Giants' incredible relay swings momentum, keys 'W'

SAN DIEGO -- The 2022 Giants have not been known for their glovework, but their defense saved the day in a 1-0 win over the Padres in Monday night’s series opener at Petco Park.

Left fielder Luis González, shortstop Brandon Crawford and catcher Joey Bart teamed up to make a perfectly executed relay throw to nab Brandon Drury at the plate in the seventh inning and preserve a gem from left-hander Alex Wood, who fired 6 1/3 shutout innings in one of his strongest starts of the year.

It was a huge momentum swing for the Giants, who have now won three in a row to pull within 5 1/2 games of the Padres for the third and final National League Wild Card spot.

“It looked like we won tonight’s game with some defense,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “It’s a good thing for us and notable.”

The Padres thought they tied the game at 1 in the bottom of the seventh after Ha-Seong Kim’s double to the left-field corner appeared to score Drury, who was initially called safe by home-plate umpire Sean Barber.

Bart immediately motioned to San Francisco’s dugout after applying the tag, urging the Giants to challenge the play, though he admitted that he wasn’t confident it would be overturned after watching the replays on the scoreboard. Still, replay officials ultimately determined that Bart managed to apply the tag while Drury’s hand hovered over the plate, taking the run off the board for the Padres.

“I thought it was going to be too close to overturn,” Bart said. “That was kind of my gut. But then, as I sat out there, I noticed it was taking a lot longer than usual, so that usually means that they’re making some kind of decision. Usually, when they get it done really soon, you know the call is usually confirmed. But it was a fun play. It definitely worked out in our favor tonight.”

San Francisco's successful challenge didn’t sit well with most of the 40,686 fans in attendance, with boos and trash raining down on the field after crew chief Larry Vanover announced that the call had been overturned. Kapler reviewed video of the play after the game and said he thought Drury was “clearly out” from the Giants’ vantage point, though the Padres disagreed.

“I thought I got my fingertips in there,” Drury said. “It was a close play, no doubt. But the call on the field was safe, and I can’t believe they overturned that from what I saw.”

Added Padres manager Bob Melvin: “I'm done with replay. I don't know. Clear and convincing, I'm not sure. But it certainly just didn't go our way.”

Kapler praised the overall execution of the play, with González quickly fielding the ball in the corner, Crawford setting his feet and firing a one-hop throw to the plate and Bart making an impressive pick and tag on Drury.

“As the play was developing, I didn’t think we’d have enough time, honestly,” Crawford said. “But then, [González] fielded it off the wall well and gave me a good throw, so it gave us a chance. … Joey made one of the best picks and tags I think I’ve seen from a catcher. That was a great play from him.”

Wood, who watched the play unfold from the dugout railing, said he thought the moment was instrumental in turning the tide in the Giants’ favor for the rest of the night.

“Plays like that transcend more than just the moment,” Wood said. “When you can have something like that go your way, especially later in the game, it’s nice to be able to carry that momentum into the eighth and ninth inning and be able to close it out.”

The Giants scored their lone run of the game in the fourth, when Evan Longoria, J.D. Davis and Crawford strung together three consecutive singles to load the bases with no outs against lefty Blake Snell. That brought up Thairo Estrada, who lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to make it 1-0.

San Francisco couldn’t add on, but Wood ensured their slim lead held up, holding the Padres’ revamped lineup to three hits and no walks while pitching into the seventh. Closer Camilo Doval sealed the win by retiring All-Stars Juan Soto, Manny Machado and Josh Bell in order in the ninth, capping his save by striking out Bell on a 102.9 mph cutter to end the game. It was the fastest strikeout pitch by a Giants hurler since the pitch-tracking era began in 2008.

“When I threw the pitch, I looked back at the scoreboard and saw it was 103 mph,” Doval said in Spanish. “I was like, ‘I hope the radar gun is correct.’”