They did it again.
Donovan Solano's walk-off single in the bottom of the 16th inning sealed the Giants' 3-2 win over the New York Mets on Thursday, extending San Francisco's season-high winning streak to six games. Solano stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded, beating New York's shift with a single to right field.
Donovan Solano hopes you all get home safely.
#SFGiants pic.twitter.com/VotFyoIJfU— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) July 19, 2019
The Giants entered the bottom of the 16th trailing 2-1 after Mets slugger crushed a 427-foot home run to left center field. That broke a tie that lasted since the bottom of the fourth inning, as New York ace Noah Syndergaard dueled with San Francisco counterpart Madison Bumgarner.
Bumgarner left the game after the ninth with six strikeouts and five hits allowed on 94 pitches. The 29-year-old, who might have been pitching his last game at Oracle Park ahead of the July 31 trade deadline, wanted to pitch into extras.
Bochy said Bumgarner lobbied to pitch the 10th inning. Was pulled after 94 pitches and nine innings. "He came in after the game, he's still mad at me for not letting him go out in the 10th."— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) July 19, 2019
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But the Giants bullpen held strong after Bumgarner's departure, stranding multiple runners in the 10th, 13th and 15th innings. Alonso's blast looked like it might be enough to end the Giants' winning streak, but San Francisco didn't record an out in the 15th. Alex Dickerson doubled to lead things off, then Brandon Crawford drove him in with another double. Austin Slater was hit by a pitch in the next at-bat, and Kevin Pillar loaded the bases with a single to right.
That allowed Solano to be the hero, and his walk-off hit moved the Giants 2.5 games back of the second NL wild card spot. They haven't done much losing in July.
The Giants won 3-2 in 16 innings. Donovan Solano walked it off. These guys have won 13 of their last 15 games. It's getting ridiculous.— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) July 19, 2019
[RELATED: Why Flan thinks Giants owe it to MadBum to trade him]
Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi told KNBR earlier this week that San Francisco's trade deadline wasn't just a matter of buying or selling. He added that "every opportunity you have to get to the playoffs has a ton of value," and the Giants reportedly won't make any trades without fetching a "significant" return.
Solano's walk-off alone won't change the calculus. But if wins continue to pile up, Zaidi's deadline dilemma becomes far more interesting.
