Tony Vitello mentions ‘biggest thing’ that propelled Giants in series win vs. Pirates

The San Francisco Giants’ clubhouse was hit with a rude awakening on Saturday afternoon. Players obviously knew things were bad, but the Patrick Bailey trade communicated a potent sense of desperation to the entire lineup. Even a multi-time Gold Glove-winning catcher who is under team control is not guaranteed a spot on the roster. This group must produce runs. It did plenty of that in Sunday’s series finale versus the Pittsburgh Pirates.

A feeling of urgency pervaded Oracle Park in this rubber match, as the Giants overcame three two-run deficits on their way to a 7-6 walk-off victory. They totaled a whopping 13 hits, but more important than the offensive explosion itself was the nature of those hits. Willy Adames recorded a two-run single with two outs in the 10th inning, and Jesus Rodriguez (one of Bailey’s replacements) notched a blooper to right field to win the game in the 11th.

The Giants are tied for last in MLB with 26 home runs and rank in the bottom-four in both slugging and OPS, so they are forced to get creative when it comes to manufacturing runs. This is clearly not a ballclub that can tear the cover off the baseball on a nightly basis. It must rely on a sound approach and mental fortitude to best opposing pitchers. Above all, manager Tony Vitello is impressed by the unity his guys displayed.

“The biggest thing a couple people mentioned is just sticking together,” he said, per NBC Sports Bay Area. “There was a lot of chaos in that game. Guys had to hand the ball off to fellow pitcher, and you think we’re going to win in one inning, and you got all kinds of different situations popping up. And they just stuck together. It kind of had that feeling the whole day.”

Will Giants’ thrilling comeback lead to something more?

San Francisco (16-24) competed like its season was on the line, which underscores the reality of the situation. This squad has yet to reach .500 this year and is already seven games out of a Wild Card slot. It had to seize this opportunity.

Adames totaled three hits and Rafael Devers, Matt Chapman, Heliot Ramos and Jung Hoo Lee all had two apiece. They were downright defiant in this game, and that is the exact mindset Vitello will demand from the club moving forward. This cannot be a fleeting spark inspired by a midseason trade.

The Giants can either “stick together,” or they can split off into different directions ahead of the deadline. Fresh off its first series win since April 26, SF will now visit the two-time reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers (24-16).

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