SAN FRANCISCO _ Life without Buster Posey: 1-0.
The Giants caught a glimpse of their new reality at AT&T Park Saturday, giving themselves a sliver of hope by knocking off the Texas Rangers, 5-3, with the six-time All-Star sitting in the dugout.
Posey, who was available off the bench, will travel to Vail, Colo., Sunday to undergo surgery Monday to repair the labrum tear in his right hip. The 31-year old catcher received a warm round of applause when he stepped into the on-deck circle in the eighth. Unfortunately for Giants fans, Steven Duggar flew out to end the eighth-inning rally along with Posey's season.
Regardless, the heart that Posey displayed by playing through his hip ailment provided the Giants clubhouse with a source of inspiration.
"It's pretty incredible how long he's been able to play and not say anything," Hunter Pence said. "You can tell that he's not able to be himself. There's just a tremendous amount of respect for him pushing forward as far as he has. We all just want him to get healthy, so he can play to his full strength."
The Giants got their Posey-less existence off on the right foot largely because Aaron Suarez (5-9) rediscovered his first-half form after four dismal starts in August. Suarez, who entered the game with a 7.71 ERA in August, made a strong case for keeping his spot in the Giants rotation down the stretch by pitching seven innings of shutout baseball on a career-high 106 pitches.
The rookie left-hander surrendered just three hits, including a bunt single, against a Rangers offense that entered the game ranked fifth in the majors in runs scored (622). Suarez escaped a two-on, one-out jam in the fourth by striking out Nomar Mazara and Jurickson Profar. He also got out of trouble in the fifth and seventh innings by inducing a pair of 6-4-3 double plays.
The start suggested that Suarez still has gas in his tank just six innings shy of his career-high 1552/3 innings pitched.
Suarez received a big cushion right off the bat as Rangers starter Martin Perez (2-6) proved to be the perfect antidote for a slumping Giants offense, which entered the game ranked last in the National League in on-base percentage, slugging percentage and home runs.
The Giants scored four first-inning runs for a second straight game, taking advantage of Perez, who's now coughed up 17 earned runs in his last 16 innings pitched. Andrew McCutchen led off the game with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly from Evan Longoria after Brandon Belt advanced him to third with a single.
Then, Brandon Crawford broke things wide open by launching his 12th home run, a 436-footer over the Visa sign in center with Belt and Posey's replacement, Nick Hundley, aboard.
Hunter Pence added a fifth run in the seventh, hitting his second career pinch-hit homer to left off former-Giants pitcher Matt Moore, who was making his first appearance at AT&T Park since he was traded to Texas in the offseason. The homer marked the first time since June 19 that the Giants offense has hit two home runs at AT&T Park in the same game.
Despite the offensive breakthrough, the Giants bullpen made sure that the game ended with plenty of suspense. A day after they coughed up a 6-2 lead, the relievers allowed the Rangers to crawl back into the game by giving up three runs with two outs in the eighth.
Then, Will Smith loaded up the bases with two outs in the ninth. But Mark Melancon managed to close the game out by inducing a fly ball to left, earning just the ninth save in the Giants' last 19 save opportunities.
