What we learned as Bailey’s grand slam seals another Giants comeback win

What we learned as Bailey’s grand slam seals another Giants comeback win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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SAN FRANCISCO — For a third consecutive day, the Giants took part in a game that included a grand slam. This time, it was one of their stars who hit it, and it led to a third straight huge comeback.

Patrick Bailey‘s first career slam flipped the score in the top of the eighth and helped the Giants stun the New York Mets, who led 6-2 after seven innings but lost 8-7 in one of the most intense games of the season. After massive comebacks against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday and Thursday, the Giants did the exact same thing to a Mets squad that desperately needed a good weekend at Citi Field.

Mike Yastrzemski added an insurance blast in the top of the ninth, and it ended up being crucial. The Mets got a leadoff double in the bottom of the ninth and Francisco Lindor got a run back with a hard single off the right field wall that was a few feet from being a game-tying homer. The Mets loaded the bases, but Camilo Doval struck out J.D. Martinez and Matt Chapman ended the game with a barehanded grab that will go down as one of the best plays of his career.

The Giants became the first team since the 1999 Florida Marlins to win three consecutive games after falling behind by at least four runs. This is the first time the Giants have ever done it, and they’re the first team to do it on the road since 1932.

Here are the takeaways from a win that pushes the Giants to 26-26:

Mr. New York

Before the slam, Bailey only had two three-run homers in the big leagues, but one was in a similar situation. Last June at Citi Field, he hit a three-run homer to give the Giants the lead in the eighth inning of a game they would go on to win.

The top five hitters in the lineup had just one hit coming into the top of the eighth, but a little luck got the Giants going at the bottom of the order. Mike Yastrzemski hit a funky roller that bounced off third base for a single and Marco Luciano hit a bloop to right that fell between two Mets. The Giants got a run back on Thairo Estrada‘s hard drive to right-center, which set the stage for Bailey.

The slam came off tough righty Reed Garrett, who had allowed just three total runs in 18 appearances coming into this series. Reed has now given up six runs to the Giants this season and just two to everyone else.

Five In Five

Pitching in New York for the first time, Kyle Harrison got off to a rocky start. A double from Lindor and a single from Pete Alonso got the Mets on the board right away in the bottom of the first, but Harrison settled in and took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the fourth. He somewhat limited the damage that inning after runners reached second and third with no outs, but the Mets poured it on as Harrison was just trying to finish off his day.

With two outs in the fifth and his pitch count at 90, Harrison gave up a solo blast to Martinez. His 94th pitch was a changeup that hung for Mark Vientos, who hit another solo homer. Harrison allowed homers in each of his first four starts this season, but he had gone six straight appearances without allowing one.

Harrison ended up tying a career-high with 98 pitches. He was charged with five runs — four of them earned — on six hits and two walks. The Mets became the first team to score five runs off the lefty this season.

Big Apple Blast

Despite spending two years with the Marlins and half of one with the Atlanta Braves, Jorge Soler had never previously homered at Citi Field. He actually only had 25 at-bats there heading into this series, and he didn’t have an RBI, either.

Soler took care of both by taking on the deepest part of the yard. His homer to dead center snuck just over Harrison Bader‘s outstretched glove in center and tied the game in the top of the second.

After a slow start to the season, the Giants all of a sudden have a bunch of players who are getting closer to living up to expectations in the power department. Soler’s homer was his sixth, which ranks him fourth on the team behind Matt Chapman (8), Estrada (8) and Michael Conforto (7).

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