Giants beat:

Reliever Smith wins Willie Mac Award.

Will Smith, who returned from Tommy John surgery in May and made the most of his chance to be a major-league closer for the first time, was the surprise winner of the 2018 Willie Mac Award, chosen by his peers as the most inspirational Giant.

Smith won the annual award over favorites Hunter Pence and Derek Holland, just the third full-time reliever to win after Steve Bedrosian in 1990 and Javier Lopez, who shared the honor with Brandon Crawford in 2016.

Giants players, coaches, trainers and fans vote on the Willie Mac, which has been awarded every year since 1980 (Jack Clark) except for the 1994 strike year. Besides 2016, there were multiple winners in 1995 (Mark Carreon, Mark Leiter) and 2001 (Mark Gardner, Benito Santiago).

Smith, 29, carried a 1.90 ERA over 53 games into the final series against the Dodgers. He has saved 14 games in 17 chances since becoming the closer after Hunter Strickland broke his hand punching a door on June 18.

Smith kept the job upon the returns of Strickland and Mark Melancon, who was signed to do the job.

The Giants acquired Smith from the Brewers at the 2016 trade deadline. He was a valued reliever down the stretch for the wild-card winners before injuring his elbow the following spring and undergoing Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2017.

He chose to stay in San Francisco for much of his rehab, rather than spend all his time at the team’s Arizona training facility, and tried to boost morale for a 98-loss team. He co-created a celebration roundtable near the relievers’ section of the clubhouse for postgame camaraderie after victories.

Smith pledged to return by May 1, 2018, and missed his target by one day, only because the Giants had to delay the corresponding roster move. Smith has one more year of arbitration eligibility before he can become a free agent. Big series: Manager Bruce Bochy believed his team would get a lot out of playing well and winning games in such an important series for the Dodgers, Rockies and Cardinals, given the playoff ramifications.

“It will be good for our players, knowing what we’ve been through,” Bochy said. “Missing guys, being nicked up, it would be good for them to know they can play against anybody. Obviously we hope we can play a part in what happens here. It’s a good team we’re playing. They have a lot of depth.”