The Chicago Cubs Ian Happ connects for a two run home run in top of the tenth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Thu Jun 27, 2024 (AP News photo)
Thursday, June 27, 2024
Oracle Park
San Francisco, California
Chicago Cubs 5 (38-44)
San Francisco Giants 3 (39-43)
Win: Hector Neris (7-2)
Loss: Luke Jackson (4-2)
Save: Porter Hodge (1)
Time: 2:51
Attendance: 31,535
By Stephen Ruderman
SAN FRANCISCO–The San Francisco Giants couldn’t sweep the Chicago Cubs on Thursday as the Cubs Ian Happ hit a top of the tenth inning two run home run to beat San Francisco at Oracle Park 5-3 breaking a 3-3 deadlock. With the win the Cubs end a four game losing streak and avoid getting swept in four games.
The Giants’ offense has stayed alive in this series, and they looked to keep that going, as the Giants looked to complete their sweep of the Cubs on this beautiful sunny and hazy day at Oracle Park. Jordan Hicks, who struggled in the heat of his old ballpark in St. Louis, would make the start and hoped to bounce back in a more temperate climate in San Francisco.
Hicks started off the inning with a 1-2-3 top of the first inning, and Cubs’ starter Shota Imanaga did the same in the bottom of the first.
Hicks threw a scoreless inning in the top of the second, but it didn’t come without its drama. Ian Happ walked with one out; and then with two outs, Dansby Swanson blooped a base-hit to left-center field, and Happ was nailed at the plate trying to score all the way from first base. Imanaga then threw a scoreless inning in the bottom of the second.
Pete Crow-Armstrong was nicked by a pitch to start the top of the third, and two batters later, Nico Hoerner hooked a low-hanging home run down the left field line to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead. Michael Busch struck out swinging, and then Cody Bellinger reached on an infield hit to third.
Seiya Suzuki then hit a line drive to right, but right-fielder Luis Matos came in on the ball when he should have gone back, which allowed the ball to go over his glove and hit off the bottom of the wall. Bellinger scored, and Suzuki went into third with a triple.
Hicks escaped the top of the third without any further damage, but the Cubs had themselves a 3-0 lead. The Giants threatened in the bottom of the third, as Nick Ahmed walked to start the inning, and Curt Casali singled Ahmed over to second. However, the Giants’ offense reverted back to their old ways and were unable to come through.
Both pitchers threw 1-2-3 innings in the fourth, and after Hicks ended his afternoon with a scoreless top of the fifth. Hicks was fairly solid, giving up three hits on five hits with seven strikeouts.
Imanaga pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fifth, and Spencer Bivens came in to pitch a 1-2-3 inning for San Francisco in the top of the sixth.
Austin Slater singled to start the bottom of the sixth, but Heliot Ramos popped out, and Wilmer Flores flew out. Matt Chapman singled the other way to right to move Slater over to second, and that brought up Jorge Soler.
Soler continued his renewed success with runners in scoring position by putting the Giants on the board with a ground rule double to left-center. Imanaga then threw a wild pitch to Luis Matos, and Chapman scored to make it 3-2.
Matos hit a squibber to second that he was able to beat out, and Soler came in to score to tie it. Just as the Giants came back from down 4-0 to tie Monday night’s game, they came back from 3-0 with a three-run bottom of the sixth inning to tie Thursday’s game.
Erik Miller came in and retired the first two men he faced in the top of the seventh. Hoerner then lined a base-hit up the middle into center field and stole second, and Michael Busch walked. That brought up Cody Bellinger, who struck out swinging to end the inning.
Luke Little replaced Imanaga and threw a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the seventh. Suzuki led off the top of the eighth with a double off of Ryan Walker, but Walker retired the next three guys he faced to get out of it without any damage.
Tyson Miller pitched a scoreless bottom of the eighth for Chicago, and Sean Hjelle pitched out of trouble for the Giants in the top of the ninth. Cubs’ closer Hector Neris then pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to send this thing to the 10th.
Luke Jackson came in for the 10th, and with the game in extra innings, that of course meant the inning would start with a runner at second. Suzuki grounded out to end the inning, and then Ian Happ hit a home run to the Cubs’ bullpen out in right-center to put Chicago back ahead 5-3.
Porter Hodge was the new pitcher for the Cubs in the bottom of the tenth, and Patrick Bailey was the runner at second for the Giants. Brett Wisely singled on a Texas leaguer to left to start the bottom of the 10th, but Hodge retired the next three batters down in order to end it.
The Giants were unable to get the sweep, which would have given them a lot of momentum going into a very tough nine-game stretch that will start Friday night.
Hector Neris got the win; Luke Jackson got the loss; and Porter Hodge picked up his first-career save.
The Giants fall to 39-43, and that stretch will begin with a three-game series against their hated rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, that will start Friday night. Logan Webb (6-6, 3.16 ERA) will be on the mound, and he will be opposed by Dodgers’ right-hander Landon Knack (1-1, 2.10 ERA).
Giants News and Notes:
LaMonte Wade Jr. will be activated off the Injured List tomorrow and is expected to be in the lineup against the Dodgers. Wade strained his left hamstring on May 27 against the Phillies.
Most importantly, the Giants will be getting a big bat back in the lineup with Wade, who was hitting .333 before going down.
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