SF Giants beat Padres with walk-off, embarrass one batter in particular

The most important highlight from the San Francisco Giants’ 3-2 win over the Padres on Friday was Thairo Estrada’s walk-off hit that sent Matt Chapman from first base to home plate with a photo-finish slide. But it wasn’t the most interesting.

That superlative belongs to San Francisco reliever Tyler Rogers, for dealing one of the most embarrassing strikeouts of the young season. In the top of the eighth, Rogers threw a slider that went so high and inside on San Diego third baseman Graham Pauley that it hit the Padres infielder in the face.

However, before the 73 mph pitch clocked him, the 23-year-old swung at the ball, and because he was on an 0-2 count, the umpire called him out on strikes. Replay would show that Pauley made contact with the ball, deeming it a foul tip, but officials couldn’t review the call.

What makes that play even more incredible is that former Giants pitcher Kevin Gausman apparently called this exact thing happening nearly three years ago. The Athletic reported in May 2021 that Gausman once told Rogers, “You’re going to hit a lefty in the face one day, and the guy’s probably going to swing at it. Which is crazy to think about.”

It’s a shame that Gausman moved on to Toronto in 2022, where he’s been playing since leaving San Francisco. His level of foresight could have been really useful for the Giants over the past couple of seasons, especially if he applied it to the free agent market.