Welcome to The Walk Off, the nightly MLB recap from Big League Stew. Here we’ll look at the top performers of the night, show you a must-see highlight and rundown the scoreboard. First, we start with a game you need to know about.
When Johnny Cueto cringed on the mound and shook his head at the dugout, signaling he was hurt and done for the night, the San Francisco Giants had to be thinking the worst. Something like, “Oh, please no, not the bullpen.”
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They were up 1-0 in the sixth inning against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. This had all the makings of the horror movie the Giants have seen too many times this month and this season — the one where the S.F. bullpen just keeps on dying.
But guess what? Not on this night.
No, the Giants bullpen did its job, holding on to the lead, which jumped to 2-0 after a ninth-inning insurance homer from Brandon Belt. Three Giants relievers combined to hold the Dodgers to one hit over three-and-two-thirds innings, a welcome relief from the trauma they’ve inflicted elsewhere this month. Final score: 2-0. Sighs of relief: Too many to count.
Johnny Cueto reacts to a groin injury Tuesday night in the Giants’ 2-0 win. (AP) The Giants bullpen has blown 30 games this season — 30! And it has blown eight saves in September, including Monday’s gut-punch loss to the Dodgers, in which a 1-0 lead disappeared in the ninth.
On Tuesday night, the trio of Steven Okert, Will Smith and Sergio Romo did their job after Cueto’s injured groin sent him to the showers early (he compared the pain, by the way, to a crab biting his groin). The three Giants relievers secured a much-needed win that brought the club into a three-way tie with the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Mets*for the two NL wild-card spots.
The Giants bullpen problems aren’t magically fixed. No, they’ll continue to be a woe S.F. must solve if it hopes to actually make the postseason. But at least for one night, it wasn’t a horror movie.
TOP PERFORMERS

Jose Fernandez: In case you needed further evidence about how good Jose Fernandez is, check out this performance. Fernandez pitched eight shutout innings on Tuesday night, allowing just three hits and striking out 12 against the Washington Nationals. There was no margin for error either, as the Marlins won the game 1-0. It earned Fernandez plenty of affection from Barry Bonds.
The Rangers bullpen: When starter A.J. Griffin was pulled in the second inning after giving up three runs and walking four batters, the Rangers knew they were in for a bullpen game. Turns out it suited them well. Six Rangers relievers combined to give up five hits and one run. When their offense rebounded against the Angels to get the lead in the fifth inning, the bullpen held it. The Rangers got a 5-4 win, their*36th one-run win this season.
Adam Wainwright: You’d expect that Wainwright is on this list for his pitching, but nope. Wainwright was decent on the mound, good enough for the Cardinals to beat the Rockies 10-5. But the real reason to celebrate Wainwright is his night at the plate. He had two hits and four RBIs along with 5.1 innings on the hill and four Ks.
MUST-SEE PLAY

The Cleveland Indians got their MLB-best 11th walk-off*win on Tuesday night, beating the Royals 2-1. Proving that Cleveland’s offense doesn’t rest with just one stick, the game-winner came off the bat of pinch-hitter Brandon Guyer, who doubled into the right-field corner. There was celebration aplenty in Cleveland, where the Indians’ magic number is down to six.
THE REST OF THE SCOREBOARD

Blue Jays 10, Mariners 2: J.A. Happ wins his 20th game of the season *(yeah, for real) as the Blue Jays offense explodes for eight runs in the fourth.
Red Sox 5, Orioles 2: Boston rattles off its sixth straight win, fueled by a three-run homer from David Ortiz.
Braves 5, Mets 4: Mets fall out of top wild-card spot after their*second straight loss to the Braves, putting them in that three-way tie with the Cardinals and Giants.
Yankees 5, Rays 3: Would you believe this? Gary Sanchez hit another home run. That’s the 17th for the Yanks rookie in 41 games.
Astros 2, A’s 1: George Springer delivers the walk-off single for the Astros in the 10th inning.

Padres 5, D-backs 2: Adam Rosales has four RBIs — a two-run homer and two sac flies — to be the one-man Diamondback wrecking crew.
Pirates 6, Brewers 3: Andrew McCutchen (two RBIs) and Adam Frazier (three hits) lead the way for Pittsburgh.
Cubs 6, Reds 1: Anthony Rizzo knocks two hits and drives in three runs for the Cubs.
Tigers 8, Twins 1: Two hits, two RBIs and another homer for Miguel Cabrera.
Phillies 7, White Sox 6: Odubel Herrera has three hits and three RBIs for the Phils.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz