Category: San Francisco Giants

Giants Webb coming off shoulder strain; pitch count will be watched Friday night

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Logan Webb throwing against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sat May 29, 2021 at Dodgers Stadium Los Angeles will be the starting pitcher against the Washington Nationals on Fri Jul 9, 2021 at Oracle Park (AP file photo)

By Jessica Kwong

The San Francisco Giants had the day off on Thursday after losing two of the last three games in the series against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Giants won 5-2 on Wednesday at Oracle Park to avoid being swept.

San Francisco (54-32) are still first in the NL West but are tied on the most wins in the league.

The Giants start a three-game series against the Washington Nationals on Friday before facing the Cardinals after the All-Star break on July 16 at State Farm Stadium. First pitch at Nationals Park is at 6:45 p.m.

San Francisco plans to start with right-handed pitcher Logan Webb on Friday. Giants manager Gabe Kapler announced on Wednesday that Webb, who has been out since May 29 due to a right shoulder strain, will come off the injured list. He did not give any indication of how many innings Webb might pitch. Webb will likely take Long’s spot in the rotation but it is unlikely he will throw more than 50 to 60.

The Giants’ pitching for the opener against Washington will likely include right-handed pitcher Tyler Beede, who was off the 60-day injured list on Tuesday. Beede had Tommy John surgery in March 2020 and completed a 12-start rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento. He finished with a 6.56 ERA.

In unfortunate news, the Giants’ director of Dominican Republic Operations, Pablo Peguero, died unexpectedly on Wednesday, the organization announced yesterday evening. He died in his home in Santo Domingo at the age of 68. Peguero was with the Giants for the past 18 years and was a ‘beloved member of the Giants family and has been synonymous with baseball in the Dominican Republic for decades,” the team’s President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi said in a statement.

Echoes of 1993: The Giants beat the Cardinals, 5-2 and avoid a sweep with historical significance

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Avoiding being swept is part of the championship equation with the key being don’t make it a major part of your diet. The Giants did that Wednesday night, besting the Cardinals 5-2, and winning the finale of a three-game set.

The win kept the Giants atop the NL West ahead of the Dodgers, who lost to the Marlins in Miami. The Giants also maintained baseball’s best record, and–with the All-Star break three games away–their win total continues to be reminiscent of their 1993 squad that won 103 games.

There’s just one distinction the 2021 Giants want that eluded the ’93 club: a postseason appearance.

The Giants rolled into September 1993 with an 89-48 record and a 3 1/2 game lead on the Dodgers. But they couldn’t maintain that pace. A loss to the Pirates preceeded a four-game sweep at Candlestick Park by the Cardinals, then three more losses to the Chicago Cubs. Despite a huge win streak that saw them win 14 of 15 after that, the Giants fell on the season’s final day to the Dodgers and went home empty with 103 wins.

That was the last time the Cardinals swept the Giants in a four-game series, and they last beat the Giants in a three-game set in San Francisco in 1991. Thirty years later, the Giants avoided reliving any of that history on Wednesday.

The indelible lesson: avoid lengthy, losing streaks. Thus far in 2021 the Giants have lost three straight once, and just suffered a four-game slide last week.

Alex Wood pitched seven innings, allowed three hits and a run, and picked up his eighth win of the season. After Nolan Arenado doubled home Paul Goldschmidt in the first inning for a 1-0 St. Louis lead, Wood took control. He departed after the seventh, leading 3-1. Mike Yastrzemski and Donovan Solano doubled home runs in the second and fifth innings to put the Giants ahead, and Darin Ruf added a two-run homer in the eighth to provide some cushion.

“(Wood) had all of his pitches working well,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “He had good command and control of all three of his pitches and mixed it up well. That was a pretty gritty and tough outing from him. It was exactly what we needed.”

“I felt like I commanded my fastball really well and stuck the slider,” Wood said. “Good overall night, that’s for sure. Games like that are important. I was happy to come out and do my job tonight.”

The Giants reverted to their winning pattern of taking control of games in the middle innings, a formula the Cardinals adopted in winning the first two games of the series. This time, the Giants took advantage of hard luck starter Johan Oviedo, who has failed to win any of his first 16 starts at the big league level, including all 12 this season. Oviedo showed some distraction early when he jawed with Yastrzemski after his RBI double in the second with the issue being that the pitcher felt the Giants were relaying information to their hitters. Yastrzemski, who carries himself too quietly to get caught up in petty beefs, acknowledged Oviedo’s tough words, but offered few back.

