SF Giants overcome Blake Snell’s one-inning start to walk off D’backs

SAN FRANCISCO — Despite their team’s sinking playoff hopes, just one win to show for the first five games of their homestand and the season’s two lowest attendance figures the past two days, almost 28,000 Giants fans showed up Thursday to watch the reigning August pitcher of the month take the ball in his first start of September.

They’d better hope there will be more chances next year.

Blake Snell labored through 42 pitches to complete the first inning and didn’t emerge from the dugout again, but the Giants were still able to avoid being swept by the Diamondbacks, 3-2, thanks to the relief work of Landen Roupp and the clutch hitting of Patrick Bailey.

Bailey laced a two-strike fastball from Diamondbacks reliever Kevin Ginkel into left-center field, allowing Tyler Fitzgerald to race home from second to score the winning run on the catcher’s second RBI hit of the afternoon. He was responsible for all the Giants’ runs with his most RBIs since June 30.

Bailey’s average stood at .284 with a .786 OPS after that June game but had batted just .160 with a .417 OPS in 43 games since entering Thursday.

“The last month and half hasn’t gone as I’d wish, but I’ve been feeling a lot better the last couple days,” Bailey said, adding that he’s changed up his pregame routine and isn’t feeling the same fatigue that set in in the second half of last season. “It’s my first full year in the big leagues. I had something like this (second-half slump) happen last year, so I’m just trying to learn and go forward to shorten up slumps as much as I can. … I’m very encouraged with the progress from last year to this year.”

Bailey was clearly disappointed with himself when he dropped a strike three that could have ended Snell’s first inning short of 42 pitches, the most he has thrown in one inning since he required 43 to make it out of the fourth on Aug. 24, 2022, with the Padres.

Along with a throwing error from Fitzgerald, it was one of a couple defensive miscues that prolonged the inning. But both players made up for it in the end.

Putting the Giants in a 2-0 hole in the fourth-shortest start of his career, Snell issued a pair of walks and wasn’t happy with his difficulty locating his fastball or putting hitters away but had only one takeaway. He threw 40 pitches in the second inning two starts ago in Seattle and learned that was too many to keep going.

“I went back out, but that was kind of stupid of me,” he said. “I’ve just got to get the fastball in the zone more. It’s tough to be self-critical on myself right now because it was one inning. It wasn’t like it was the fourth inning. It was the first inning, like we’re still getting going. I felt good. It was just a weird inning.”

With his pitch count in an uncomfortable spot, the bullpen door opened to begin the top of the second, and Roupp mowed through the next four innings in the longest and most effective outing of his young big-league career. The 25-year-old rookie limited Arizona to one hit and a pair of walks while striking out five and not allowing a run.

“That was the key to the game,” manager Bob Melvin said. “When he originally went out there, we were thinking two (innings), maybe three. He ends up going four. With no runs, that ended up being huge. And it goes a long way for his confidence, too.”

The Diamondbacks didn’t advance another runner into scoring position until Christian Walker led off the eighth with a double off Camilo Doval, and Ryan Walker stranded him on third base with a strikeout of Jake McCarthy after Melvin called on his new closer to record the final out of the inning.

Roupp lowered his ERA to 3.41 in his 19th relief appearance of the season, but he said afterward that he hopes to compete for a job in the starting rotation next spring.

“I’ve been a starter my whole career, really, until this year,” Roupp said. “Like (bullpen coach Garvin Alston) said, ‘Just treat it like a start.’ And that’s what I did. … I’d like to think (I set myself up to compete for a rotation spot next spring). That’s the plan. That’s what I want to do. But wherever they see me and wherever I fit is good for me.”

Whether or not there’s an open spot could depend on if the Giants are able to negotiate a long-term extension with Snell like the one they announced with Matt Chapman before the game. Snell’s agent, Scott Boras, was one of those in the house for the cloud-free, 70-degree matinee.

But he was on hand to help announce the Giants’ six-year, $151 million extension with Chapman, another client of his, who doubled Michael Conforto into scoring position and crossed the plate on Bailey’s two-out, two-RBI poke into left field for the Giants’ only runs in seven innings against Arizona starter Merrill Kelly.

Like Chapman, Snell has the ability to opt out after this season and is expected to exercise it in hopes of cashing in on a long-term deal. Even lasting only a single inning Thursday, Snell’s ERA in 11 starts since returning from a groin strain on July 9 sits at a sparkling 1.42, the lowest mark in the majors by half a run.

Boras prefers his clients to set their price on the open market, and Snell isn’t expected to be a similar exception as Chapman, who lobbied publicly and privately to get a deal done. He recently pushed back on Jordan Montgomery’s criticism of how Boras handled their free agencies last winter, when neither got the long-term deal they were seeking.

That said, Snell was asked if he would like an extension similar to the one inked by Chapman.

“I mean, yeah, a deal would be nice,” he said. “But I think just finishing the season strong, focusing on that, is probably most important to me. If that’s something they want to talk about, I’m always open to it. I’ve enjoyed my time here a lot. I know fans have been hounding me about it, but truthfully it’s up to them.”

At the conclusion of Chapman’s news conference, Zaidi and Boras were asked about the progress on an extension for Snell. The Giants’ baseball boss chuckled and deflected the question without offering a meaningful response. Snell’s representative said as much in a few more words.

“I’m sure that in any of these things, every organization wants to do what’s best for them. Much like with Matt, when teams reach out we respond,” Boras said. “The biggest and most important thing is when players play well somewhere, you have to pay attention to it. I do. Because we want players to play well, do well. I think those are very attractive dynamics about why you would want players in certain situations.”

Up next

The Giants head to San Diego, where they will continue their stretch of divisional foes with three games against the Padres. RHP Mason Black (0-2, 7.45) will start the first game of the series, which will air exclusively on Apple TV+. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m.