliot Ramos’ routine fly ball in the sun. It ended up being the first of seven consecutive hits, including three homers, that broke the game wide open — at least temporarily.

The Giants did their best to help the Padres complete a massive comeback, but Ryan Walker entered with one out in the eighth and calmed everything down. His seventh save in seven opportunities as the closer wrapped up a 7-6 win and clinched the first series victory since the Chicago White Sox visited Oracle Park in the middle of August.

The three-homer inning (Matt Chapman, Jerar Encarnacion, Luis Matos) was the Giants’ first in exactly one calendar year. Wilmer Flores, Mitch Haniger and J.D. Davis all went deep in the same inning against the Colorado Rockies last Sept. 8. The Giants later on Sunday got a fourth homer from Curt Casali, his first since 2022 and led 7-1 after six innings, but it all started to spin from there.

The big mistake was a dropped ball that allowed two runners to score with two outs in the seventh. Jurickson Profar hit a high pop-up to second but Tyler Fitzgerald and Marco Luciano collided and the ball plopped onto the grass. The two-run error went to Fitzgerald, who ranged far over to the second-base side of the bag. After the inning, Fitzgerald and Luciano appeared to have some words in the dugout.

Camilo Doval gave up a two-run homer in the eighth and put the tying run on board, but Walker picked him off and then got a grounder to preserve the lead. He had an easy ninth and now has gone 14 innings without allowing an earned run since taking over as closer. Sunday was his fourth appearance of multiple innings during that stretch.

Here are the takeaways from the Giants’ one-run win:

Interesting Arm …

It was one of the hottest days of the year, which helped the ball fly, but Spencer Bivens wasn’t impacted. In a spot start, he allowed just four hits and one earned over 4 1/3 innings. He has made two starts this year — against the Dodgers and Padres, two playoff teams — and allowed just two earned on eight hits in 8 1/3 innings.

The 30-year-old was going to be a fantastic story this year no matter what. Bivens pitched in Europe and independent leagues before breaking through, and he has a 2.77 ERA as a rookie. It seems worthwhile to see how he fares in longer outings the rest of the year; who knows, the Giants already might have their 2025 long reliever in-house.

All-Around Matt

Chapman had the type of game that will make the Giants feel good about their $151 million investment.

His two-run homer got the scoring starter and put Musgrove on his heels after the Tatis error. It was his 23rd of the year and he later stole his 15th base. Chapman and Tyler Fitzgerald (17) are the first Giants teammates to get 15-plus in the same season since Angel Pagan and Gregor Blanco in 2014.

When the Padres threatened in the fifth, Chapman was there with his glove. Tatis hit a grounder to third with two on and one out and Chapman touched the bag before firing a strong throw across the diamond to end the inning. That play — using third to push himself toward first — is one he has made with regularity this season.

Making His Case

First base has quietly been a black hole this season, especially lately. The Giants entered the day ranked 23rd in OPS from their first basemen and 29th with just 11 homers. LaMonte Wade Jr. has a .617 OPS in the second half, Flores had season-ending surgery and Mark Canha has a .624 OPS since coming over at the deadline.

Enter Encarnacion, who jumped on a hanging cutter from Musgrove and crushed a three-run shot that turned a two-run game into a laugher. The ball left the bat at 110.6 mph and landed in the second deck in left.

Encarnacion has shown power since being recalled from Triple-A, although the glove hasn’t been that reliable and he had an error Sunday. He is out of options, so the Giants will take the next couple of weeks to evaluate how he might fit into their 2025 picture. If he doesn’t, they’ll likely need that 40-man spot in the offseason.

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