SAN FRANCISCO — Gorkys Hernandez, the eighth hitter in the Giants lineup, picked himself off the ground Sunday afternoon and dusted the dirt off his uniform after Jake Arrieta threw a 93-mph sinker that just missed the hitter’s chin.
Arrieta, who had faced the minimum of 16 batters up to that point, waited for a new ball as the tide of a 6-1 loss to the Giants was about to turn. The scare seemed to awaken the Giants. Hernandez dropped a single to center and pinch-hitter Alen Hanson followed with an infield single. A rally that seemed to come out of nowhere was underway.