The Giants had to wait nearly a full day, but they finally got their sixth straight win.
Joc Pederson doubled to lead off the 10th inning, driving in the go-ahead run, and the Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-2 in a game that was suspended on Monday night because of rain. The win moved them to 4-0 on this road trip against two young NL Central teams, the Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates.
When play resumed at 5:40 p.m. ET in Cincinnati, both teams had long-awaited moves to make. Lefty Alex Young had been on the mound a night earlier when the rain arrived, but Reds manager David Bell brought in righty Lucas Sims. Gabe Kapler countered by sending LaMonte Wade Jr. up to hit for J.D. Davis, but Wade struck out. After hitting a batter to load the bases, Sims struck out Mike Yastrzemski to get his team out of a jam that lingered overnight and keep the game tied at 2-2.
The Reds had a great opportunity to win it in the ninth when electric rookie Elly De La Cruz drew a leadoff walk and stole second, but Tyler Rogers picked him off with a nifty move to second and cruised through the rest of the inning. The mistake by the young infielder might have cost his team the game, and the streaking Giants were all too happy to take advantage of it.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
Right Where He Left Off
Logan Webb got a few extra days to rest after ending the first half with a shutout, and on Monday night, he looked poised to carry that momentum into a big second half. Webb was charged with two earned over seven innings -- both runs coming on solo homers that were Great American Ball Park specials. He struck out seven and didn't issue a walk.
The rain delay prevented Webb from chasing another complete game, or at least trying to get through eight innings. He was at just 86 pitches when the game was halted, but there was nothing he could do Tuesday but watch and start to turn the page to his start this weekend at Nationals Park.
News
Webb lowered his ERA to 3.11 and extended his MLB lead in innings pitched. He's at 133, well ahead of current runner-up Zac Gallen, who is at 123 1/3.
Platoon Power
Austin Slater entered the night with a .367/.446/.531 slash line against lefties and he added to it in his second at-bat. He jumped on an elevated cutter from lefty Brandon Williamson, crushing it 442 feet to dead center. The distance was easily a season-high for Slater, as was the 109.6 mph exit velocity.
The Giants went with Slater and Wilmer Flores atop the lineup against a lefty and both had big games. Flores also hit a solo homer and lined two doubles. The game was his first this year with three extra-base hits.
First Look At Elly
The box score says De La Cruz grounded out softly to third in his first at-bat. The reality is that Davis had to make his hardest throw of the year just to get him out at first by an inch.
Davis hit 90 mph while throwing out the Reds' leadoff hitter, which was his third-fastest throw on an out in the big leagues. It was just his second time hitting 90 as a Giant, and it was necessary, because De La Cruz got down the line with a sprint speed of 31.7 feet per second. De La Cruz then came back with a 95.9 mph throw in the second inning to get Patrick Bailey out at first.
De La Cruz and Bailey might have years of battles ahead of them, and they went head-to-head after the Reds rookie led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk. He immediately took off for second and was called out, only to have the call overturned on a review. Bailey had a pop time of 1.78 seconds while trying to cut De La Cruz down at second, his fastest of the year.
