Blast from past: Ruf homers vs. former club

In his return to Philadelphia, Darin Ruf put his power on display with a dramatic pinch-hit three-run homer in the seventh inning, but it wasn't enough in the Giants’ 6-5 loss to the Phillies in Wednesday's series finale at Citizens Bank Park.

With two on and one out, Ruf stepped into the box against his former team and crushed a 93 mph sinker from Brandon Kintzler over the center-field wall to tie the game at 4. The Giants, who fell behind 3-0 in the second, took the lead later in the seventh on an RBI single by Alex Dickerson.

“Ruf continues to be excellent when we bring him off the bench,” said manager Gabe Kapler. “I thought we swung the bats well, we stayed pretty relentless with our approach from the plate -- and I was proud of that.”

The lead was short-lived, however, as Bryce Harper tied the game at 5 in the bottom of the frame with a solo homer off of Camilo Doval. Harper led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk, then came around to score the winning run on a walk-off single by Phillies catcher Andrew Knapp off of reliever Wandy Peralta.

“When Bryce Harper is at his best and he’s swinging the bat well, he’s very difficult to get out, because he’s laying off pitches that he can't put in the seats, like with one today,” Kapler said. “You have to throw him strikes and throw him strikes quickly, and sometimes you’re gonna get punished for that. But when he’s swinging the bat that good, there’s no other way to do it.”

Prior to Harper’s heroics, it looked like Ruf would be the man of the moment in a park he once called home. The 34-year-old debuted with the Phillies in 2012, and he hit 14 home runs in just 251 at-bats in '14 at the age of 26. His last home run in Philadelphia came on Oct. 1, 2016, before he spent the next three seasons playing in Korea.

“I feel like I'm far enough removed now that those feelings and emotions, I don’t really let them drive me,” Ruf said. “It's nice to come back to a place where I played quite a few games and to help this team -- put them in a position to close one out down the stretch -- but to come up big in a situation like that, it means a lot.”

Ruf signed with the Giants on a $1.2 million deal prior to the 2020 season, and despite some struggles, he has been a consistent source of power off the bench. His latest homer was his third of the year in just 23 plate appearances.

Ruf's blast was the Giants' fifth pinch-hit home run this season, the most in the Majors (they entered the day tied with the Braves). It also marked Ruf’s fifth career pinch-hit home run, with his most recent before Wednesday coming on Sept. 8 against the Mariners.

Anthony DeSclafani has been lights out this season, having entered Wednesday's start with a 1-0 record and just two runs allowed over 17 innings. He has made a name for himself through his ability to limit big hits, having allowed just one home run -- but his 1.06 ERA didn't intimidate Philadelphia's lineup.

The Phillies took control early with a Mickey Moniak three-run homer in the second inning. Despite a 44-minute rain delay in the third inning and the Phils' early offense, DeSclafani was able to keep the Giants in striking distance. He conceded five hits and three runs over four innings, while working out of some tough situations -- and picking up five strikeouts in the process.

“It was big because we've been really leaning heavily on the back end of our bullpen, and we were going to do everything we could possibly do to keep Tyler Rogers out of this game,” said Kapler. “So those extra innings that DeSclafani gave us were big. He came out after the rain delay, and I thought he was better than when he started.”

San Francisco's bullpen has been steady in its ability to close out games this year, but it was a different story on Wednesday. Through a combined effort from Matt Wisler, Caleb Barager, Doval, José Álvarez and Peralta, the 'pen gave up three runs (two earned) on seven hits (including Harper's homer) in 4 1/3 innings. However, the Giants weren't fazed -- but instead almost relieved -- that despite some struggles on the mound, they can get a boost from an awakened offense.

“We’ve really relied on our starting pitching and the way our bullpen has pitched in a lot of these games early on," Ruf said. “Scoring runs is the name of the game nowadays. As long as our pitchers keep doing what they’ve been doing, I think our offense will figure it out and come around and start scoring a few more runs."