SAN FRANCISCO — Brandon Crawford came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. The game tied and a Giants win in the balance, the veteran knew what he needed to do.
So he sent Mark Melancon’s first pitch 300 feet into right field. Daulton Varsho couldn’t catch it. And the Giants beat the Diamondbacks, 4-3, on Wednesday afternoon in their first walk-off win since June 8.
The ninth inning rally began with Brandon Belt’s leadoff single and Mike Yastrzemski’s second hit of the afternoon to set up a four-pitch walk to David Villar, setting up a potential double play. But Crawford, familiar with Melancon’s stuff, didn’t waste any time ending the game.
It marked the fourth time the Giants claimed a win this year when trailing after seven innings.
A late comeback squashed the Diamondbacks attempt to sneak away with a series win. Arizona scored three runs off Sammy Long — the Giants’ second arm out of the bullpen on a scheduled bullpen day.
The first hit came in the second inning when Varsho sent a triple off the brick wall in right field to score Jake McCarthy and Buddy Kennedy, who doubled and singled, respectively. After a quick mound visit with pitching coach Andrew Bailey, Long notched two soft groundouts and a strikeout to end the threat.
But Ketel Marte’s solo home run in the third inning added some harm and put Arizona up 3-0. All the while, the Giants could only find one hit — a Thairo Estrada double into the alley on a two-strike pitch up and away — against starter Zac Gallen.
More familiar with Gallen’s offerings a third time through the order, the Giants found some cracks to open offensively. Belt hit a solo home run in the seventh inning for the Giants’ first run of the day.
Then Estrada singled for his second hit of the day and a slumping Yastrzemski doubled to set up David Villar’s sacrifice fly, putting the Giants within one. The Diambondbacks went to lefty All-Star Joe Mantiply to strike out Brandon Crawford and keep the score in tact.
With Mantiply in, manager Gabe Kapler went to to his right handers. Wilmer Flores started the eighth inning with a game-tying, pinch-hit solo home run to left field. Darin Ruf followed that up with a single in his first at-bat of the game, forcing the Diamondbacks to pull right-hander Keynan Middleton to face righty Yermin Mercedes, pinch-hitting for Joc Pederson. Mercedes struck out.
Left-hander Luis Gonzalez, pinch hitting for Austin Slater, grounded into a double play to end the inning. But they’d chipped away just enough.
Camilo Doval put the go-ahead run in scoring position in the ninth with two outs, but escaped the threat by forcing a groundout to keep the game tied and set the table for the Giants’ fourth walk-off victory of the season.
