SEATTLE _ After spending the first half of June trying to climb over the .500 mark and prove they could contend in a division lacking a true juggernaut, the San Francisco Giants finally achieved the feat on June 24 with a walkoff win over the San Diego Padres.
A 3-2 victory over the last-place team in the National League West is hardly impressive in its own right, but the victory featured all the signs of a club on the rise. The Giants won with strong starting pitching, excellent help from their bullpen and timely hitting.
At 40-39, the Giants had arrived on the scene and weren't prepared to turn back.
They came close to regressing to .500 Tuesday, but Pablo Sandoval's ninth inning infield single and second baseman Dee Gordon's throwing error allowed Steven Duggar to score the go-ahead run in a 4-3 win.
After suffering back-to-back walkoff losses and allowing the Seattle Mariners to overcome three separate one-run deficits Tuesday, the Giants fended off disaster with late-inning heroics and closer Will Smith's fourth save of the season.
With a ninth inning run against Mariners closer Edwin Diaz, the Giants improved to 52-50 and now have a chance to sweep a two-game set in Seattle in Wednesday's matinee.
Although the formula didn't quite match up with the one the Giants used to move above .500 a month ago, they'll gladly take an ugly win that keeps them above sea level.
The Giants didn't have to contend with Mariners lefty James Paxton, who was scratched with back stiffness four hours before Tuesday's start, but they didn't make the most of their chances against spot starter and fellow southpaw Roenis Elias.
Elias allowed two earned runs in 3 2/3 innings, but the Giants left five runners on base in the first four innings and failed to add on when opportunities arrived.
Four of the nine hitters manager Bruce Bochy penciled into Tuesday's lineup hadn't hit a home run this season, including designated hitter Hunter Pence who hit in the fifth slot in the order despite carrying a .285 slugging percentage into the game.
While he's struggled through the toughest season of his professional career, Pence proved there's still pop in his bat as he launched the third longest home run by a Giants player this season with a 445-foot moonshot that hit off the base up the upper deck at Safeco Field.
Pence's first homer of the season broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth and gave starter Andrew Suarez his third different lead of the night. But once again, Suarez couldn't keep the Giants in front as he issued a two-out walk to Denard Span and reliever Reyes Moronta allowed an inherited runner to score on a single by Mariners pinch hitter Ben Gamel.
Pence wasn't the only unlikely source of offense for the Giants' offense Tuesday, as the team's first three runs batted in came off the bats of players with a combined 24 RBIs on the year.
Kelby Tomlinson entered Tuesday's game with a .214 batting average and was one of the four hitters without a home run this season. Despite his poor numbers, the second baseman led the charge against Elias, tripling for the team's first hit of the game in the third inning before singling home Brandon Crawford on the eighth pitch of his at-bat in the fourth.
After legging out his third inning triple, Tomlinson scored on an infield single by leadoff man Chase d'Arnaud to push the Giants ahead 1-0.
Suarez couldn't hold one-run leads in either the third or fourth innings, as the Mariners struck back in both frames with a run of their own. In the third, light-hitting center fielder Guillermo Heredia launched his third home run of the year, a 404-foot solo shot to center to tie the game at 1-1. In the fourth, former Giants outfielder Denard Span hit a bases loaded sacrifice fly to bring home Nelson Cruz, but left fielder Austin Slater prevented the Mariners from adding on.
With two on and one out, catcher Mike Zunino laced a single into left field, but Slater scooped it up and fired a perfect strike to the plate to catch Kyle Seager in plenty of time.
