SF Giants catch huge break before Patrick Bailey's walk-off grand slam

The SF Giants won an instant classic on Friday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers after Patrick Bailey hit a walk-off grand slam. However, prior to that the Giants caught a huge break on a missed call by the home plate umpire.

In the bottom of the 10th inning, the Giants had their ghost runner advance to third base and with one out it looked like Jung Hoo Lee struck out swinging on a slider away but the home plate umpire said that Lee caught a piece of the pitch and fouled it off to stay alive. He did catch a piece, but the Dodgers catcher held onto the foul tip which means it should have been ruled a strikeout.

SF Giants catch huge break in insane win over Dodgers

The video clearly shows that the catcher hung onto the ball but there was no visible argument either from the catcher or from Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. Lee ended up walking in that at-bat which led to the Dodgers intentionally walking Casey Schmitt to face Patrick Bailey. Bailey made them rue that decision as he ripped a high fastball into the left field seats to end the game and bring the Giants within a half game of the last NL Wild Card spot.

If Lee strikes out that changes the complexion of the inning entirely. They would have two outs on them which means it probably would have taken a base hit to get the job done. As things transpired though, the call was missed and the Giants got the win.

It was an insane game all round. Justin Verlander entered the game knowing it would be his biggest start as a Giant and delivered the goods. He pitched seven strong innings and only allowed one run on a homer from Michael Conforto. The team lost first baseman Dominic Smith after he made a great defensive play and injured his leg in the process as he stretched for a ball from third baseman Matt Chapman who thankfully was able to play in the game after successfully appealing his one-game suspension.

There were so many other incredible moments like Grant McCray getting thrown out at home in the bottom of the ninth as the game-winning run and then making up for it the next inning by throwing a runner out at third base to help ensure the Giants only needed to score one run to win in the bottom of the 10th.

The Lee strikeout that should have been is a moment that could easily get overlooked, but the Giants must feel fortunate that they benefited from that missed call. The Giants have been on the wrong side of umpire calls against the Dodgers at Oracle Park in the past so maybe they were owed this one.

If this game was any indication, this is going to be a phenomenal series between the two bitter rivals.

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