SAN FRANCISCO -- When the Giants were struggling at home a few weeks ago, Alex Wood talked about how the most surprising thing was that the team was having trouble getting multiple facets going at the same time. That became the norm over 107 wins last year, but through a third of this season, the Giants have often seemed to be tripped up by at least one group a night.
That wasn't the case on Wednesday night. Good pitching and defense led the way for most of 10 innings and Luis Gonzalez came through for the lineup in extras, with his single to right leading to a misplay that helped the Giants get a 2-1 walk-off win.
Wood was long gone by the time this one was decided, but he liked what he saw. The lefty went a season-high seven innings and three Giants relievers kept it going from there, with everyone getting help from a defense that has been among the worst in baseball this year.
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"I thought it was a really good team win," Wood said. "It was a good game the whole way through and I'm glad that Luis came through at the end. It was a good team win overall, for sure."
Wood set the tone, pitching into the seventh for the first time this year and then getting through it. That allowed manager Gabe Kapler to use his bullpen the way he wanted, and that was crucial. After Dominic Leone had a quiet eighth, Kapler used Tyler Rogers against C.J. Cron and the heart of the order. That left Camilo Doval for the 10th, when the Giants needed a strikeout pitcher on the mound with a free baserunner on second.
With a little help from Joc Pederson, who ran down what seemed like it would be an RBI double to left, Doval kept the runner on second from scoring.
"It was all due to Alex's ability to go deeper into that game for us," Kapler said of his bullpen usage.
Wood has wanted a chance to pitch deeper into games, but the staff has tried to limit how many times an opposing lineup sees him for the third time. On this night he was sharp and efficient, throwing 101 pitches while allowing just one run on a series of seeing-eye singles. Wood got some help, too, particularly when Mike Yastrzemski saved a hit with a leaping grab.
"When he hit it I thought it was going to be an easy catch and (Yastrzemski) thought the same thing and that thing just kept cutting," Wood said. "It must have caught a seam or something, but it just kept running away from him. I saw him kind of turn on the afterburners there and I was like, 'Oh man, is he going to get that?' He made a great play. He does it all. He's playing really great baseball right now, so I'm always happy to have him roaming the outfield when I'm throwing."
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Kapler called it one of the best defensive efforts of the year by his team, and all of that set the stage for Gonzalez in the 10th. When Charlie Blackmon overran his single, the Giants had their win.
"It was a great moment," the rookie said, smiling. "My first career walk-off. Yeah, man, that was a fun time."