SAN FRANCISCO — Utilizing a bullpen game for a second consecutive night, the Giants used six pitchers to cover nine innings and defeat the Cubs, 5-1, on Tuesday night at Oracle Park.
Randy Rodríguez served as the opener as he made his first career start, allowing one run across 2 2/3 innings and matching his career-high five strikeouts. Sean Hjelle tossed two scoreless innings. Taylor Rogers didn’t allow a run in his one inning of work. Ryan Walker recorded the final out of the sixth, then retired the side in the seventh. Tyler Rogers handled the eighth, and Camilo Doval shut the door in the ninth.
While the Giants needed an army of arms, the Cubs, for the most part, only needed Kyle Hendricks. Despite entering play with a 7.46 ERA, the 34-year-old turned in a vintage outing, tossing seven innings of two-run ball. But once Hendricks departed, the Giants landed their haymaker, scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth.
With one out and the bases loaded, Jorge Soler sent a deep fly ball to center field, missing a home run by several feet, but plenty deep enough to score Brett Wisely from third base. Patrick Bailey took a risk on the play, nearly getting thrown out by Pete Crow-Armstrong as he advanced from first to second. The risk reaped rewards. On the very next pitch, Matt Chapman drove in Bailey and Heliot Ramos, extending San Francisco’s lead to four runs instead of three.
Following back-to-back bullpen games, the Giants plan to have a more traditional game on Wednesday as pitching prospect Hayden Birdsong makes his major-league debut.
