The Giants completed their comeback one inning too soon

Bo Davidson’s eighth-inning sacrifice fly finished the Giants’ comeback, sending Turner Hill home to tie the Los Angeles Dodgers at 3-3. Enrique Hernández then led off the top of the ninth with a home run, putting Los Angeles ahead to stay in a 4-3 victory Saturday at Oracle Park.

San Francisco had made the Dodgers work to recover the lead. San Francisco collected nine hits, erased a two-run deficit and put Drew Cavanaugh and Davidson at the center of its late offense. The Giants still lost, but the loss came with identifiable pressure points rather than one long stretch of nothing happening.

Davidson completed the second rally

Hill’s eighth-inning double started the tying sequence against Evan Phillips. Victor Bericoto struck out, then a wild pitch moved Hill to third. Davidson followed with a sacrifice fly to center, and Hill scored before Brett Harris ended the inning with a foul popout.

That sequence was small-ball arithmetic in its cleanest form: a double created the chance, the wild pitch improved it and Davidson supplied the necessary fly ball. After Hill’s double and the wild pitch, San Francisco needed an outfield fly rather than another hit. Davidson handled the job, and the game was even.

He had also singled in the first inning, finishing 2-for-3 with two hits and an RBI. Hill went 1-for-3 with a double and scored once, on Davidson’s sacrifice fly. Their contributions gave the tying run a clear shape, while the intervening strikeout and final foul popout kept the inning from becoming a larger threat.

Cavanaugh made the comeback possible

San Francisco’s first late push came in the seventh. Drew Gilbert walked against Brock Stewart, and Marcelo Mayer grounded out, moving Gilbert to second. Pinch-hitter Cavanaugh then tripled, scoring Gilbert and cutting the Dodgers’ lead to 3-2.

The Giants had a runner at third, but Los Angeles did not let the inning continue. Christian Koss popped out, and Jonah Cox was called out on strikes. Cavanaugh remained at third, so the triple produced a run without producing the tying score.

Stewart had allowed the run but prevented the next one. Neither Koss nor Cox could provide the hit or productive out San Francisco needed.

Cavanaugh’s afternoon nevertheless stood out. He went 2-for-2 with a triple, a double and an RBI, with both hits arriving after he entered as a pinch-hitter. His triple gave the comeback its first spark; his ninth-inning double supplied one final chance after Osleivis Basabe struck out and Mayer flew out. Koss then struck out swinging to end the game.

One swing restored the Dodgers’ lead

Hernández’s homer came immediately after Jason Foley was replaced by Trent Harris to open the ninth. Tommy Edman singled after the homer, but Harris retired Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Hunter Feduccia in succession. The inning therefore remained a one-run wound rather than turning into a larger collapse, but the leadoff homer was enough to decide the afternoon.

The Dodgers had built their original advantage through a different sequence. Mookie Betts homered in the third, and San Francisco answered when Jonah Cox doubled, stole third and scored on Turner Hill’s sacrifice fly. Los Angeles moved ahead in the fourth after Will Smith and Kyle Tucker singled.

Miguel Rojas’s single scored Smith, then Edman singled to score Tucker while Rojas advanced to third and Andy Pages moved to second. The Dodgers led 3-1 after a four-hit inning that depended on contact and traffic.

San Francisco’s response was equally specific. Cavanaugh’s triple cut the margin, Davidson’s sacrifice fly erased it and Cavanaugh’s ninth-inning double kept the tying possibility alive. The Giants finished with nine hits and six runners left on base; Los Angeles also had nine hits, with its two home runs accounting for the decisive runs.

That is why this loss deserves a sharper description than an empty line in the standings. The Giants created a comeback through extra-base hits, a stolen base, a wild pitch and two productive outs. They also left two other late chances unfinished: Cavanaugh was stranded at third in the seventh, and his double could not be followed by another baserunner in the ninth.

Hernández supplied the interruption, but San Francisco’s comeback had already shown exactly how close it came—and exactly where it stopped.

Sources

Official game data

Official game box score