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LaMonte Wade Jr.’s walk-off lifts SF Giants to 5-4 win over Guardians

LaMonte Wade Jr. made sure the SF Giants did not waste a gutsy effort from Alex Cobb, delivering a walk-off on Monday against the Cleveland Guardians.

Marc Delucchi

LaMonte Wade Jr.’s walk-off lifts SF Giants to 5-4 win over Guardians
LaMonte Wade Jr.’s walk-off lifts SF Giants to 5-4 win over Guardians /
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The SF Giants won their fourth consecutive game on Monday night, defeating the Cleveland Guardians 5-4 in a highly competitive 10-inning affair. After sweeping the Rockies over the weekend, San Francisco kept it rolling in a well-rounded victory. Now 74-70 on the season, they moved into a tie with the Marlins, who are 1.5 games back of the Dbacks for the final NL Wild Card spot.

SF Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski (5) shakes hands with third base coach Mark Hallberg (91) after hitting a one run home run against the Cleveland Guardians during the first inning at Oracle Park on September 11, 2023.
SF Giants OF Mike Yastrzemski rounds third base on September 11, 2023 / Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Yastrzemski led off the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run against Guardians starter Gavin Williams to give the Giants an early 1-0 lead. It was Yastrzemski's 14th home run and second lead-off bomb of the season.

Veteran Alex Cobb started for the Giants after receiving an extra day of rest; he was administered a cortisone shot for a hip issue that has bothered him for much of the season. Just two batters into the game, though, Cobb looked to be laboring and received a visit from manager Gabe Kapler and the team training staff. After a prolonged conversation, Cobb remained in the game.

Despite looking troubled for much of his outing, particularly after running to cover bases defensively, Cobb remained effective. He only induced three swinging strikes and added just two punch-outs to his season-tally across five innings pitched, but Cobb induced enough soft contact to be effective.

The Giants' defense gave and took over the course of Cobb's outing. In the top of the second inning, a two-out fielding error by Brandon Crawford brought Josh Naylor to the plate, who saw Cobb well all night. But that at-bat, Naylor demolished a 2-1 splitter from Cobb 422' into McCovey Cove. 

Naylor's home run was responsible for the only two runs Cobb allowed all evening. It was the first Splash Hit by a Guardians player in Oracle Park history, though it doesn't get tallied on the counter.

While LaMonte Wade Jr. would make another fielding error behind Cobb in the fourth inning, second baseman Thairo Estrada added to his already impressive highlight reel with a pair of impressive defensive plays behind Cobb. Entering play on Monday, Estrada was tied with Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner for the top spot in Fielding Runs among keystone defenders (per Baseball Savant). Both Estrada and Hoerner were +11 on the season, but Estrada had done so in 337 fewer innings.

Estrada sparked a comeback rally for the Giants as well with a single to start the bottom of the third. Estrada quickly stole second base and eventually scored on an RBI single by Joc Pederson. Mitch Haniger, who reached on a walk, would score on an RBI groundout by J.D. Davis later in the inning, giving San Francisco a 3-2 lead.

Given Cobb's limited physical condition, Kapler turned to the bullpen after five innings of work. Lefty Taylor Rogers entered and retired the first four batters he faced before allowing a single to Bo Naylor.

John Brebbia replaced Rogers in the seventh with one on and one out and was unable to prevent the inherited runner from scoring. Naylor stole second base and scored on a seeing-eye single by Steven Kwan. Wade made a tremendous diving stop to rob José Ramírez of a hit that would have given the Guardians a lead.

After surrendering the lead, a pair of Giants pinch-hitters, Austin Slater and Wilmer Flores, singled against left-handed reliever Sam Hentges to start the bottom of the seventh. With the go-ahead run on third base and nobody out, Estrada returned to the plate. This time, he was unable to deliver, striking out on a breaking ball in the dirt.

Then, Guardians manager Terry Francona replaced Hentges with Reynaldo López. López induced a groundball from Haniger right to Ramírez, who threw Slater out at the plate. An infield single by Pederson loaded the bases with two outs for another pinch-hitter, Blake Sabol, but he popped out to end the inning.

With the score still tied 3-3, top setup arm Tyler Rogers entered the game for the Giants. After allowing a one-out single to Tyler Freeman, Andrés Giménez hit a slow ground ball up the third-base line. Rogers ranged over to field the ball and tossed it to Wade at first base. Wade, trying to fully stretch out to keep his foot on the bag at first base, mishandled the throw, which allowed Freeman to advance to third.

Will Brennan could only manage a comebacker to Rogers, which allowed the Giants to tag Freeman out. However, Giménez advanced to third and Brennan got all the way to second base during the pickle. So, with two outs and two runners in scoring position, Kapler turned to closer Camilo Doval. Doval retired Bo Naylor to retire the side.

Former Giants pitcher Matt Moore entered the game for the Guardians in the bottom of the eighth inning, but was unable to finish the inning. Singles by Wade and Slater led Francona to make another pitching change, bringing in righty Enyel De Los Santos to face Flores with two outs. De Los Santos quickly put Flores in an 0-2 hole, but San Francisco's best hitter of the season fouled off a trio of offerings and worked a full count. He lined the ninth pitch of the plate appearance to Kwan in left field, who made the catch and retired the side.

Neither team scored in the ninth inning, pushing the game into extra innings. Righty Luke Jackson entered the game for the Giants and was challenged with a free runner on second base. Freeman tried to start the inning with a sacrifice bunt, but Jackson made an incredible play to throw Naylor out at third.

Just as quickly as the Giants seemed in position to escape the tenth without allowing a run, however, Freeman stole second base. A long battle with Giménez ended with a go-ahead single up the middle. While Jackson did not allow another run to score, Guardians dominant closer Emmanuel Clase entered with a one-run lead.

Sabol led off the bottom of the tenth against Clase, who was looking for his 40th save of the season. For the second time this season, Sabol got a huge hit against an All-Star closer. While it was not as massive as his walk-off homer against Ryan Helsey, he singled in the tying run, stole second base, advanced to third on a balk, and scored the game-winning run on a walk-off single by LaMonte Wade Jr.

The SF Giants will look to remain undefeated on their current homestand on Tuesday against the Guardians. Lefty Sean Manaea will make his first start since May 10th and will square up against Cal Quantrill. 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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