J.D. Davis belted Kenley Jansen’s first pitch of the bottom of the ninth inning over the left field wall, giving the host San Francisco Giants a walk-off, 3-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.
Davis’ homer, his 14th of the season, came shortly after the Red Sox had scored twice off Giants closer Camilo Doval in the top of the ninth, drawing even on a two-run single by Justin Turner.
Despite suffering his third blown save of the season, Doval (3-3) was credited with the win. Jansen (2-5) took the loss.
The dramatic ending came after Sean Manaea had combined with opener Ryan Walker and set-up reliever Tyler Rogers to take a 2-0 lead into the ninth.
But pinch hitter Masataka Yoshida got things going with a walk off Doval before Jarren Duran launched a double high off the wall in right field, immediately putting the potential tying runs in scoring position.
Turner followed with a shot up the middle that caromed off second baseman Casey Schmitt’s glove and into center field, allowing both baserunners to score to tie the game.
The hosts wasted no time jumping on Boston starter James Paxton, who yielded a first-pitch single to Austin Slater before Wilmer Flores took a ball and then doubled to right, scoring the game’s first run in the first.
In the sixth, Slater drove in the Giants’ second run when, despite being denied of a hit when Red Sox second baseman Christian Arroyo made a diving stop on a one-hopper, his groundout allowed Marco Luciano to score from third.
After Walker threw 2 2/3 scoreless, one-hit innings, Manaea took over and took the shutout one out into the eighth inning. He allowed two hits and no walks in his 4 2/3 innings with five strikeouts.
Rogers needed just five pitches to retire two batters to finish the eighth, before Doval came on.
Paxton was pulled after five innings after having limited the Giants to just the first-inning run on eight hits. He walked two and struck out five.
Flores finished with three hits, while Davis, Luciano and Michael Conforto had two apiece in San Francisco’s 11-hit attack.
Duran and Turner each had a double and a single for the Red Sox, who saw a five-game winning streak come to an end.
–Field Level Media
