Tauchman's 'unbelievable' robbery saves day

Before beginning his postgame Zoom call with reporters, Giants manager Gabe Kapler stepped into the visitors¡¯ weight room to review the highlights from a wild night at Dodger Stadium. There was plenty to digest.

A milestone home run from Buster Posey, a game-saving catch from Mike Tauchman and a go-ahead single from LaMonte Wade Jr resulted in one of the most dramatic wins of the season for the Giants, who rallied to beat the Dodgers, 8-5, in 10 innings on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.

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Posey¡¯s 150th career homer -- a tiebreaking, three-run blast off Blake Treinen -- gave the Giants a 5-2 lead in the top of the eighth inning, but the Dodgers came back to tie the game on Austin Barnes¡¯ three-run shot off Tyler Rogers in the bottom of the ninth.

Albert Pujols nearly ended the game when he sent a drive deep out to left field, but Tauchman made an incredible leaping catch at the wall to rob the Dodgers¡¯ first baseman of a walk-off home run and force extra innings.

¡°That was an excellent, very, very, very difficult Major League catch, up against a wall that¡¯s not easy to scale,¡± Kapler said. ¡°It was obviously a game-saver, and one of the better catches we¡¯ll see all season.¡±

Tauchman, who entered the game as a late-inning substitute, said the play ranked among the ¡°top two, or maybe probably one¡± catches he¡¯s made in his Major League career. He said the only other play that comes close is another home run robbery he pulled off at Camden Yards in 2019.

¡°That¡¯s probably the most fun play you can make as an outfielder,¡± Tauchman said. ¡°You practice it as a little kid over your chain-link fence in the backyard. The opportunities are so few and far between that when you get a chance at one, it¡¯s pretty cool.¡±

Tauchman¡¯s grab stunned Pujols and the rest of the Dodgers, many of whom placed their hands on their heads in disbelief.

¡°That was an unbelievable play by their left fielder,¡± Barnes said. ¡°I thought Albert got it. The dugout was about to go crazy, it would¡¯ve been fun. Great swing, but great play by him.¡±

Tauchman flied out against Los Angeles closer Kenley Jansen to lead off the top of the 10th, but Wade followed with a single to right field that knocked in the automatic runner and put the Giants ahead, 6-5. Evan Longoria later capped the decisive rally with a two-run double that sailed over the head of Sheldon Neuse in right field.

With the win, the Giants improved to 1-4 against the Dodgers and 31-20 overall, tied with their archrivals for second place in the National League West.

That the Giants find themselves hanging with two behemoths -- the Padres and the Dodgers -- in the uber-competitive division is due in large part to the resurgence of Posey, who is batting .333 with a 1.028 OPS over 34 games this year.

Posey received a scheduled off-day on Thursday, but he was back behind the plate on Friday and snapped a tie in the eighth by launching a 96.6 mph sinker from Treinen out to left-center field to give the Giants a 5-2 lead. It was the 10th home run of the season for Posey, who has now reached double digits for the first time since 2017.

Despite Posey¡¯s impressive production, the Giants remain committed to playing the long game with the 34-year-old veteran to ensure that he stays fresh and healthy over the entire regular season. Posey is currently starting two out of every three games, a strategy that seems to be working well for him thus far. Of Posey¡¯s 10 homers this year, seven have come after he received the previous day off.

¡°I think what¡¯s most impressive is that he did it against Treinen,¡± Kapler said. ¡°Blake is a great Major League reliever with pretty nasty stuff, and he¡¯s particularly tough on right-handed hitters. He¡¯s particularly hard to get in the air against right-handed hitters. That was just a high-quality swing that he was able to get up in the zone.

¡°Buster¡¯s been swinging the bat well for us all season long. I think that was career home run No. 150, which is quite an achievement. It couldn¡¯t have come at a better time.¡±