“Any advantage that we can take, whether teams are paranoid, whether they think we’re doing something that we’re not, it’s just a way to hopefully get a distraction off the hitter and to get it onto the baserunner so they can’t make their pitches. I definitely think that he had a lot of intent thinking that I was relaying signs, which I wasn’t. I had nothing.”

The Giants are off on Thurdsay and finish the first half of the season with a three-game set with the Nationals. No pitcher has been announced for Friday, but the possibility that Tyler Beede could make his season debut after missing more than a year due to Tommy John surgery is getting some steam.

He Was a Giant? Jeff Stember was a right handed pitcher for the SF

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Former San Francisco Giants pitcher Jeff Stember pitched only one game August 5, 1980 at the Houston Astrodome and is the feature of He Was a Giant? by Tony the Tiger Hayes (1980 Topps Baseball Card photo)

Jeff Stember – RHP – 1980 – # 50

He was a Giant?

By Tony the Tiger Hayes

Stember’s big league pitching career could not have gotten off to worse start.

Literally.

On the first pitch Stember ever threw in the majors (8/5/80), Houston’s Terry Puhl squared it up, sending a screaming liner into the rainbow hued left field seats of the Astrodome.

So much for good first impressions.

“As soon as Puhl hit the home run I went out to the mound and told (Stember), ‘Welcome to the National League,” said San Francisco catcher Mike Sadek.

The nervous righty would commit a balk later in the first inning, but actually retired six of the seven Astros following Puhl’s blast. Unfortunately, Houston struck again in the third inning plating two unearned tallies on a Jose Cruz triple.

After Stember retired perennial All-Star Cesar Cedeno on an infield pop-out to end the third, the 6-foot-5, 220 pound New Jersey native’s big league debut – and as it turned out – his MLB career, was over.

With Houston leading 3-1, Max Venable was sent to pinch hit for Stember in the fourth.

The Giants managed to battle back and beat the Astros 9-3. The victory was fueled by a pair of run scoring singles by Sadek. LHP Gary Lavelle recorded the victory with four innings of shutout relief.

Despite the comeback, Giants manager was still chapped about Stember’s outing.

“If he throws the ‘A’ fastball he’ll be alright,” Bristol explained. “It’s that ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ that I don’t like. And I told him that.”

Stember’s first big league game was also his last big league game.

Why was he a Giant?

In the 1970s, Giants scouts found amateur gold on the pitching mounds of New Jersey, signing two pitchers (Ed Halicki and John Montefusco) who would each throw no-hitters for San Francisco in 1975 and 1976 respectively.

San Francisco was looking to repeat that formula when they selected Stember with a 26th round pick in the 1976 draft out of Westfield High School in Westfield, N.J.

While Stember’s big league career ended in a blink of an eye, he was actually the Giants best pick up of the ‘76 amateur draft. Of all the players San Francisco drafted and signed that year – including first round pick, high school IF Mark Kuecker – Stember was the only one to play in the big leagues.

Future stars they passed on included the eventual Hall of Famers: IF Alan Trammell (second round); IF Wade Boggs (seventh) and local OF Rickey Henderson who was selected by his hometown A’s in the fourth round.

Before & After

Stember’s minor league numbers didn’t blow anyone away as he toiled alongside future Giants such as Chili Davis, Bob Brenly and Fred Breining. In six minor league campaigns – all with the Giants organization – he was 38-49 with a 4.98 ERA .

He Never Had a Bobblehead Day. But…

Though he was roughed up by a good portion of the Houston lineup in his only big league appearance, Stember did manage to muzzle the bat of Joe Morgan, the future Giant and Hall of Fame 2B.

In the first, Stember got Lil’ Joe on a ground out and then a pop out in the third.

Giant Footprint

Stember is recognized by the Jewish Baseball Museum as one of the dozens of Jews to have played big league baseball. Others with ties to the Giants include former team president Al Rosen and manager Gabe Kapler and the all-time best Giants play-by-play man Hank Greenwald.

They were Giants? By Tony the Tiger Hayes; Darren Ford and Horace Speed

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Former San Francisco Giants Darren Ford in his Somerset Patriots uniform played for the Giants for the 2010 and 2011 seasons Ford didn’t get a bobblehead but he got a ring with the 2010 World Series Championship Giants

Faster Than A Speeding Bullet

THEY WERE GIANTS?

By Tony “The Tiger” Hayes

Darren Ford – PR/OF – 2010-11 – # 34

Horace Speed – PR/OF – 1975 – # 38

They Were Giants?

