Smith, Paredes Fuel 10th-Inning Surge as Houston Outlasts SF
Houston needed extra innings and a three-run 10th to put San Francisco away, but put them away they did, 6-3. Cam Smith was the engine — 3-for-4 with a homer, two RBI, and two runs scored — and Isaac Paredes delivered the knockout blow with a two-run double.
Houston drew first blood in the 1st when Altuve hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Alvarez. San Francisco answered in the 4th — Gilbert's sac fly tied it — then Lee gave the Giants the lead with a 382-foot solo shot to right in the 5th. The Giants looked like they were in control, but Smith erased that with a 402-foot homer to left in the 7th to knot it at two. What happened next was the moment that appeared to flip the entire game: Gilbert answered immediately with a 407-foot shot to right center, and the win probability swung from 57% to 79% in San Francisco's favor. The Giants had their lead back, 3-2, and the crowd had every reason to feel good about Blade Tidwell's night.
Tidwell had been sharp — 5.2 innings, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 6 strikeouts — and the Giants' bullpen held through the 8th. But in the 9th, Smith singled to right to score Allen and tie it at three, though he was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double. That baserunning gamble looked costly in the moment, but Houston's bullpen made sure it didn't matter. Hayden Wesneski went 7.0 innings, allowing 3 earned runs on 5 hits with 4 strikeouts, and then Josh Hader was simply untouchable: 2.0 innings, no hits, no runs, two strikeouts. Steven Okert added a clean 1.0 inning of his own.
The 10th inning is where Houston closed the door for good. Peña singled to left to score Smith and put Houston ahead 4-3, with Wade Jr. moving to second. Then Paredes doubled to left, scoring both Peña and Wade Jr. to make it 6-3 — a three-run inning that the Giants had no answer for. The story of the night, it appears, is Houston's resilience: they trailed twice, got punched in the mouth by Gilbert's go-ahead homer in the 7th, and still found a way to manufacture three runs in extras when it mattered most. Gilbert finished 1-for-3 with a homer and 2 RBI in a losing effort, and Lee's 2-for-5, 1 HR night was equally impressive — but San Francisco's bullpen couldn't hold what their offense built.