For the Giants, Zack Littell took the mound, bringing with him a sub-2.00 ERA, facing off against Alex Young, who’s been in the bullpen for us since early 2020 and who’s been one of our few relievers who’s actually been good.
The Giants’ plan blew up pretty much before it started, as the first six Diamondbacks hitters to face him reached base.
He made short work of us though, striking out Josh Reddick on five pitches and inducing a 4-6-3 double play from Nick Ahmed, who was supremely crappy at the plate tonight.
Kelly popped out to first, which was disappointing, but Walker’s second AB in the first two innings made up for that, as he launched a double into the gap in left center, plating both Rojas and Marte.
Cabrera then sent another ball to pretty much the same place, but this one looked like it might actually go out.
The bottom of the second was less good for Alex Young, as he gave up another leadoff single, this time to former Diamondback Wilmer Flores, who lined one to right field.
Things quieted down for awhile after that, as both Long and Young settled in and settled down.
The Diamondbacks managed to scratch out an insurance run in the top of the fifth, as Cabrera drew his second walk of the game with one out, followed by a Peralta double off the wall in right that allowed Cabrera to advance to third.
Per the plan, Corbin Martin took the mound for the bottom of the fifth, and while he wound up putting up another zero, it wasn’t exactly pretty, as he loaded the bases by allowing a two-out single to Mike Yastrzemski followed by two walks, and wound up burning though 31 pitches.
Martin, meanwhile, ran out of good fortune in the bottom of the frame, as Brandon Belt led off with a towering fly ball to the warning track in right that Josh Reddick flat out missed.
Reddick sort of redeemed himself in the top of the seventh with a two-out double off the wall in right, but again, nothing came of it.
Mantiply then got a fly-out to left and a grounder to Rojas at second that came very, very close—heartbreakingly close, in fact—to being an inning-ending double play.
The Giants sent out another pinch hitter for the leadoff spot, some dude named Curt Casali who entered the game with a .125 batting average, but who was a lefty.
But then Castellanos threw a changeup down and in, which caught enough of the plate that Yastrzemski was able to turn on it and launch it way up over that big brick wall in right field.
In keeping with Jim’s movie thing, but nevertheless asserting that “Tomb Raider” was a video game, not a movie, and not a video game I ever played, I’m going to go with a game that I have actually played.
It would have been nice to have a nice thing and to share it with you all, but I guess that wasn’t gonna happen tonight.
But, by editorial fiat, I’m giving this one to Oldenschoole, who posted it right after the grand slam as perhaps a transcription of what they were shouting at their TV screen, but it’s simply, sadly true, and so there it is.
If you have the heart to do it, there’s another one of these adventures you can watch tomorrow, as Merrill Kelly faces off against Giants righthander Anthony Desclafini.