Kyle Schwarber hits his 350th home run and the Phillies win, 3-2, on Justin Crawford’s walk-off

When Justin Crawford hit a grounder to the left side of the infield, he knew right away he would beat the throw.

And, sure enough, he had Giants shortstop Willy Adames by a step.

Crawford flung out his arms in a “safe” symbol after he touched the bag, while Bryson Stott scored from third to walk off the Giants, 3-2, in the bottom of the ninth. The Phillies took the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader against San Francisco and secured their first series win since beating the Rockies on April 4.

“I think Adames made a pretty good play,” Stott said. “He’s just the fastest ... ever.”

The Phillies had trailed by a run since the first inning as the offense fell back into old habits for most of the game. Kyle Schwarber hit his 350th career homer in the first, but after that the Phillies were unable to string together good at-bats or execute with runners in scoring position.

But down to their last three outs, they roared back to life.

“To start playing better, putting a couple wins on the board is always good for a club,” said interim manager Don Mattingly.

Adolis García singled up the middle to lead off the bottom of the ninth. Earlier in the game, Stott had slammed his helmet into the ground in frustration after striking out looking on a fastball.

But he came up with the tying run on first base and battled for eight pitches — all sinkers — until Giants reliever Ryan Walker left a mistake over the heart of the plate. Stott laced an RBI triple into the right field corner on the ninth sinker of the at-bat.

“Just obviously believing you can do it, especially after that at-bat earlier in the game,” Stott said. “Glad I came up and was able to tie the game.”

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Stott said he had wanted to come through especially for Cristopher Sánchez, who had a shaky first inning but found better command as the game went on to keep the game close.

He needed 16 pitches in the first inning and allowed back-to-back doubles to start the game. Both runners wound up scoring, but Sánchez found his found his gear as the game progressed and they proved to be the only runs he allowed. He struck out seven and walked three.

“He just kept fighting and kept making pitches,” Mattingly said. “... He was struggling getting the ball where he wanted to with righties and things like that. For me, you’ve just got to keep fighting.”

Sánchez became much more efficient, and was up to 85 pitches when he was lifted with two outs in the seventh. It was a somewhat aggressive move for Mattingly, who pulled Sánchez for Orion Kerkering to face Heliot Ramos with no one on base. Ramos had been 2-for-2 with a walk against Sánchez, and Kerkering got him to fly out.

“Guys are competitive and they want to stay in the game. We felt like it was the right spot not to let anything get started,” Mattingly said. “Ramos and [Matt Chapman] have been swinging the bat really good against left-handed pitching.”

As he walked off the mound, Sánchez displayed some frustration. The left-hander has not completed seven innings in a start yet this year.

“Of course I wanted to stay out. ... I just wanted to finish that one off,” Sánchez said through a team interpreter.

The Giants threatened in the top of the ninth. Tanner Banks retired the first two hitters he faced in the inning, but then allowed consecutive singles to put runners on the corners. With a tough right-hander due up in Chapman, Mattingly turned to Chase Shugart, who sat Chapman down swinging to stifle the rally.

In the bottom of the inning, Crawford delivered the second walk-off hit of his young career. He did it by playing to his strengths. Instead of trying to hit his first major league homer, he relied on his bat-to-ball skills and his speed.

“Getting back to me,” Crawford said. “Staying in the moment, not trying to do too much, and just trying to find any way I can to help the team win.”

After the first game of the doubleheader, left-handed reliever Kyle Backhus was placed on the injured list with left elbow inflammation. Trevor Richards had his contract selected from triple-A Lehigh Valley. ... Tim Mayza started the second game of the doubleheader, which was a bullpen game for the Phillies.