SAN FRANCISCO — A 5-inch scrape on his left arm to show for his spectacular performance, Mike Yastrzemski took as much pride in his headfirst slide for the tying run as he did that dramatic splash-hit homer to end the game in the 10th inning.

BodyText_News: Yastrzemski sent a three-run shot into McCovey Cove to win it, and the San Francisco Giants rallied past the San Diego Padres 7-4 on Monday night for their season-best eighth straight victory.

Yastrzemski also connected in the sixth, giving him five career multi-homer games and two against San Diego. It was his fourth walk-off homer in the majors and second versus the Padres.

Patrick Bailey hit a tying sacrifice fly in a two-run ninth to knock in Yastrzemski, who tagged up and raced home to score with a headfirst dive into the plate.

“That was probably more exhilarating,” Yastrzemski said. “That was one of those plays where it could have ended up dropping in front. I just kind of hang out there for a second and make the right read and luckily I got in there just in time. So I was pretty fired up that the game was tied up.”

Camilo Doval (2-2) struck out Manny Machado on a 91 mph slider for the first out of the 10th and got through it unscathed for the win. It took 11 pitches to retire Machado.

Giants manager Gabe Kapler called it “nerve-wracking,” knowing the damage Machado can do.

“It was an incredible battle from a fan’s perspective,” Kapler said. “It was excellent to watch.”

Juan Soto homered twice and Ha-Seong Kim hit a two-run single in the fourth but San Diego’s undermanned bullpen couldn’t hold it.

Michael Wacha was cruising for the Padres with a 4-0 lead until giving up David Villar’s solo home run in the fifth.

Soto connected for his 11th homer of the year in the first and 12th leading off the fifth after San Diego didn’t clear the fences in its previous two games. It was his 13th career multi-homer game and first since joining the Padres last year.

Kim had three singles to back Wacha, who allowed two runs on four hits over six innings. Tim Hill pitched two hitless innings of relief with three strikeouts.

Then the Giants rallied against Luis García in the ninth.

Pinch-hitter Blake Sabol drew a leadoff walk, then Yastrzemski singled and Sabol scored on a wild pitch that advanced Yastrzemski to second. Luis Matos’ fly got Yastrzemski to third. J.D. Davis walked and Drew Carlton relieved, allowing the sac fly by Bailey before walking the next two batters to load the bases.

Ray Kerr (0-1) came in and struck out Joc Pederson to force extra innings. Pederson started the 10th as the automatic runner on second base and, after Kerr intentionally walked Thairo Estrada, Sabol dropped down a sacrifice bunt.

Padres manager Bob Melvin considers this a crucial four-game series.

“We need to pick up some games in our division, so these games seem a little bit more important even though it’s June,” Melvin said before the game.

The Giants were on a roll after a pair of impressive road sweeps against the Cardinals and Dodgers — outscoring rival Los Angeles 29-8, including a 15-0 victory Saturday.

Fernando Tatis Jr. appeared to have stolen his 13th base in the first after leading off the game with a double but the Giants challenged the call and it was ruled he was caught stealing.

Rookie right-hander Ryan Walker made his first career start as San Francisco went with a bullpen game after scheduled starter Alex Cobb was placed on the injured list Sunday with a strained left oblique muscle.

The Padres have won nine of the last 11 in the series, including both meetings April 29-30 in Mexico City.

Trainer’s room

Padres: RHP Seth Lugo is scheduled to come off the injured list and start Tuesday, his first appearance since straining his right calf May 16 covering first base. Melvin wasn’t sure what Lugo’s pitch count might be. “He’s eager to get back out there,” Melvin said.

Giants: LHP Scott Alexander was placed on the 15-day injured list with a strained left hamstring he hurt Sunday at Dodger Stadium. RHP Sean Hjelle was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento. … 3B Casey Schmitt was held out of the starting lineup a day after being hit by a pitch in the right arm. X-rays were negative.

Up next

Lugo (3-3, 4.10 ERA) will make his ninth start of 2023, pitching opposite Giants right-hander Anthony DeSclafani (4-6, 4.31).

The post Mike Yastrzemski splashes 3-run HR into McCovey Cove within the tenth because the Giants rally previous the Padres 7-4 appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

CINCINNATI (AP) — Will Benson hit a home run in three runs and the Cincinnati Reds ended San Francisco’s seven-game winning streak Wednesday night with a 3-2 win over the Giants.

Graham Ashcraft threw a pitch in the seventh inning as Cincinnati stopped a six-game slide that dropped the surprising Reds to second place at the NL Central and trailed Milwaukee. For Cincinnati, it was the worst slip-up of the season.

