SAN FRANCISCO -- Willy Adames dropped to the ground, his face contorted in pain, after he fouled the first pitch he saw from D-backs right-hander Zac Gallen off his left knee in the bottom of the first inning on Tuesday.
The Giants’ shortstop managed to get up and walk it off, though he drew a brief visit from manager Bob Melvin and head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner before he was cleared to step back in the box.
As it turned out, not much can keep the Giants down these days.
Adames recovered by launching the very next pitch out to left field for a three-run home run that keyed a 5-3 win for the Giants (74-71), who have won 13 of their last 16 games to pull within two games of the Mets (76-69) for the third National League Wild Card spot with 17 games left to play.
The Mets still hold the head-to-head tiebreaker, which essentially gives them a three-game edge in the standings, but there’s no question the Giants have put themselves in the thick of the race following their power-fueled rise this month.
“We just have to continue to play good baseball,” Adames said. “We can’t worry about anybody else but our team right now. We’ve just got to continue to have fun and continue to win series. I think that’s the key right now.”
Adames has been at the center of San Francisco’s resurgence, as he’s the first Giant to homer in eight straight series since Barry Bonds in 2003 and is batting .326 (14-for-43) with 15 RBIs over his last 12 games. The 30-year-old veteran is closing in on another Bondsian feat, as well. After hitting his team-high 28th homer, Adames is now only two shy of becoming the first Giant to hit 30 in a single season since Bonds in 2004.
“I feel like it’s just getting more comfortable playing here,” Adames said. “Just forgetting what people say about [how] the ball don’t fly here and stuff like that. Just not trying to change myself. It’s been working. Just continue to go out there and continue to be myself. If that’s the result, I’m going to take it.”
Manager Bob Melvin said he was surprised Adames had the fortitude to stay in the game following his injury scare, let alone crush a 394-foot shot that gave the Giants a 3-0 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“He fouled it off his knee pretty good,” Melvin said. “I was a little concerned that he might have to come out of the game. He’s a really tough guy and obviously has a flair for the dramatic.”
“I was just happy it went out,” said Adames, who punctuated the first-inning blast with an epic bat toss. “I just feel like after that, everybody calmed down and played their game. We were able to continue to grind and put up some more runs for the guys. It was good.”
Patrick Bailey also went deep for the second straight night to support left-hander Robbie Ray, who earned the win after holding the D-backs to two runs over five innings.
Bailey ended the first half hitting only .203 with a .565 OPS and two home runs over 76 games, but he’s also started to pick it up at the plate in recent weeks. After homering in back-to-back games for the first time in his career, the 26-year-old catcher is now batting .289 (13-for-45) with three homers and nine RBIs over his last 14 games, adding another hot bat to a Giants lineup that has outscored opponents by a 115-64 margin since Aug. 23.
“I think it shows you something about him,” Melvin said of Bailey. “You get to September, and the numbers aren’t great. You know you’re better than that -- we all know he’s better than that offensively -- and now he’s doing his best work offensively. That tells me something about Patrick Bailey. He’s in it to win right now and didn’t worry about his numbers.”