NEW YORK (AP) — Patrick Bailey hit a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning, Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman saved the game with a defensive gem and the San Francisco Giants came back from another big deficit to beat the staggering New York Mets 8-7 on Friday night.
After climbing out of a 6-2 hole in the eighth, the Giants joined the 1932 St. Louis Cardinals as the only major league teams since 1900 to win three consecutive road games in which they trailed by at least four runs.
Just two other clubs have accomplished the feat at home: the 1999 Florida Marlins (against San Francisco) and the 1961 Boston Red Sox.
Down 8-6 in the ninth, the Mets mounted a late rally of their own. They scored once on Francisco Lindor's RBI single off the right-field fence and loaded the bases with one out before Camilo Doval struck out slugger J.D. Martinez on three pitches.
Doval fell behind 3-0 on Mark Vientos but got back to a full count and induced a slow bouncer to third. Chapman charged, barehanded the ball on a do-or-die play and fired off balance across the diamond to first, where LaMonte Wade Jr. made a difficult pick of an in-between hop for the final out.
Jorge Soler and Mike Yastrzemski also homered for the Giants (26-26), who won their seventh in eight games to reach .500 for the first time since they were 2-2 on March 31.
San Francisco trailed 6-2 with two outs in the eighth before Thairo Estrada laced an RBI double, Chapman walked to load the bases and Bailey launched a 2-0 fastball from Reed Garrett (5-2) to right-center for his first career slam.
It was the first home run since April 26 for the switch-hitting catcher, reinstated Tuesday from his second stint on the seven-day concussion injured list.
Yastrzemski added a solo shot off Jorge López in the ninth to make it 8-6. San Francisco also overcame a 5-0, fifth-inning deficit in a 9-5 win Wednesday at Pittsburgh, then rallied from down 6-2 in the eighth to beat the Pirates 7-6 on Thursday.
Before this week, the Giants had never won consecutive road games after trailing by four runs — let alone three in a row.
New York (21-29), off to its worst 50-game start since 2013, has lost four straight and 11 of 14. Martinez, Vientos and Pete Alonso homered in the opener of a pivotal 10-game homestand for the Mets, who became the fifth team to lose three consecutive games in which they hit three home runs in each.
The latest meltdown by New York's bullpen cost Christian Scott his first career win after the rookie starter permitted two runs and two hits in six innings.
Nick Avila (1-0) struck out four in two innings of one-run ball for his first major league win. Doval earned his ninth save, with help from Chapman and another excellent defensive play turned in moments earlier by Estrada and Wade on the right side of the infield.
Martinez and Vientos hit New York’s first back-to-back homers this season off rookie Kyle Harrison in the fifth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Giants: LHP Robbie Ray (left elbow UCL surgery) is scheduled to throw 20 pitches Saturday when he faces hitters for the first time. ... RHP Keaton Winn (right forearm strain) was slated to throw a bullpen. ... RHP Alex Cobb (mild right flexor strain) will start playing catch on flat ground this weekend.
Mets: LHP David Peterson (left hip surgery) threw 89 pitches, 65 for strikes, over four innings for Triple-A Syracuse in what could be his final minor league rehab start. He allowed three runs — two earned — and seven hits with six strikeouts and one walk against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Peterson is eligible to come off the 60-day injured list early next week. ... C Francisco Alvarez (left thumb surgery), on the IL since April 20, will begin taking batting practice Saturday. ... RHP Drew Smith (shoulder soreness) is scheduled to pitch one inning Sunday for High-A Brooklyn.
UP NEXT
Giants RHP Jordan Hicks (4-1, 2.38 ERA) faces RHP Luis Severino (2-2, 3.48) in the middle game of the series Saturday afternoon.
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