Blake Snell flirts with perfect game, Giants beat Twins in wild ending

SAN FRANCISCO — Blake Snell may have needed a couple of months, but the reigning Cy Young Award winner finally looks like a reigning Cy Young Award winner.

Snell took a perfect game into the seventh inning, Mike Yastrzemski hit a walk-off “Little League home run” in the ninth inning and the San Francisco Giants beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-2, on Sunday afternoon at Oracle Park to close out the first half.

“I thought he really had the chance today to do really, really special things,” Yastrzemski said of Snell. “Obviously, he did something special in terms of how well he pitched. It was awesome to see that.”

Before the madness of the ninth — a frame in which Camilo Doval’s blown save paved the way for San Francisco’s ninth walk-off win of the year — Sunday afternoon was defined by the dominance of Snell.

The left-hander looked every bit the part of a two-time Cy Young Award winner, retiring the first 18 batters he faced until Manuel Margot singled to left field to begin the seventh. The home crowd collectively groaned once Margot’s line drive touched grass, but those groans instantly gave way to a standing ovation. And Margot, as time would tell, had far more parts to play in Sunday’s affair, he being at the center of the drama in the top and bottom of the ninth.

Snell, for his part, remained locked in. Following Margot’s single, Snell induced a double play off the bat of Willi Castro, who responded by vehemently spiking his helmet. Snell ended his afternoon by striking out the Twins’ Lee with his signature curveball. Snell finished his day with a season-high seven innings, a season-high eight strikeouts and no walks — no small feat given that he led the league in free passes last year.

“That’s what you get when you get a Blake Snell that’s healthy, especially towards the second half of the season — that’s when he’s really, really good,” said Giants manager Bob Melvin. “He was a little uneven to begin with injuries and so forth, but he’s really hit his stride now where he feels confident when he takes the mound.”

Doval had appeared to be hitting his stride, too. Entering Sunday, Doval had only allowed one run in his last nine outings. Instead, Doval enters the season’s midway point on a sour note.

San Francisco’s closer inherited a 2-0 lead heading into the ninth, tasked with sending the Giants into the break on a high note, but was unable to finish the inning. After allowing runners to reach second and third with one out, Doval allowed a game-tying two-run double to Margot — the same Margot broke up Snell’s perfect game. Melvin wasted no time going to Ryan Walker to put out the fire. As Doval slowly walked back to San Francisco’s dugout, his ERA raised to 4.38, jeers filled the stadium.

Thanks to two miscues by the Twins on one play in the bottom of the frame, Doval’s performance would soon be forgotten.

Yastrzemski led off the ninth by muscling a ball into center field against Twins closer Jhoan Duran. Margot, at the center of things once again, attempted an ill-advised dive and missed the ball by several feet. Yastrzemski never stopped running, rounding second and headed to third. Despite Yastrzemski more than three-quarters of the way to the bag, second baseman Brooks Lee fired the ball to third. The ball flew out of play, Yastrzemski raised his arms and ceremoniously jogged home.

Snell, for all his dominance, was unable to get his first win of the season. Should he carry this momentum and he continue his history of second-half dominance, the wins will follow in short order.

The second half has historically been the time of year that Snell has been at his best. In 106 career first-half starts, Snell has a 3.98 ERA. In 82 career second-half starts, by contrast, Snell has a 2.46 ERA.

Snell’s time in San Francisco began on an inauspicious note after signing a two-year, $62 million deal with the Giants in late March. The left-hander missed most of the season’s first three-and-a-half months due to a left adductor strain and left groin strain. He wasn’t effective when he did pitch, either, a byproduct of missing most of spring training. In his first six starts with the orange and black, Snell allowed 25 earned runs over 23 2/3 innings (9.51 ERA).

Upon returning from the injured list on Tuesday from the groin strain, Snell finally turned in his first truly excellent outing with the Giants: five innings, one hit, three strikeouts, three walks. On Sunday, he turned up the dominance.

“When he’s pitching like this, you really look forward to that day that he’s pitching,” Melvin said. “I know on the other side, when they’re looking for matchups, it’s not the guy you want to face.”

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