SAN FRANCISCO — The reigning National League Cy Young winner and the favourite to win the award this yr met on a cold night at Oracle Park
The stars aligned for a pitcher's duel, and Chris Sale and Blake Snell formed a constellation over China Basin. And they did so in a playoff atmosphere against the Braves, who entered the race for the wild card a game and a half ahead of the Giants.
“Yeah, it felt a little different,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said after the sport. “Especially because of the quality of the pitching. It felt like there was something at stake with every at-bat, every pitch.”
Snell (6 ⅓ IP, 2H, 3BB, 11 K) held the Braves hitless for six innings and recorded his third game with double-digit strikeouts as a Giant. Sale never flirted with a no-no, but lasted longer than Snell and struck out yet one more batter than the Giants' left-hander. Snell and Sale combined to strike out 23 batters, marking the primary time since 2010 at Oracle Park that each starters recorded double-digit strikeouts.
With their dominant starters ready, the Braves closed in on the Giants, scoring the automated runner within the tenth inning to beat San Francisco 1-0. To start a decisive series, the Giants (61-60) and Braves combined for 33 strikeouts, with the difference being Travis d'Arnaud's game-winning sacrifice fly.
The Giants' defense was cleaner, that they had a greater run game, they usually threw in addition to Atlanta, but they still lost early in a series that might have wild-card implications given how tousled the center of the National League standings is.
“We played a really good game on both sides,” Snell said after the sport. “Take your hat off and get ready for tomorrow.”
Both Snell and Sale struck out six batters in the primary 4 innings. Snell brought in only two baserunners during that span and retired every other batter aside from walking Jorge Soler twice.
The best scoring opportunity either team had before the starters were finally eliminated got here in the primary inning, when the Giants sent runners to the corners with no outs after Ramon Laureano ran over a shallow fly and Mark Canha hit a single to center. But Sale effortlessly danced his way out of the jam and located a rhythm.
“When you look at the pitching against us, you just have to try to fight and force a run out,” Melvin said. “It didn't happen at the beginning, and we couldn't get any more across at the end.”
Snell threw his first profession no-hitter two weeks ago, but was never capable of see the sport through on Monday. Although he didn't allow a success until Marcell Ozuna's double within the seventh inning, he didn't have enough quick innings to maintain his pitch count down anyway.
But the left-hander definitely had his best stuff. After walking Soler – the Giants' former star player who was sent to Atlanta on the deadline – for a second time, Snell struck out seven straight players. He struck out the side within the fifth inning and froze Adam Duvall with a curveball up the center to finish the stretch.
That was a part of one among two sequences by which Snell struck out 4 Braves in a row. After battling injuries in the course of the first half of the season, Snell said he feels stronger with each outing; he has struck out 45 batters in his last 4 appearances.
Snell and Sale made baserunners a must. For one reason or one other, the Giants couldn't get to them. Marco Luciano stalled after a sharply hit grounder to 3rd base to open the fifth inning, and was eventually thrown out by a double-bouncer. To close the inning, Casey Schmitt hit a line drive back up the center, but Sale in some way caught the 104 mph comebacker on the mound.
Snell didn't allow even that arduous contact. With his 98th pitch, a curveball into the dirt, Snell ended the sixth inning along with his tenth strikeout of the sport.
The Giants had nobody within the bullpen when Snell got here to the bench for the seventh inning. He desired to stay in the sport, Melvin said. But moments later, Randy Rodriguez began warming up when Ozuna slid to second base with Atlanta's first hit.
Snell — MLB's most dominant pitcher over the past month — left the sector after hitting Orlando Arcia with a high fastball, inspiring a bat slam from the batter and a standing ovation from the Oracle Park crowd. Rodriguez then finished the inning with two consecutive strikeouts, keeping the 2 strikeouts Snell left him with standing.
Sale, who didn't walk a single batter, was barely more efficient than Snell, although he did allow yet one more hit. He surpassed Snell's strikeout total by striking out Matt Chapman and Jerar Encarnacion while getting through the seventh inning.
Before Monday night, Oracle Park had not seen a pitcher's duel like this since April 28, 2010, when Tim Lincecum and Cole Hamels struck out a complete of twenty-two batters.
Both teams' relievers picked up where Sale and Snell left off, sending the sport into additional time with a complete of 30 strikeouts – 15 per team.
A run within the tenth inning, a cut single and a sacrifice fly that scored the automated runner, gave the Braves the ultimate lead. In a historic pitcher's duel, an unearned run was the decisive point.
Originally published:
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