SF Giants stage late comeback only to lose on walk-off

It was an eventful night in San Diego for the SF Giants. Getting out in front in the first, seeing a great defensive play help their chances, falling behind and staging a tying rally in the ninth despite being burned by an iffy strike zone.

But in the bottom of the ninth the San Diego Padres heart of the order proved too much for reliever Tyler Rogers, sending the Orange and Black to a 7-4 loss that snapped their three-game winning streak.

The Giants, less than a month after a stunning comeback in which they hit three home runs - including a walk-off grand slam - to beat the Milwaukee Brewers and one of the best closers in the game, Josh Hader, rallied against Hader in his new colors for three runs in the ninth after trailing, 4-1.

Mike Yastrzemski, who hit that slam July 15 in San Francisco, led the inning off against the dominant lefty with a walk. Wilmer Flores pinch-hit and singled, and Austin Slater also pinch hit and was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs.

Austin Wynns then stepped to the plate and drew a full-count walk to force in a run, making it 4-2. That brought up JD Davis, who has had a strong start for the Giants with two home runs in five games since his acquisition from the New York Mets. Davis took a ball to start the at-bat but practically had the bat taken out of his hands, as the home plate umpire called strike one on a clearly-inside pitch and then an egregious, way-off-the-plate offering for strike three despite Hader not finding much of the strike zone to previous batters.

Even after the blown call, the Giants kept charging. Brandon Belt walked to force in a run and Evan Longoria, after missing badly at two fastballs, worked the count and hit a liner to left field. Unfortunately, Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar was able to dive and catch the ball just above the ground; had it bounced by it would have scored at least two, but it ended up a sacrifice fly to tie the game.

In the bottom of the ninth Rogers was tasked with the top three in the San Diego order after retiring the leadoff hitter. Profar singled, Juan Soto was granted first base on a catcher's interference against Wynns and Manny Machado obliterated a 2-1 offering for a three-run, walk-off home run.

San Francisco got the scoring started right away, with Lamonte Wade Jr homering in the first inning. The Giants were then held off the scoreboard by Padres ace Joe Musgrove and two relievers until their ninth-inning rally.

San Diego tied the game in the fourth inning on a Soto homer, scored twice in the sixth and once more in the eighth.

Yaz robs a home run, keeps SF Giants tied

The biggest Giants highlight of the ninth came in the fourth after Soto's blast. Alex Cobb, who turned in a good start for San Francisco, was facing Brandon Drury and appeared to have allowed a go-ahead home run before Yastrzemski took it back from over the wall:

Wednesday's finale of the three-game series will see Jakob Junis get the start and look to bounce back from a rough outing his last time out.