Bailey's walk-off blast erases pitching change backfire

SAN FRANCISCO -- Sunday's series finale between the Giants and the Rangers should be remembered for two things: First, the pitching change heard 'round the world. And shortly thereafter, a memorable walk-off blast.

The Giants staved off a sweep at the hands of Bruce Bochy and the Rangers with a thrilling 3-2 win in 10 innings at Oracle Park, putting an end to a four-game skid.

After ace right-hander Logan Webb tossed 8 2/3 frames of one-run ball and received a tough-luck no-decision, rookie catcher Patrick Bailey backed his batterymate with his first career walk-off home run.

As Webb and Texas' Dane Dunning swapped zeros deep into the ballgame, tension built to a boiling point when Webb came back out for the top of the ninth, much to the delight of a raucous Oracle Park crowd.

Tasked with preserving a 1-0 lead, courtesy of Michael Conforto's solo shot off Dunning in the second, Webb faced the heart of Texas' order, making quick work of his first two batters before allowing a double to rookie J.P. Martinez.

At that point, Webb had matched his season high with 107 pitches. Manager Gabe Kapler made a visit to the mound, pulling his ace one out shy of a shutout, and a veritable downpour of boos followed -- before morphing into an ovation for Webb.

"He comes out and gives the ball to the best closer in the game, you know, I'm not going to complain about that," Webb said. "As a competitor, you always want to stay out there, right? … We trust each other. Everybody trusts each other in here."

Closer Camilo Doval entered and surrendered a game-tying infield single to Ezequiel Duran, who was promptly thrown out at second by Bailey to end the inning.

"Super challenging, obviously, because I'll always trust Logan in that situation and trust Doval in the same way," Kapler said. "As much as it can be perceived as, like, 'You took the ball from Logan,' the way I would frame it, very genuinely, is I gave the ball to Doval.

"I had a lot of trust that Doval was going to come in and get a swing-and-miss or a softer ground ball, like the one he got. He got it; didn't work out. That's part of baseball."

Thanks to Bailey's heroics in the 10th inning -- which he described as the "coolest feeling" he's had in the big leagues so far -- the Giants didn't have to ask themselves, "What if?" later on.

Webb has been a reliable stopper for the Giants this season, living up to his billing as the team's ace. Following the game, he lamented the final pitch he made to Martinez, but as far as his teammates were concerned, it was just one blip in an otherwise masterful performance.

"It's typical Logan, right?" Bailey said. "He fills up the zone. [His] changeup, I say it all the time, is probably the best pitch in baseball. He mixes in the slider and sinker when he needs to. Probably the best the four-seam's ever been. … He deserved to go back out there in the ninth, and it was cool to see him get that opportunity."

San Francisco has won five of Webb's past seven starts dating back to the first complete game of his career on July 9, when he shut out the Rockies in a 1-0 win. That day, Webb authored the Giants' shortest game of the season at one hour and 56 minutes. He had similar aspirations on Sunday.

"I looked at the clock. I was trying to get under two hours. That was really all I cared about," Webb said. "I don't know if I got the out, if it would have been under two hours, but …"

At that point, Webb was informed that the game would have lasted one hour and 57 minutes had he retired his final batter.

"Damn," he said, laughing. "Why'd you tell me that?"

Before Sunday's win, San Francisco had lost six of its past seven games. The Giants remain in second place in the National League West, but the Dodgers' ongoing eight-game winning streak has them 8 1/2 games out of the lead.

"We really needed it," Webb said. "Collectively, as a group, we've just got to start playing a little bit better. It's been a tough stretch for us. Hopefully this win can boost our spirits a little bit, and we get back to playing a good brand of baseball."