SAN FRANCISCO _ On January 15, the Giants pulled off a blockbuster trade, acquiring outfielder Andrew McCutchen from the Pittsburgh Pirates in one of the highest-profile moves of baseball's offseason.
On April 7, McCutchen officially established himself as a Giant.
With a dramatic three-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the 14th inning, McCutchen capped off an epic 12-pitch at-bat and a career-best 6-for-7 day at the plate to propel San Francisco to a 7-5 win over the Dodgers.
The Giants' victory rewarded the brilliant work from a bullpen quartet of Tony Watson, Hunter Strickland and rookies Pierce Johnson and Reyes Moronta. Johnson and Moronta's work in extra innings was especially critical for San Francisco, as the duo recorded 12 outs in extra innings to thwart a Dodgers team sniffing a comeback.
In nine seasons with the Pirates, McCutchen never produced more than five hits in a single game. On Saturday, he did one better, downing the Giants' rival with a half dozen knocks and one sensational home run.
With just one week of the regular season in the books, the Giants weren't in position to take anything for granted, but when second baseman Joe Panik breaks a scoreless tie against the Dodgers and Buster Posey homers at AT&T Park, the Giants sure like their chances.
After Panik emerged as the Giants' hero in Los Angeles last weekend, his run on a McCutchen RBI double in the bottom of the first inning was as positive of an omen the Giants could have hoped to see. But unlike the last two times Panik trotted across home plate to break a scoreless tie, the Giants would need more offense to down their rivals.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Posey launched his first home run of the season, a line drive that narrowly cleared the top of the left-center-field fence. Posey's two-run shot was his first home run at AT&T Park since Aug. 8, 2016, and just his second home run at home since May of last year.
Entering Saturday's contest, the Giants had won 10 straight home games in which Posey went deep, making his round-tripper another reason to inspire confidence in the club's chances.
However, a 3-1 lead wasn't enough for starter Chris Stratton, who logged 5 innings of one-run ball before allowing the first two hitters in the top of the sixth to reach base.
Stratton needed just 78 pitches to work through the Dodgers' lineup twice, but after he escaped a jam in the top of the fifth, manager Bruce Bochy sent him back to the mound in the sixth even though he had a bullpen loaded with well-rested arms.
A single by Corey Seager and a walk to Yasiel Puig ended Stratton's day, as Bochy turned to left-hander Josh Osich to face Dodgers slugger Cody Bellinger with two on and no one out.
Through the first week of the season, Bellinger's home run off of Osich at Dodger Stadium last weekend was the only long ball surrendered by the Giants' pitching staff. Still, playing the matchup proved fortuitous for Bochy as Osich induced a harmless pop out.
Despite doing his job against Bellinger, Osich walked the next Dodgers hitter, Logan Forsythe, on four pitches.
With the bases loaded, Bochy called on Cory Gearrin to relieve Osich, but Gearrin's first pitch was misplayed by Posey who allowed a passed ball and a run to score. After an RBI groundout tied the game at 3-3, the Giants needed their offense and bullpen to provide a lift in the late innings.
The Giants also needed their Tony to fare better than the Dodgers' Tony.
Last season, Los Angeles acquired relievers Tony Cingrani and Tony Watson in the middle of the year and both lefties helped pitch the club to a National League pennant and into the World Series.
On Saturday, Cingrani allowed a go-ahead double off the wall to Giants first baseman Brandon Belt in the bottom of the sixth to push the Giants ahead 4-3. After Sam Dyson allowed a Chase Utley solo home run to even the score, Watson preserved a 4-4 tie by preventing Puig and Bellinger from doing more damage with a runner in scoring position in the seventh.
Watson needed just five pitches to retire the two hitters in the seventh before working a scoreless eighth.
The Giants ended up needing a lot more help to last until the 14th.
For a few lively hours, they found it in the form of Strickland, Johnson and Moronta, but the team's final reliever Roberto Gomez allowed a run in the top of the 14th inning that appeared destined to doom San Francisco.
Instead, McCutchen became a hero, endearing himself to Giants fans everywhere.
