NEW YORK — And what a weird, wacky trip it was.
If there was a game the Giants were set up to lose on this six-game through the Eastern Time Zone, it seemed, they were able to pull it out. And then there were those they seemed well-positioned to win, which bookended four improbable wins with a pair of tough-luck, walkoff losses.
The latest came Sunday, as Omar Narvaez ripped a single into center field off Tyler Rogers in the bottom of the ninth to walk off the Giants, 4-3, capping a three-run rally that flipped the score from a 3-1 San Francisco advantage and wasted a brilliant effort from Logan Webb.
After reeling off four straight wins to improve their record to better than .500 for the first time this season, the Giants will return home to host the hottest team in the sport — the Philadelphia Phillies — with their record even at 27-27.
With Camilo Doval having pitched in four of their previous five games, the Giants called on Rogers, who let a high chopper from Brandon Nimmo glance off his glove to begin the inning as he allowed the first batters to reach base and only put away one of the hitters he faced.
The Giants led 3-1 entering the bottom of the ninth, thanks to seven strong innings from Webb and two more hits from Brett Wisely.
Making his second straight start at short, Wisely contributed two more hits, including the go-ahead home run in the third inning, after a recording three the previous night while driving in the go-ahead run in extra innings. At Triple-A this time last month, Wisely was only added to the roster amid a slew of injuries and only made his third career start at short due to Marco Luciano’s defensive woes on the first part of the trip.
After his big game Saturday, Wisely chalked it up to the brown striped polo shirt he wore to the ballpark. Emblazoned with one of the Seven Dwarves — Grumpy — on his left chest, Wisely said the shirt brings good luck and joked that he planned to wear it again the following day.
Before the game, manager Bob Melvin said he hoped to prioritize the infield defense behind Webb, one of the league’s top ground ball pitchers, and with five errors from Luciano in the first five games of the trip, that meant Wisely got the nod despite only 34 previous games there at any level.
It turned out to be a moot point as Webb transformed into a strikeout artist for seven innings, racking up a season-high eight punchouts — his most since he fanned 10 Rockies in his last start before the All-Star break last year — and forcing the Mets to swing and miss 17 times, also a season-high.
Limiting his opponents to one run (none earned) on three hits, Webb has himself to blame for the only damage the Mets managed. He was charged with an error on a difficult play that put D.J. Stewart on base in the second inning, mishandling a toss from Wilmer Flores after the first baseman snagged a sharply hit line drive.
Webb and Stewart converged at the bag at the same time, and the ball bounced out of Webb’s mitt, allowing Stewart to make it to second, putting him in position to score on a base hit a couple batters later from Harrison Bader. Webb retired 16 of the next 18 batters, and one of the two runners he allowed on base was erased by Patrick Bailey, who caught Francisco Lindor trying to swipe second to end the third inning.
Facing old friend Sean Manaea, who signed with the Mets after opting out of his deal in San Francisco, Wisely whacked the first strike of the top of the third into the bullpens beyond right-center field that opened a 2-1 advantage, and the Giants would tack on an insurance run once Manaea left the game after five innings.
The home run was Wisely’s first of the season, and in 15 at-bats since being called up May 11 the diminutive middle infielder has seven hits.
Up next
Following a cross-country flight scheduled to land in the wee hours Sunday night, the Giants host the red-hot Phillies for a Memorial Day matinee (2:05 p.m. PT).
LHP Blake Snell (0-3, 11.40) was reinstated from the paternity list and is tentatively scheduled to start, but his girlfriend, Haeley Mar, is still awaiting the birth of the couple’s first child. Her due date was last Monday, and Snell flew back to the Bay Area after his start Wednesday in Pittsburgh, but they continue to wait.
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“I don’t know what the next step is. He threw his bullpen yesterday or the day before, so he’s ready to pitch,” Melvin said. “The good thing is he’s still with her and she’s there in San Francisco. We’ll see what happens. Once we get home we’ll take stock.”
The Giants’ starter Tuesday is just as much up in the air, with Keaton Winn (forearm) still sidelined, Mason Black optioned back to Triple-A and their bullpen taxed. Winn is eligible to be activated Thursday, but Melvin was not optimistic that he would be ready by the end of the home stand.
The Phillies, 30-7 in their past 37 games, are scheduled to throw RHP Taijuan Walker (3-0, 5.06), RHP Zack Wheeler (6-3, 2.53) and LHP Christopher Sánchez (2-3, 5.15).
