SAN FRANCISCO _ With the game on the line, there's no one the Giants would rather have on the mound than closer Will Smith.
At the plate? They'll take Smith, too.
In his eighth major league season, Smith stepped into the box for the first time out of necessity on Sunday night against the Phillies. What followed was the defining highlight of the Giants' season to date.
The hard-throwing left-hander stood in the right-handed batter's box and took a hack at a Nick Pivetta fastball. His bat found the ball and sent it curving just inside the right field foul line for a two-run double that stands as the most improbable moment of the pitcher's �or slugger's� career.
After laughing his way up the first base line, Smith returned to the mound, shut down the Phillies and lifted the Giants to a series-clinching 9-6 victory.
Smith entered the game in the top of the eighth for a rare chance at a five-out save after set-up man Tony Watson's struggles continued. The lefty allowed a single and a double before manager Bruce Bochy called on Smith, who received a blown save for allowing a game-tying sacrifice fly to the first batter he faced.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Kevin Pillar gave the Giants the lead again with a triple into the right center field gap to score Evan Longoria. With two outs and Smith's spot due up after shortstop Brandon Crawford, the Phillies opted to intentionally walk Crawford.
Bochy initially sent Pablo Sandoval into the on-deck circle and had right-hander Sam Coonrod warming up in the home bullpen. It was all a bluff, as Bochy wanted Smith, his eighth different pitcher, to stay on for the ninth inning.
It turns out, Smith did most of his heavy-lifting in the eighth.
The dramatic win over the Phillies helped the Giants close within a game of .500 and served as a perfect example of how a roster without any everyday All-Stars can still succeed.
The team's new second baseman, Scooter Gennett, was an All-Star last year, but this week, he's trying to prove to the Giants he belongs. After the club cut a beloved figure in the clubhouse and community, second baseman Joe Panik, earlier this week, Gennett helped his cause.
With a sixth-inning solo shot that landed in McCovey Cove, Gennett gave the Giants the lead and gave himself some breathing room.
After struggling against Phillies starter Jake Arrieta last week in Philadelphia, the Giants forced manager Gabe Kapler to remove the right-hander following three ineffective innings on Sunday.
San Francisco took a 2-0 lead against the 2015 National League Cy Young Award winner before Arrieta recorded an out. Kapler sent a reliever to the visiting bullpen shortly after Evan Longoria rolled a two-run single up the middle, but a strikeout from Gennett and a double play from Pillar prevented the Giants from doing any further damage in the first.
Both Gennett and Pillar played leading roles in the rally that ultimately ended Arrieta's night as Gennett's RBI double brought home Longoria before Pillar hit a game-tying single into left field to score Gennett.
Jeff Samardzija's outstanding outing on Saturday led the Giants to a 3-1 win, but it also gave all but one reliever a much-needed day of rest.
Samardzija's eight innings turned out to be critical for the club on Sunday, as rookie starter Conner Menez recorded just five outs in his third career start.
Menez, 24, ripped right through the top of the Phillies lineup in the first inning, striking out sluggers Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins before inducing a flyout from Jean Segura to end the frame. His fortunes changed in the second as the left-hander walked the first two hitters he faced before sandwiching two more strikeouts around a single.
Menez had the chance to end a laborious inning without allowing a run, but he issued a two-out bases loaded walk and gave up a two-run single to Bryce Harper that forced Bochy to turn to his bullpen.
