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Buster Posey had played 1,347 large league games earlier Friday night. He’s moving retired of unprecedented things. But connected Friday night, helium was backmost successful the dugout waiting retired a video reappraisal that would either wrapper up an imperative crippled for his Giants oregon condemnation him to a 12th inning of catching, crouching, thinking, grinding.
He got the telephone helium wanted. He was so harmless erstwhile impromptu Dodgers archetypal baseman Will Smith came disconnected the container arsenic helium tried to mitt a precocious flip by still-developing 2nd baseman Trea Turner. Posey had made the “safe” motion arsenic helium crossed the bag, but cipher truly knew, particularly the assembled pitchers successful some clubhouses who were watching Oracle Park replays and knowing they were delayed.
“We were listening for the crowd,” said Anthony DeSclafani, the Giants’ starter. “It seemed similar it took 20 minutes.”
They heard it soon enough. Posey was safe, the Giants had scored successful the 11th and beaten the Dodgers, 3-2, to regain sole possession of archetypal spot successful the National League West, and present his teammates were partying.
“That’s the archetypal clip I’ve celebrated a walk-off successful the dugout,” Posey said. “But the guys weren’t hitting me. I’m a 34-year-old catcher. They cognize they person to beryllium careful.”
September is the clip erstwhile shot escapes the concatenation and explores the possibilities astir it, tries to spot what it tin see.
Game One of this three-game series, the past rendezvous of the season, lasted agelong capable to impact each presumption subordinate and adjacent immoderate of the starting pitchers, arsenic Walker Buehler pinch-ran for Albert Pujols successful the 10th – aft The Machine had thundered his mode from 2nd to 3rd connected a alert shot – and scored arsenic a shade runner.
Seventeen radical pitched, each of them effectively. The ninth and 10th pitchers for the Dodgers reminded you of the clerks successful a workplace mailroom who upwind up punching retired the villain and riding disconnected with the girl. Andrew Vasquez had an ERA of infinity, which means he’d ne'er retired a large league hitter, and Evan Phillips had a 7.13. Vasquez got 2 outs successful the 10th and Phillips finished up and past would person steered the crippled into the 12th if not for Turner’s mediocre throw.
That is however heavy the Dodgers are digging, successful these bullpen games. Six times their relievers retired the Giants with 2 outs and a antheral successful scoring position. Now they person Julio Urias and Walker Buehler for the remainder of the weekend, and the Giants are the ones averaging an limb per inning, which isn’t the recommended mileage successful September. Logan Webb, their champion starter, was already ticketed to play the outfield successful the 12th, had determination been one, due to the fact that Alex Dickerson came up gimpy. This clip of twelvemonth makes Ohtanis of america all.
Because of that, San Francisco needed the triumph much than the Dodgers did, but some were consenting to hazard wellness and dignity, not to notation discord. Giants manager Gabe Kapler pinch-hit Austin Slater for LaMonte Wade Jr., 1 of his astir accordant hitters, successful the 3rd inning. Why? Because the bases were loaded and the Dodgers had conscionable brought successful lefty Alex Vesia. Slater dutifully singled location the archetypal tally of the game, and it held up until the ninth, erstwhile Chris Taylor gouged a two-out RBI azygous that tied it 1-1 and followed different play that had 1 manus scratching the caput and different reaching for the rulebook.
“I thought it was similar being successful the seventh oregon eighth inning,” Kapler said. “Runs would beryllium hard to travel by. I instantly explained it to LaMonte. I told him I knew helium could person driven the tally home, too, but Austin is connected the roster for this reason.”
The Giants are successful archetypal spot due to the fact that their orchestra has nary soloists, oregon astatine slightest nary divas, though shortstop Brandon Crawford buttressed his MVP lawsuit by throwing retired Justin Turner astatine the sheet successful the 11th.
Another tag of Turner would person ended the crippled 2 innings earlier. Turner had singled and Corey Seager (four hits) had doubled with 1 out. Smith grounded hard to Crawford, who threw home, and Turner’s lone anticipation was to get into a rundown and anticipation the Giants made a hiccup. He ran backmost to third, wherever Seager already was, and Posey followed him and tagged them both.
Turner was the surviving runner due to the fact that helium had already occupied third. Seager was retired and helium walked disconnected the base. But then, arsenic Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gasped, truthful did Turner. And then, arsenic Kapler gasped, Posey made a determination toward Seager, who was already gone, and fto Turner get backmost to the bag. Once Posey realized helium should person tagged Turner, helium shook his fist successful disgust, due to the fact that the Giants would person won, 1-0. Instead, Taylor tied it, and the 2 sides radioed office for caller bodies and provisions.
“I messed that up,” Posey said.
Nothing to bash but usher much pitchers done the Dodger minefield. DeSclafani is 11-2 erstwhile helium doesn’t look the Dodgers. He was 0-3 with a 9.43 ERA successful his erstwhile 5 starts against L.A. this season, but helium gave up conscionable 2 hits successful six innings and didn’t fto a Dodger past 3rd base. His breaking worldly provided screen for a fastball that kept clipping the edges.
Next happening you cognize Posey is trying to scope 3rd cogwheel down the baseline, arsenic helium runs retired a grounder the mode each manager successful his beingness told him to, agelong earlier each adjacent play had to beryllium examined twice.
“He was conscionable accelerated enough,” DeSclafani said, though helium could person been talking astir the game.
The @SFGiants triumph and reclaim sole possession of archetypal spot successful the NL West! pic.twitter.com/wE6p0YiyMa
— MLB (@MLB) September 4, 2021
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