Giants’ Late Comeback Against Arizona Fuels Fourth Consecutive Win

Good players, especially MVPs, eventually get their stats. It’s not always immediate, there may be some bumps along the way, but the good players deliver the goods

Buster Posey delivered on Monday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Posey, who hit his first home run of the season on Sunday against the San Diego Padres, hit his second of the year on Monday, a two-run shot that tied the game at 4-4 in the eighth inning.

Apr 20, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (28) congratulates team mates after the game against the San Diego Padres at AT

Not only did Posey’s second blast of the year bail Ryan Vogelsong out of a loss, but the Giants rode the momentum into the ninth inning where Brandon Belt, who didn’t start the game, hit a walk-off RBI single to give the Giants a 5-4 win.

Andres Torres led off the ninth with a single. He advanced to second base on Brandon Crawford’s perfectly placed bunt. And a few pitches later, he easily scored on Belt’s single.

Belt sat in favor of Joaquin Arias on Sunday against a lefty and followed the same pattern on Monday. Many fans and pundits were quick to assume that Belt was back in manager Bruce Bochy’s doghouse after starting the year hitting .183. But thanks to some extra batting practice with none other than his manager before the game, Belt turned the negative thoughts into positive ones with just one swing of the bat.

The Giants’ bullpen did well to keep the game close after Vogelsong yielded four runs over seven innings of work. Two were on solo shots–one by the pitcher, Wade Miley, and one by Eric Chavez.

After Ross gave Arizona a 2-0 advantage in the first with a two-run single, the Giants responded with three consecutive singles. Marco Scutaro doubled, Pablo Sandoval drove him in and Posey drove Sandoval in for his first of three RBI.

Miley’s solo shot in the fifth inning gave the Diamondbacks a 3-2 lead. Vogelsong left a fastball up in the zone and, even Miley, poked it out to the deep part of the arcade in right field.

Chavez’s blast was worth a bit more than a golf clap. He took Vogelsong’s well-located breaking ball to the opposite-field to notch the score to 4-2 in the sixth inning.

Sandoval singled with one out in the eighth inning, and Posey followed him with a homer that sailed over the center field wall.

Vogelsong pitched seven innings, allowed four runs on seven hits and struck out four while issuing two walks. In 2012, he went 19-for-20 in quality start opportunities to start the season. Thus far in 2013, he’s 1-for-4.