The San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 in 10 innings on Monday night, with Curt Casali hitting a two-run home run. It was the Giants’ fourth win in five games.
The Phillies are currently 21-28, and they have lost 11 of 15 games. This is the first time since 2017 that they are below the .500 mark. Before being hired by the Phillies in 2020, manager Joe Girardi was expected to lead them to their first playoff appearance since 2011.
After the game, Girardi said that the series of losses was the worst he had ever been in. However, he believed that his team would eventually turn around.
“Sometimes, what you are going through seems like the worst thing you’ve ever gone through,” Girardi said. “But you can probably look back and point to another spot. They just have to continue to work and grind this out. It’s going to turn — it’s going to. I believe in them.
“Everyone in that room and in this room has gone through tough times in your life and you get to the other side. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be in this room.”
Game filled with home runs
The Giants’ Evan Longoria and Wilmer Flores hit home runs. For the Phillies, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, and Rhys Hoskins hit deep but still fell short in extra innings.
In the 10th inning, with the score tied at 3-3, Casali hit a two-run home run off Andrew Bellatti’s fastball. After struggling in his first three at-bats, Casali said he just focused on driving the ball and eventually getting the job done.
“I was just thinking about driving the ball and doing something better than I did in my first three at-bats,” Casali said about his game-winning home run. “I was just happy to get the job done and to go home.”
From the nine runs scored in the match between the Giants and the Phillies, eight of them came from home runs.
For the second straight day, Philadelphia closer Corey Knebel allowed a home run to the Giants’ Evan Longoria. Knebel gave the Giants a 3-2 lead. He has now allowed five home runs in his last five appearances.
On Sunday, Knebel gave up a home run to Nick Plummer in the ninth inning and a walk-off double to Eurys Escobar in the 10th inning to allow the New York Mets beat the Phillies 5-4.
Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb allowed three home runs, which was a career-high. Webb was able to throw a complete game, and he was even told that he was done after the eighth. However, the right-hander pitcher could still pitch well enough to win the game.
Webb, who was trying to earn his first major league complete game, gave up a leadoff home run to Schwarber on his 100th pitch of the game.
The Phillies took a two-run lead on home runs by Castellanos and Hoskins in the second inning. However, Flores tied it with a two-run home run off Kyle Gibson in the sixth inning.