SF Giants denied four-game sweep of Cubs before Dodgers’ final visit

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants sauntered onto their home field Thursday seeking their first four-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs here since 2012.

Instead, a 5-3, 10-inning loss spoiled their sunny, blue-sky afternoon and ushered the Giants into a scheduling gauntlet before the All-Star Break.

The first-place Dodgers arrive Friday night for, already, their final series at Oracle Park this season. Then come three-game sets at Atlanta and Cleveland before the Giants host Toronto and Minnesota. All those teams, except Toronto, are in playoff position and playing above .500.

“We’re just worried about L.A., not who’s after that,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “They’re a lot to handle. The Giants-Dodgers rivalry can inspire you, as well. It’s always pretty festive here when we play the Dodgers.

“It’s a tough assignment but our guys are feeling good. We won three in a row before this last game here.”

The Giants rallied from a 3-0 deficit with a three-run sixth, and as brilliant as their bullpen was this series, all it took was a Luke Jackson slider to end that mojo. Ian Happ belted it for a two-run homer off the top of the center-field wall in the 10th, breaking through against a bullpen that had not allowed a run its previous 21 1/3 innings this series.

The Giants’ 10th-inning counterattack came alive when pinch hitter Brett Wisely reached on a single into shallow left field. There would be no further rally. Austin Slater struck out (on nine pitches), Heliot Ramos flew out to cap his 0-for-4 day, and Wilmer Flores’ infield flyout finished his 0-for-5 day – and finished the series.

Limited to one hit through five innings, the Giants got to Cubs’ pitcher Shota Imanaga with a game-tying, three-run rally in the sixth. Jorge Soler’s two-out, ground-rule double off the left-field track pulled the Giants within 3-1, then Matt Chapman scored on a wild pitch, and, Soler came home on Luis Matos’ infield dribbler past Imanaga.

Then it was up to the Giants’ bullpen to repeatedly keep the Cubs from answering. Not all of the bullpen was available, however.

Melvin declined to send out closer Camilo Doval nor Tyler Rogers because both pitched the previous two days; Doval would have pitched if a save opportunity presented itself, Melvin added.

The bullpen did much of the heavy lifting all series, pitching scoreless ball for 15 1/3 consecutive innings before Thursday’s closing act by (in order) Spencer Bivens, Erik Miller, Ryan Walker, Sean Hjelle, and, finally, Jackson. They weren’t stress-free innings.

Hjelle’s turn came in the ninth. After one-out singles by Miles Mastrobuoni and Nico Hoerner, Michael Busch struck out looking, then Hjelle ended the threat by covering first on Cody Bellinger’s groundout.

Spencer Bivens worked a 1-2-3 sixth in relief of Jordan Hicks, then Erik Miller struck out Cody Bellinger with a 96.6-mph, full-count fastball to strand two runners in the seventh. A leadoff double by Seiya Suzuki in the eighth threatened to break through the Giants’ bullpen, but Walker struck out two of the next three batters he faced to strand Suzuki.

“Our bullpen is nasty. They’re the best in the league,” Hicks said. “… Hopefully we get that out of them all year, and as the starters come back, we can kind of take that load off a little bit, give them extra rest in the second half and prepare for the playoffs.”

Melvin talked about how it’s “unsustainable” to keep taxing the bullpen, especially Rogers and Walker.

“Other than (Logan Webb), we’re getting some short starts right now, so it’s a mix-and-match to make sure you have enough guys to cover nine innings,” Melvin said.

The Cubs stranded a runner at second base in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. They struck out 14 times overall, the first seven against Hicks, who allowed five hits, two walks  and three runs over six innings.

Ramos tried to ignite a winning rally with a leadoff walk in the bottom of the eighth. He was stranded at third, however, once Soler struck out, following groundouts by Flores and Chapman.

The Cubs’ initial three runs also came in a collective bunch, in the third inning. Nico Hoerner’s two-run home run that just cleared the left-field wall, and Suzuki’s RBI triple over right fielder Matos’ reach. Hoerner’s shot was the eighth home run allowed by Hicks over his past nine outings, after yielding just one over his first eight starts.

The Cubs unsuccessfully tried to score first an inning earlier, only to continue baserunning woes from their previous game. Happ got thrown out at home trying to score from first, with Curt Casali easily applying the tag after Thairo Estrada’s relay throw from Ramos, who allowed Dansby Swanson’s two-out single to surprisingly fall into shallow center field for the Cubs’ first hit.

NOTES: First baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. (hamstring) is expected to be activated for Friday’s 7:15 p.m. game. Wade leads Giants’ hitters with a career-high .333 batting average and .470 on-base percentage. … Logan Webb (6-6, 3.16 ERA) is slated to oppose Landon Knack (1-1, 2.10). … Whereas this will be the Dodgers’ final visit here, the Giants make their last trip to Los Angeles July 22-25. As odd as it is for the rivals to bid adieu with two months left in the regular season, perhaps that is a positive for the Giants’ playoff hopes, as they won’t have to further face the Dodgers in a wild-card pursuit. … Alex Cobb (right shoulder) and Kyle Harrison (right ankle) are slated to throw bullpen sessions Friday as they near respective comebacks. Cobb’s next step would be to pitch a couple of days later at Single-A San Jose.