Giants hold on for 9-6 win over Padres

It was the best of times. And it was almost the worst of times.

The San Francisco Giants narrowly avoided snatching defeat from the jaws of victory tonight, as they defeated the San Diego Padres 9-6.

If you turned the game off in the middle of the ninth inning, it would have been an embarrassment of riches. Just a bundle of laughs and dingers and good pitching.

So let’s start there.

Jordan Hicks impressed in his first start, allowing just three hits and a walk with six strikeouts in five innings of work. Despite having eight previous career starts, this was his first win. He topped out at 99.5 mph, and hit 98 mph 17 times.

His most impressive feat for me, however, was getting out of the jam he got in in the fourth inning. After not allowing a hit through the first three innings, the Padres got three singles in quick succession to load the bases with one out. Hicks managed to get Tyler Wade to strike out, and Nick Ahmed made a great catch to get Jackson Merrill and end the inning.

The only run allowed by the Giants prior to the ninth inning was on a double from Jurickson Profar that knocked in Jake Cronenworth in the sixth, with Taylor Rogers pitching.

The Giants, meanwhile, scored a pair of runs in the second inning on a sac fly from Thairo Estrada and a double from Tom Murphy, and another from a sac fly from Jung Hoo Lee in the fifth. But they really came alive in the eighth inning.

With one out, Lee got his first major league home run, a solo shot to right center field. And his dad was in attendance. It was just the best.

The Giants went on to load the bases for Wilmer Flores, who knocked in Jorge Soler with a single, bringing up Michael Conforto. Conforto had a fierce nine-pitch battle with Padres relieve Tom Cosgrove, which he emphatically won, as he hit a grand slam to give the Giants a 9-1 lead.

And that, my friends, is the sunshine and lollipops of this game. You could have turned it off after that and they still would have won and you would have avoided the stress that came after. So if you’d like to skip away and enjoy your Saturday night, feel free to leave now.

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Oh, you’re still here? Glutton for punishment, you are. But okay.

So now we go to the bottom of the ninth inning.

Erik Miller had entered in the eighth inning, and came back out to start the ninth. He walked Profar, and then gave up a home run to Eguy Rosario. He then walked Merrill and struck out Kyle Higashioka before being pulled for Camilo Doval.

Doval. We love him. Even when he makes our hair turn a little grey. Even when he has more pitch clock violations than batters faced. /deep breath

Okay, so Doval came in and immediately continued the pattern, walking José Azocar. And if you’re anything like me, this is when you started thinking about how funny, in a really sick way, it would be if the Padres loaded the bases and also got a grand slam.

Well, we’d be close to the truth.

Graham Pauley was the next batter, and he got his first major league hit. A three-run home run to right field.

It was at this point that my body had a visceral reaction, flashing back to all of the games I covered in 2023, of which the Giants lost 99% of. I became fully convinced they were going to lose this game. I messaged the staff Slack channel demanding compensation for the therapy I was inevitably going to need if the Giants lost this game.

But the non-existant McCovey Chronicles therapy fund lives to see another day, as Doval got two groundouts to end the game.

Just another hahahahahah laugher.