It's that time of year that San Francisco Giants fans are used to seeing a little AT&T Park magic, and boy do the G-Men need some magic right now. And behind their call-up starter Eric Surkamp making his MLB debut, San Francisco forced extra innings with the Houston Astros, setting the scene for Jeff Keppinger to get the walk off hit in the bottom of the 10th as the Giants triumphed 2-1 in 10 innings.
Surkamp took a no decision in his first appearance in the Show, lasting six innings on the night with one earned run, six hits, three walks, and four strikeouts. He remained agressive out on the mound, getting into some trouble in the first and third innings which he would eventually get out of. Aside from Carlos Lee's RBI double in the fifth, Surkamp was on point and rather impressive in his MLB debut. The Giants bullpen was brilliant once again, holding the 'Stros to one hit combined for the last four innings as Guillermo Mota, Santiago Casilla and Jeremy Affeldt held down the fort, with Affledt notching his third win of the season.
Carlos Beltran got the Giants started with an RBI groundout in the first, finishing the night 2-4. Mike Fontenot finished 1-4 with a double, but it was Jeff Keppinger's walkout hit that was the story of the game. It was all set up by Mark DeRosa after coming in during a double switch, starting the ralliy in the bottom of the 10th with a single. He then proceeded to steal second base, his first of the year (and first since September 2009), getting in postion to score.
Brett Myers also took a no decision for the Astros, keeping the Giants to only two hits in seven innings, along with three walks and seven strikeouts. Fernando Rodriguez took the loss.
With the win the Giants move to 71-62 on the year. Full box score can be found here.
San Francisco will send out Matt Cain (10-9 2.90 ERA) for the series win Sunday, facing Bud Norris (6-8 3.73 ERA) for Houston. First pitch is at 1:05 pm PT with coverage on CSN Bay Area and KNBR 680 AM.