The Reds (51-46) had four hits. When they finished with four or fewer hits, they were down 9-0 this year.

Blake Sabol hit a home run for San Francisco and Ross Stripling threw six innings with a three-run ball. The Giants (54-42) are chasing the Dodgers in the NL West.

Ashcraft (5-7) was eliminated after Sabol took the lead in the seventh round with an attack from the backfield that narrowly crossed the wall on the left. Sabol’s 11th home run cut Cincinnati’s lead to 3-2.

Ashcraft allowed five hits, hit out three and walked two, continuing his turnaround after a difficult stretch. The right-hander improved to 2-1 in his last four starts with a 1.82 ERA.

Ian Gibaut, Lucas Sims and Alexis Díaz each pitched an inning after Ashcraft left. Díaz struck twice while making a 1-2-3 ninth in his 27th save in 28 attempts.

San Francisco used two runners in the eighth, two of whom were out, but Sims escaped the traffic jam when Luis Matos flew to the left.

Stripling conceded four goals in his longest game of the season and didn’t score. It was his fifth appearance and fourth in the starting XI since missing 35 games with a cruciate ligament strain.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Tyler Stephenson opened the third set with singles before Benson fired a slider deep left for a 3-0 lead. It was Benson’s sixth home run of the season.

The Giants filled bases without missing anyone in the fifth as Ashcraft hit David Villar and defeated Brett Wisely and Casey Schmitt. Joc Pederson then caught a run-scoring double play and Mike Yastrzemski showed up.

TRAINING ROOM

Giants: SS Brandon Crawford (left knee inflammation) was on 10-day injured list and INF Villar recalled by Triple-A Sacramento.

Reds: RHP Luke Weaver should be able to make his next scheduled start after suffering a line drive from the back of his left elbow in the third inning of game two on Tuesday. He left with a bruise, but the X-rays were negative.

NEXT

Giants RHP Alex Cobb (6-2) is scheduled to start Thursday’s series finals against LHP Andrew Abbott (4-2).

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

The post Will Benson hits 3-run homer as Cincinnati Reds cool off San Francisco Giants with 3-2 win appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Photo: Doug Gray

The Cincinnati Reds clinched a 7-3 win this afternoon after two doubles from Jonathan India and a three-run blaster from TJ Friedl. Pitching was solid in the afternoon, with the bullpen allowing just one run in their six combined innings.

The highlights

Graham Ashcraft’s first inning didn’t get off to the best start. He would hit JD Davis with a pitch before dropping an RBI double to Isan Diaz. The Reds offense had their starters again at the end of the inning when Jonathan India doubled to start the inning and Tyler Stephenson hit with a single. After the next two hitters made outs, Chad Pinder left to field two men for TJ Friedl. The outfielder committed a left-on-left offense when he hit a 3-run home run – his first of the spring – to give Cincinnati a 4-1 lead.

TJ launch ?#RedsST pic.twitter.com/SgJBusyHN5

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) March 7, 2023

Ashcraft had a much better 2nd inning, pulling the Giants in order. Jonathan India restarted the Reds’ offense with another double late in the inning, and this time he scored with a single from Wil Myers to make it 5-1. San Francisco got that run back on a home run from Michael Conforto ahead of Ashcraft in the 3rd . to give Cincinnati the lead. At the end of the 3rd, it was Chad Pinder’s ground-rule double that led to another run. He would advance to third with a ground out and score on a wild pick-off attempt.

Lucas Sims took over in the 4th inning and threw a shutout frame with two punch outs. Joel Kuhnel came out of the bullpen in the 5th and gave up a solo home run on Isan Diaz that cut the Reds’ lead to 6-3. Cincinnati got the run back at the end of the inning when Chad Pinder hit a single, advanced to third base with a single from TJ Friedl, and then scored through a shortstop error.

After that, the attacks of both teams fell silent. Ricky Karcher worked around a hit and a walk in the 6th inning. Tayron Guerrero came out and threw a perfect 7th inning with a strikeout. Ryan Nutof threw a perfect 8th inning with two strikeouts before giving way to Randy Wynne, who sealed the 7-3 win with a shutout over the 9th.

Jonathan India finished the tournament 2-3 with a walk, two doubles and two runs scored. Chad Pinder went 2-2 with one walk and three runs scored. TJ Friedl went 2-3 with three runs batted, raising his average this spring to .412.

game on Wednesday

Cincinnati takes to the streets as the Reds take on the San Diego Padres at 3:10 p.m. ET, with Luke Weaver taking the mound for Cincinnati.

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