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Joc Pederson's walk-off walk lifts SF Giants to 4-3 victory over Padres

The SF Giants extended their winning streak to nine games on Tuesday with another incredible late-game comeback victory over the Padres.

Marc Delucchi

Joc Pederson's walk-off walk lifts SF Giants to 4-3 victory over Padres
Joc Pederson's walk-off walk lifts SF Giants to 4-3 victory over Padres /
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The SF Giants magical run continued on Tuesday night with 4-3 comeback victory over the San Diego Padres. While Seth Lugo outpitched Anthony DeSclafani in a battle between veteran righties, the Giants bullpen once again kept things close to give their offense enough time to strike. The Giants improved to 41-32 on the season and are just 2.5 games back of the Diamondbacks for first place in the National League West.

SF Giants starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani pitches during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park on June 20, 2023.
SF Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani pitches against the Padres on June 20, 2023 / Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

DeSclafani and Lugo combined for nine strikeouts in the first two innings of action before the Padres got the scoring started in the top of the third. Trent Grisham led off the inning with a single and another hit from Fernando Tatís Jr. put runners on the corners for Juan Soto. After crushing a pair of home runs in Monday's 7-4 Giants victory, Soto hit an RBI double. Tatís advanced to third and scored on a fielder's choice.

David Villar, who was inserted into the Giants' lineup after LaMonte Wade Jr. was scratched with right side tightness, was stranded in scoring position after a double in the bottom of the third inning. However, a lead-off double from Thairo Estrada setup J.D. Davis for an RBI single to cut the deficit to 2-1.

The Padres immediately answered with a solo home run by Tatís to lead off the top half of the fifth. Still, DeSclafani finished the inning without allowing another run. It proved to be his last inning of the day. He surrendered three runs on eight hits and a walk with six strikeouts across five innings.

Lugo looked like he could have gone at least seven innings, but in his his first start back from the injured list, he was on a tight pitch count. Padres manager Bob Melvin relieved Lugo after just five innings of work (66 pitches). He allowed just one run on three hits and a walk with five strikeouts.

Trailing, Giants manager Gabe Kapler turned to long reliever Tristan Beck (Giants preseason #19 prospect), likely aiming to preserve his bullpen for a likely bullpen game on Wednesday. Beck gave up some solid contact but continued his stretch of effectively pitching to contact. In three shutout innings of work, Beck struck out two and allowed one hit and one walk.

With Beck keeping things close, the pressure mounted on the Padres bullpen less than a day after an epic collapse. Southpaw Tim Hill found himself in trouble in the bottom of the seventh inning. A walk to Austin Slater followed by singles from Mike Yastrzemski and Luis Matos (Giants preseason #4 prospect) loaded the bases with nobody out for Patrick Bailey (Giants preseason #21 prospect).

Bailey hit a chopper down the third-base line. Elite defensive third baseman Manny Machado moved to his right, fielded the ball cleanly, stepped on third base for one out, and threw a seed to the plate to gun down Slater for an epic double play. Still, the rally was not quite over yet, with Brandon Crawford lining an RBI single up the middle.

Crawford's single would prove significant, however, even if the Giants still trailed 3-2 heading into the eighth. Crawford's single led Melvin to replace Hill with right-handed setup arm Nick Martinez. While Martinez escaped the seventh unscathed, he returned in the eighth to face designated hitter Joc Pederson. Martinez left a 2-0 cutter find the heart of the plate, and Pederson blasted a game-tying solo home run.

With the game suddenly tied, Giants setup man Tyler Rogers entered in the top of the ninth inning and worked around a pair of two-out singles by Soto and Machado.

The Padres left closer Josh Hader in the bullpen for the second consecutive night. And with Martinez back on the mound in the bottom of the ninth, Matos worked a one-out walk to bring Bailey to the plate, who singled through the left side of the infield. With two on and one out, Melvin finally called upon Hader to face Crawford.

However, Kapler gave rookie Casey Schmitt (Giants preseason #3 prospect) an opportunity to pinch-hit with the platoon advantage against Hader's elite arsenal. Schmitt worked a walk, to load the bases for Villar. Villar struck out on three pitches, putting the pressure on Pederson.

Pederson got ahead in the count 2-0, but swung through ball three up and out of the zone. Hader threw another fastball high, to bring the Giants one ball away from a victory. He blew a fastball by Pederson to bring the count full.

Pederson fouled off a 97 mph painted on the outside corner. Then, he took ball four to win the game. It was an incredible plate appearance that capped off a highlight-filled day for Pederson.

The SF Giants have not announced a starting pitcher for Wednesday night's game. However, this has been the spot in the rotation where Sean Manaea has served as the primary bulk-innings option during a bullpen game. Regardless, whoever makes the start will square up against Yu Darvish. First pitch at Oracle Park is scheduled for 6:45 PM Pacific.

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Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

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