A two-out, 12th-inning single that scored Brandon Crawford ended a 4-hour, 54-minute, 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
SAN FRANCISCO — With three career walk-off hits in his career before he took the field Tuesday night, San Francisco Giants backup catcher Hector Sanchez has been there, done that when it comes to heroics.
Except there was something a bit different about No. 4, a two-out, 12th-inning single that scored Brandon Crawford and ended a 4-hour, 54-minute, 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.
“I need to get going,” he cautioned the media after a quick shower that followed an on-field celebration. “My wife (Elizabeth) is waiting. She’s been in the parking lot for three hours. My daughter has school tomorrow.”
Sanchez’s hit off the seventh Dodgers pitcher, right-hander Brandon League (0-1), came well after midnight and ended a marathon battle in the opener of a three-game series that featured 15 pitchers but precious little clutch hitting.
A total of 29 baserunners were stranded in the game, including 16 in scoring position.
“Winning at the last second is a lot of fun,” said Brandon Belt, the San Francisco first baseman whose ninth-inning, RBI double off Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen tied the game at 2-2 and forced extra innings. “It makes coming in here (later Wednesday) a lot easier.”
Crawford, the Giants’ shortstop, ignited the game-winning uprising with a one-out single off League. He took second on Brandon Hicks’ infield out and advanced to third on a wild pitch before jogging home on Sanchez’s hard grounder into center field that deflected off Dodgers second baseman Justin Turner’s glove.
“I was hungry,” Sanchez joked of the driving force in his triumphant blow. “You’re always thinking win the game, especially in that situation.”
Dodgers manager Don Mattingly defended the use of League, who is struggling this season and entered the game with a 5.79 ERA, rather than right-hander Brian Wilson, the former Giant who was activated off the disabled list before the game. Wilson warmed up twice in the bullpen but never got into the game.
“He’s one of our guys,” Mattingly said of League. “I’m confident in him. He’s going to have to get some big outs for us. We’re going to keep throwing him out there.”
Right-hander Yusmeiro Petit (1-1) got the win after pitching a scoreless top of the 12th. He was the eighth Giants pitcher.
The loss was just the second of the season for the Dodgers in nine road games. They saw a three-game winning streak end and fell to 1-2 in extra innings.
“You just need one run,” Mattingly said of the difference in the tight game. “Just keep looking for the hit. We never got it.”
Neither did the Giants … until Belt came through in the ninth and Sanchez did so in the 12th.
After leaving the bases loaded twice earlier in the game, the Giants appeared headed for a frustrating defeat before rallying off Jansen in the ninth.
Center fielder Angel Pagan got things going with a one-out single off Jansen’s glove. He then raced all the way around to score when Belt grounded a double just inside third base and into the left field corner.
“It’s just the way the ball hit the bat,” the left-handed-hitting Belt said of unintentionally going the opposite way. “I was happy to see it stay inside the line.”
Jansen recovered from his second blown save of the young season to send the game into extra innings by striking out third baseman Pablo Sandoval and, after intentionally walking catcher Buster Posey, getting right fielder Hunter Pence to fly to right. Pence was bidding for a fourth hit.
Third baseman Juan Uribe was the offensive standout for the Dodgers, belting a solo home run off Giants starter Tim Lincecum in the second inning and later scoring the go-ahead run in the seventh after an inning-opening double off right-hander Jean Machi. He finished 3-for-5.
Uribe’s homer off Lincecum produced the only run allowed by either team’s starting pitcher. Both pitched well enough to win, but neither got a decision.
Dodgers right-hander Josh Beckett pitched five shutout innings, allowing only two hits. He walked five.
Lincecum was nearly as good. He gave up the Uribe homer in the second but only four other singles in five innings of one-run ball. He struck out five and did not walk a batter.
NOTES: The Giants won the first game in each of their first five series of the season. … The Dodgers and Giants have never played longer than a 12-inning game in the history of AT&T Park. … San Francisco RHP Tim Lincecum has allowed three or fewer runs in each of his 11 career starts against the Dodgers at AT&T Park. … The Giants were 0-for-5 with the bases loaded, dropping them to 2-for-13 in those situations for the season. … Dodgers 1B Adrian Gonzalez’s fourth-inning single extended his hitting streak to 10 games. … Los Angeles activated RHP Brian Wilson off the disabled list before the game and optioned LHP Paco Rodriguez to Triple-A Albuquerque. … The Dodgers got mixed results from a pair of pregame bullpen sessions thrown by injured pitchers. LHP Clayton Kershaw (inflamed back) was pain-free in an all-fastball trial, whereas RHP Chad Billingsley had to cut short his workout because of recurring pain in his surgically repaired elbow. Billingsley was scheduled to return to Los Angeles on Wednesday for an MRI exam. … Pregame ceremonies honoring Jackie Robinson featured Hall of Fame broadcasters Vin Scully and Jon Miller announcing starting lineups over the public-address system.
