Buoyed by Verlander's gem, Giants rally in extras to keep WC hopes alive

PHOENIX -- Justin Verlander delivered the start the Giants needed, and the offense finally broke through in the 11th inning as San Francisco held on for a 5-1 win over the D-backs on Wednesday afternoon to end a tough series at Chase Field on a high note.

After D-backs right-hander Brandon Pfaadt shut out the Giants on one hit for nine innings, Jerar Encarnacion, Christian Koss and Rafael Devers came through in the 11th as San Francisco snapped a four-game losing streak.

“We needed to win this game, there’s no doubt about that,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Certain games are a little more important than others, and I don’t know that any was more important than today.”

The Giants remain tied with the Reds at 2 1/2 games behind the Mets for the third and final National League Wild Card spot. The D-backs are the first team on the outside looking in, two games back, pending the outcome of New York’s game later Wednesday.

San Francisco was able to withstand Pfaadt’s gem because Verlander held Arizona scoreless on three hits and two walks over seven innings, marking the first four-start stretch of the veteran's career with one or zero runs allowed. In the past 125 seasons, the only other pitcher age 42 or older to do so was Roger Clemens, in 2005.

“I get to talk about something about [Verlander] and a milestone and him passing somebody -- Gaylord Perry, Walter Johnson -- almost every start now,” Melvin said. “And that just kind of signifies who he is as a pitcher and how he continues to pitch at such a high level.”

It’s been a remarkable turnaround for Verlander, who sat at 1-10 with a 4.55 ERA after giving up seven runs (six earned) against the Padres on Aug. 21. But he never stopped battling, trying to fight his way out of one of the toughest seasons of his career.

Verlander said something clicked for him in a bullpen session about a month ago, leading to a different attack angle and some more deception at the sacrifice of a little velocity.

“Every day you come to the field, for four months, asking what’s the way out of this,” Verlander said. “How do I make the adjustment? What do I need to do? What’s wrong? Because clearly, something’s wrong.

“Then, I had a new thought in a bullpen about a month or so ago, and the game results have been what you see. So I’m glad I didn’t give up.”

What we’ve seen is a 0.36 ERA and 0.92 WHIP with 23 K’s over his past four starts, covering 25 innings.

The Giants needed every bit of that on Wednesday, as the offense had been held to two hits over the past 18 innings entering the 11th. But where the offense struggled, the defense stepped up, helping Verlander buy some time while San Francisco waited for the big hit.

“JV, just an incredible outing. What he’s been doing, it’s kind of unhuman,” center fielder Drew Gilbert said. “So, you know, if we’re not playing our hardest behind him, I don’t know what we’re doing.”

Gilbert made a few impressive plays on Wednesday, but none better than a racing catch on Jake McCarthy’s drive to the right-center gap with two outs in the fifth to keep the game scoreless.

“I gotta be honest, when I first saw the trajectory of the ball and saw where he was playing, I didn’t think he was going to catch it,” Verlander said. “But he made up some ground and made a great play. Great route, great read.”

Verlander waited for the rookie to give him a fist-bump as they went into the dugout.

“Forty-two years old and giving it everything he’s got. All you can ask from a guy is to care like he does and be a great teammate like he is,” Gilbert said. “It’s easy to throw your body on the line and make a play for a guy like that.”

With 10 games left and three teams to pass, time is running short on the Giants’ postseason push. They’ll all need to show some of that Verlander relentlessness down the stretch.

“Our destiny is not in our hands. It’s not anything that we can control,” he said. “What we can control is trying to win as many games as possible and then see what’s what. We’ve been a streaky team all year, and when we find a way to get on a hot streak, we can go through anybody.”