CHICAGO - Had a half-dozen other things gone differently Wednesday night, the Giants might have spent the hour after the game shrugging off a blowout loss or celebrating one of the best at-bats of the year.
Three innings after the game was nearly lost for good, Mac Williamson saw 12 pitches from Wade Davis, who entered with a perfect ERA in 19 appearances, fouling eight of them off before slamming a two-run homer to right. The play came with some comedic value, as Williamson nearly passed Eduardo Nuñez on the bases. It also came with some historic value, as it snapped a streak of 19 consecutive solo shots that was two shy of the MLB record.
The homer was not, however, the talking point after the game. A few minutes after Williamson went deep, Joe Panik was tossing his bat into the grass in frustration over a called third strike that ended the game and clinched a 5-4 win for the Cubs. Ten minutes after that, Bruce Bochy watched the highlight and tossed his phone onto his desk.
"It's a shame to end on that call, it really is," Bochy said. "We had him on fumes and that's not a strike. But they got the call and that's it."
The Giants were left with their third loss in four games, a run that has halted their momentum. They again are 11 games back in the National League West, with so many nights like this one: A comeback seemed real, but the mistakes were too much to overcome.
Williamson, in talking about his homer, pivoted and pointed to a blunder of his own. In a tied game in the fifth, Miguel Montero hit a single to right with Addison Russell on first. The speedy shortstop watched Williamson as the ball rolled into the outfield, and when Williamson didn't charge as hard as he otherwise might, Russell took off for third. The throw was perfect, but late. Russell scored on a fly ball.
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"The home run is really cool but it would have been a lot cooler if I hadn't have made the mistake earlier in the game and given them the extra run," Williamson said, explaining that he has tried to focus on being smooth to the ball and not rushing on fast outfields. In the past, rushing has led to bobbles and extra bases.
Another costly sequence came in the eighth. After the Giants left the bases loaded in the top of the inning, Steven Okert gave up a triple to Jason Heyward, who scored on a sacrifice fly. Okert, so good when he was first called up, has been less effective of late.
"We've got to get our lefties going," Bochy said. "We gave them a run there and that put it at three and that's just enough to cover it for them."
Truth be told, the Giants were probably lucky to even have worries at that point. The wind blew a three-run Heyward homer inches foul in the sixth, and while the Giants grumbled about the final call of the game, an earlier call on Heyward for running inside the base path took a Cubs run off the board and killed a rally. It was correct by the letter of the law, but one you rarely see. The Giants escaped, but they wouldn't come all the way back, despite Williamson's late push.
The young outfielder has been looking to make an impact since coming back up on the last homestand. He knew how tough Davis has been.
"He's been the best in the game this year and the numbers speak for themselves," Williamson said. "He has phenomenal stuff. You get in the box and figure you've got nothing to lose, battle as tough as you can."
Williamson fouled off good strikes and tantalizing balls. When he lofted a 2-2 pitch toward right, he took off out of the box. The ball carried just over the wall, and Williamson didn't look up until he rounded third. That's when Phil Nevin started yelling at him to slow down. Nuñez, who had a tight hamstring, turned and told Williamson to slow down.
"I kinda blacked out for a second there," Williamson said.
"I was like, ‘Bro, it's a homer - just jog,'" Nunez said.
The moment temporarily sent a rush through the dugout. Minutes later, the Giants were left livid over a game that probably shouldn't have been so close, but nonetheless was right there for them to steal.
