SAN FRANCISCO — There are two steps to this breakthrough. Alen Hanson has done his part. The next step is up to manager Bruce Bochy.
Hanson has been a revelation, not just as a Joe Panik fill-in, but as a bat off the bench. His two-run blast with two outs in the ninth inning Wednesday was one of the biggest swings of the season for the Giants, who escaped with a 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks when Brandon Crawford lined a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th.
Now, it’s up to Bochy to figure out a way to ride the hot bat, and see if Hanson truly is as talented as he has appeared thus far.