After eight pitches Sunday afternoon, it looked like it would be another long day for the Giants in Cincinnati.
Starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija surrendered home runs on three consecutive pitches to Eugenio Suarez, Jesse Winker and Derek Dietrich. Just like that, the Reds were out to a four-run lead.
Things looked bleak for Bruce Bochy's club, but two days after their historic eight-run comeback, the Giants had a little more magic left in the bottle and might have discovered something thought to be lost in the process --the old Buster Posey.
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With the Giants trailing by three in the sixth inning, Posey hammered a fastball into the right-center field bleachers to tie the score and take Shark off the hook.
Posey wasn't done.
The game remained tied until the top of the ninth, when Posey stepped to the plate. He got a changeup from Reds closer Raisel Iglesias that was down and in, and he roped it for a double. Two pitches later, Brandon Crawford sent a changeup deep into the Ohio day to set off a celebration in the Giants' dugout. It was Crawford's first home run of the season, and it gave the Giants a 6-5 win they desperately needed.
While this comeback pails in comparison to the historic one Friday, Bochy thought this one was just as impressive.
San Francisco Giants
"I think close to it," Bochy said after the game. "You look at who we were facing -- we're getting no-hit and down four -- so it's hard to say. It's a better comeback when you come back from eight runs, but still, the way their guy was throwing and the way he's thrown all month, you know, these guys they battled and they found a way to get it done."
Perhaps Bochy's belief in the importance of this comeback is who keyed the comeback for the Giants.
Coming into Sunday's game, Posey was hitting .247 with one home run and 10 RBI. Posey has been insistent that he's starting to feel better at the plate, and his two hits Sunday should give the Giants hope that he might be turning the corner.
On his home run in the sixth inning, Posey took a 95-mph fastball from Reds starter Luis Castillo and drove it out to right-center field. In the ninth, Posey punished a changeup on the inner half of the plate to set the table for Crawford. Both swings harkened back to the hitter who used to be one of the most feared in Major League Baseball.
While he'll likely never return to the MVP he was seven years ago, Posey still can be a dangerous hitter, as shown Sunday.
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The Giants have to believe those two swings are a good sign, and a dangerous Posey can change a lot of things for them. With the offense continuing to struggle and Evan Longoria nursing a sore shoulder, the Giants need Posey to be the guy he's been throughout his entire career and carry the load at the plate.
He certainly looked like the Buster of old Sunday in Cincinnati.