Matt Chapman hit a game-tying home run in the fourth inning and made a key defensive play in the sixth to help lead the visiting San Francisco Giants past the Cincinnati Reds 8-2 on Sunday afternoon.
Left-hander Robbie Ray (2-1) won in his third start back from Tommy John surgery in May 2023, allowing two runs on three hits — including two solo homers — while striking out nine and walking one over five innings.
Four relievers combined for four scoreless innings to finish San Francisco’s eighth win in 11 games.
The Giants’ LaMonte Wade Jr. broke a 2-2 tie with a solo homer in the sixth, and Tyler Fitzgerald added a two-run homer in the eighth. San Francisco claimed the rubber game of the three-game weekend series between two teams with wild-card hopes.
Michael Conforto had a pair of doubles and finished with three hits for San Francisco, which put the game away with a five-run eighth off three Cincinnati relievers.
Cincinnati finished 3-3 on its six-game homestand.
With two outs in the second, Jeimer Candelario matched Elly De La Cruz for Cincinnati’s home run lead when he hit his 18th homer of the season deep to the lower-level seats in left on a 95 mph fastball from Ray.
Espinal then drove Ray’s next pitch, another fastball, to the first row of seats in left-center for his eighth homer and a 2-0 Cincinnati lead.
The Giants tied the game in fourth when Fitzgerald opened with a single to left. Then, with one out, Chapman lined his team-leading 17th homer over the center field wall to make the score 2-2.
Wade opened the sixth with his fourth homer, and first since July 2 at Atlanta, a shot that reached the first row of seats in right to give San Francisco a 3-2 lead.
Cincinnati starter and loser Carson Spiers (4-3) was pulled with two outs in the sixth after 86 pitches, allowing three runs on five hits and striking out five with no walks.
The Reds had chances to score in the fifth and sixth, getting a runner to third with one out, but could not make contact to get the runner home. In the sixth, the Reds’ threat ended when Chapman bare-handed a squibber to third and threw out TJ Friedl by a half-step.
Since Will Benson’s run-scoring double in the eighth inning Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati’s last eight runs have come via home runs.
–Field Level Media
