TLDR: Boston went scoreless for eight innings and still found a way to win it — Wilyer Abreu's ninth-inning walk-off sent the Giants home with nothing to show for a pair of solo shots.
+deeper healthy lineup with Devers, Adames, Contreras
−Sandoval's previous start was a 7-run disaster
−shut out for eight innings before the walk-off
Patrick Sandoval and Blade Tidwell turned this into a legitimate pitcher's duel for six innings, and neither arm showed much rust doing it. Sandoval, coming off a rocky turn against Pittsburgh where he'd been battered for 7 runs in 4 innings, settled in after a shaky third and retired 10 of the next 11 Giants he faced. Tidwell matched him for stretches, but the long ball got him — Willy Adames led off the game with a homer and Andrew Knizner added a solo shot of his own in the third.
Blade Tidwell
(0-2)·4.43 ERA
Aug 16 vs Rockies
ND
4.1IP
6ER
1K
5BB
63P
08/22 Lineup
Patrick Sandoval
(1-4)·4.41 ERA
Aug 16 @ Pirates
L
4.0IP
7ER
6K
3BB
89P
08/22 Lineup
Boston's lineup did next to nothing against Tidwell and the Giants bullpen for eight straight innings, which is a real problem for a Red Sox club still without Roman Anthony, Garrett Crochet and Tanner Houck. San Francisco is running such a thin pitching staff — Keaton Winn, Randy Rodriguez, Jose Butto and Hayden Birdsong are all shelved for the year — that every clean inning out of a reliever like Sam Hentges matters more than it should. The board reflected that gap all night, with Boston sitting as a heavy home favorite.
That favorite status nearly went up in smoke. San Francisco's early lead felt sturdy given how thin their staff is stretched, and it took a full-team letdown from a Giants club that had already dropped 2 straight to blow it. Fenway had other plans in the ninth.
Wilyer Abreu ended it with a walk-off grounder off lefty Sam Hentges, punctuating a night where Boston stranded chance after chance against Tidwell and the Giants pen before finally cashing one in when it mattered most.
It's a continuation of decent form for Boston, who took 2 of 3 from Arizona and had already beaten this same Giants team a day earlier before Saturday's walk-off. San Francisco is trending the opposite way — losers of 2 straight and just 1-4 in their last five, a stretch that includes a lopsided loss to Colorado and a rough series in Cleveland.
The injury list explains a lot about how thin both benches are right now. Boston's still nursing Roman Anthony and Garrett Crochet back from the IL while leaning on replacement pieces up the middle, and San Francisco is picking through a bullpen that's lost four relievers for the season. Neither club is playing with a full deck, which made Saturday's grind-it-out finish feel about right.
Giants 2, Red Sox 3: Final Score & Odds Recap — Red Sox Stun Giants With Walk-Off Grounder In The 9th
