NEW YORK - The Giants spent three long, brutal days at Great American Ball Park in the middle of this trip. The pain on the first night in New York came quickly.
Neil Walker's single to right gave the Mets a 4-3 walk-off win with two outs in the ninth at Citi Field. The Giants have lost four straight after taking a series at Dodger Stadium.
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Josh Osich kicked off the bottom of the ninth by walking Michael Conforto. Three batters later, Wilmer Flores lined an infield single off Hunter Strickland, advancing the runner. Walker pulled a pitch into the right field corner, ending a game that lasted three hours and 22 minutes.
A day after an embarrassing shutout in Cincinnati, Hunter Pence got the Giants on the board early. His two-run blast off Jacob deGrom landed in the visiting bullpen and a couple of relievers put their hands up in celebration. By the end of the first, those same guys were starting to stir. Matt Moore needed 36 pitches to get through his half of the first, and he gave half the lead back. The Giants caught a break when Neil Walker's double skipped over the fence, keeping a second run from scoring.
Moore settled in after the rocky start, throwing just 35 pitches over the next three innings. In the fifth, he gave up the lead but limited the damage. Two singles and a double tied it up, but Moore got Jay Bruce and Wilmer Flores to pop up on the infield. With runners still on second and third, he bounced a good breaking ball and Neil Walker swung over the top to end the inning.
Buster Posey immediately rewarded Moore's resilience. He ambushed deGrom's first pitch of the sixth, hitting a solo shot to the second deck in left. The homer was Posey's third of the season.
Again, the lead wouldn't last. With a runner on and two down in the sixth, Curtis Granderson lined a pinch-hit double to left off George Kontos.
Starting pitching report: Bochy kept a somewhat close eye on Moore last season, his first full year back from Tommy John. The reins are off this year. Moore threw a season-high 108 pitches Monday and he has gone over 104 in three of his last five starts. The other two were cut short by ineffectiveness.
Bullpen report: Steven Okert had his third multi-inning outing of the trip. He recorded four straight outs after the Mets tied it in the sixth.
At the plate: Christian Arroyo struck out four times. There will be growing pains.
In the field: It's not really his fault, because he's playing out of position for the good of the lineup, but Eduardo Nuñez just doesn't look comfortable in left field. When Denard Span returns, we'll see how long this experiment continues.
Attendance: The Mets announced a crowd of 28,453 human beings. There were a few boos for Conor Gillaspie, naturally.
Up next: Jeff Samardzija will try to keep his good vibes going. He'll face Zack Wheeler, the former Giants top prospect who is 1-2 with a 4.78 ERA in his return from a lengthy battle with elbow problems.
