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LaMonte Wade Jr.'s walk-off lifts SF Giants to 6-5 comeback win over Guardians

Kyle Harrison and the SF Giants defense scuffled early, but they worked their way back to a comeback win over the Cleveland Guardians.

Marc Delucchi

LaMonte Wade Jr.'s walk-off lifts SF Giants to 6-5 comeback win over Guardians
LaMonte Wade Jr.'s walk-off lifts SF Giants to 6-5 comeback win over Guardians /
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The SF Giants defeated the Cleveland Guardians 6-5 on Wednesday afternoon in ten innings, ending their penultimate homestand of the season with an unlikely comeback. After sweeping the Rockies over the weekend, the Giants won two out of three to Cleveland, finishing the stand with a 5-1 record. It was a great overall showing but not quite enough to climb back into the National League Wild Card. They are now 75-71 on the season.

SF Giants starting pitcher Kyle Harrison throws a pitch during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Oracle Park on September 13, 2023.
SF Giants SP Kyle Harrison pitches against the Guardians on September 13, 2023 / Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

Giants rookie Kyle Harrison (Giants Top 4 Prospect) seemed in position for a great start against the left-handed heavy Guardians lineup. However, without his best stuff or consistent defense behind him, it was easily his worst performance in the majors. He allowed five runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk with three strikeouts over four innings pitched.

Harrison walked Steven Kwan to start the game and then surrendered a two-run homer to Guardians star José Ramírez. Harrison threw the five-time All-Star three consecutive pitches up and in. On the third, the switch-hitter was able to turn on a 91.8 mph fastball.

Harrison's velocity continued to sit in the low 90s on Wednesday, something that carried over from his previous outing. Harrison has flashed potentially the most dominant fastball in the majors this season at Triple-A and in his first few starts. However, it has seemingly taken a step back after the Giants increased his workload north of 90 pitches. Harrison has the quality secondary offerings to be effective from 90-94 mph with his fastball, but it obviously gives him far less room for error.

Harrison surrendered two more singles in the first inning but would have escaped without allowing another run if not for a throwing error by rookie third baseman Casey Schmitt. Schmitt fielded a two-out ground ball from Gabriel Arias and had plenty of time to throw him out but bounced the throw to first baseman J.D. Davis, who was unable to field the short hop. The error allowed two more runs to score, putting the Giants in a 4-0 hole before they had stepped to the plate.

Guardians starter Logan Allen kept San Francisco's lineup off-balance over five innings of work with his kitchen-sink arsenal. He allowed just one run to score on a two-out bloop single by Luis Matos in the bottom of the first inning.

Cleveland immediately got that run back against Harrison in the top of the first, with Kwan singling, advancing to second on a stolen base, and scoring on an RBI single by Josh Naylor.

Despite Harrison throwing more than 30 pitches in the first inning, the 22-year-old southpaw showed off the ability to bounce back from a rough start. His command and stuff were far from sharp, but he managed to get through four innings on 82 pitches.

Alex Wood replaced Harrison to start the fifth inning and allowed just three runners to reach base across four shutout innings. Wood's effort gave the Giants an opportunity to get back into the game against the Guardians bullpen.

The Giants scored their second run of the game in the bottom of the seventh inning against Enyel De Los Santos. LaMonte Wade Jr. led off the inning with a single but was immediately erased by a double play. However, Thairo Estrada, who has four extra-base hits in his last six games, doubled and scored on a two-out single by Wilmer Flores.

Then, in the bottom of the eighth, Guardians right-handed reliever Eli Morgan hit Joc Pederson with a pitch to start the frame. Patrick Bailey, who was activated from the injured list prior to the game, singled to put two runners on with nobody out for Davis. 

Davis worked a full count and hit a towering fly ball to left field on a changeup. The ball sailed just far enough to get over Kwan's outstretched glove for a three-run home run to tie the game at five.

With things evened up, Giants manager turned to top setup arm Tyler Rogers in the top of the ninth. After surrendering a pair of two-out hits, Kapler called upon closer Camilo Doval, who retired Naylor to end the inning.

For the third time in the series, the Giants saw Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase. Flores led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, and he was replaced by Blake Sabol as a pinch-runner. Sabol stole second base on a Mitch Haniger strikeout. However, Clase retired Pederson and Bailey to force the game into extra innings.

Doval returned to the mound in the 10th inning. Even with a ghost runner on second base to start the frame, Doval retired the Guardians in order and did not allow a run to score. So, San Francisco just needed to score the ghost runner in the bottom half of the inning to secure the victory.

Davis, the hero of the comeback, was the first to come to the plate and worked a six-pitch walk. So, Kapler sent veteran shortstop Brandon Crawford to the plate as a pinch-hitter against Xzavion Curry. Crawford got ahead in the count 3-0 and walked to load the bases for Wade.

There's no one the Giants would want more at the plate in that situation than Late Night LaMonte, and he delivered a walk-off sacrifice fly to left field. Kwan made the catch and fired off a good throw to Bo Naylor behind the plate, but Bailey beat the tag in time. The Guardians challenged the call, but the ruling on the field was confirmed.

The Giants will now head to Colorado for a four-game series against the Rockies. The Rockies, easily the worst team in the National League West this season, are by far the weakest opponent remaining on the SF Giants schedule. They have a fantastic opportunity to improve their standing heading into the home stretch.

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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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