Not since Herb Washington – a former college track star without a baseball background – was issued an unforgettable 1975 Topps card with “pinch runner” as his position, has substitute base running been in vogue.

Like Washington’s sans-a-belt Swingin’ A’s baseball pants and flapless batting helmets, the pinch-runner has been sadly all but been laughed out of baseball. Why waste a player? Excitement be damned. Wait for a home run the analytics say. Over the years, San Francisco has had at least two short-lived players whose direct track into a game has included the slapping of lead-footed teammates on the butt as they took their spot on the base path.

The aptly named Speed and Ford (think Mustang) – combined to play in 50 games with the Giants – with 31 of those appearances coming as pinch-runners.

“I know what my role is to go out there and steal a base and get in scoring position. I trust my instincts,” said Ford in his his first day in the majors with the Giants in 2010. “You can’t teach speed and I’m blessed.”

Why Were They Giants?

The Los Angeles raised Speed, who was signed to his first pro contract by San Francisco in 1969, made the club’s opening day roster in 1975 as a backup to Gary Matthews, Von Joshua, Garry Maddox and Bobby Murcer.

“Deep down I always wanted to be a Giant. I will hit .300, drive in 100 runs and hit 20 home runs. Home runs are the hardest because I hit a lot of line drives,” a confident Speed proclaimed. “But I know you just don’t walk into a starting position, especially on this club.”

He was right. Speed made just three starts for the Giants and was back in the minors by mid-May.

While Speed was considered a more rounded prospect and a clubhouse comic – he supposedly did a great Ed Sullivan impersonation – Ford was promoted to San Francisco in Sept. 2010 strictly for his base path acumen. He may have been the only player ever promoted to the Orange & Black after hitting just .250 at Double-AA.

Before & After

The grandson of former big leaguer Ted Ford, Darren came up through the Brewers farm system before a 2008 trade for 2B Ray Durham brought him to San Francisco.

He would make it into seven games in the fall of ‘10, but never came up to hit.

Ford made it back to the bigs with SF again in 2011 – this time getting a few hits off the bench.

After leaving the Giants organization in 2012, Ford spent a seasons each in the Seattle and Pittsburgh organizations before returning to the Giants fold in 2014-16 – however he did not receive a big league call-up the second time around.

Speed would appear in just 17 games with the Giants in ‘75, batting .133 (2-for-15) before returning to the minors for the next three seasons. He resurfaced with the Cleveland Indians in 1979-80 batting .217 in 96 contests.

They Never Had Bobblehead Days. But…

Ford may not have swung a bat for the 2010 World Champions, but he made an unforgettable first impression on Giants fans – using his speed to lead the Orange & Black to victory in his big league debut in a home game vs. Colorado (9/1/10). Running at first base for Mike Fontenot in the bottom of the 8th with the score tied 1-1, Ford advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Tim Lincecum.

With one out and a 0-2 count on Andres Torres, Rockies pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez bounced a pitch in the dirt that bound a short distance from Rox back stop Miguel Olivo.

Ford daringly took the initiative to sprint to third and then he kept on running home with what would be the winning run of a 2-1 outcome when a hurried Olivo airmailed his throw into left field.

“I knew it would be bang-bang. I’ll say this: the kid didn’t hesitate. He can fly,” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. “He showed no fear there.”

Speed appeared in eight big league games before making his first plate appearance for San Francisco. He reached base in his first start, stroking a double off Don Gullet in a 5-4 win at Candlestick over the eventual world champion Reds (4/29/75).

Giant Footprint

In his first big league multi-hit game (he only had four of them) Speed batted 2-for-4 with 2 RBI to lead Cleveland to a 3-0 win at Toronto (6/30/78). Also collecting two knocks for the Indians that day: Tribe starting 2B Duane Kuiper.

Thirty-two years later, Kuip was behind the mic on the Giants telecast when Ford debuted with his mad dash from second base:

“Ford’s gonna go! “ Kuiper bellowed. “(The throw is) into left field and the Giants take the lead! Unbelievable!”

Cardinals hang on at the end to defeat Giants 6-5 in second game of series

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St Louis Catcher Yadier Molina belts an RBI single in the seventh inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tue Jul 6, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN FRANCISCO—The St. Louis Cardinals owe Dylan Carlson a really expensive steak dinner.

The Cardinals left fielder made an over the shoulder catch slamming into the left field wall to preserve a 6-5 win over the San Francisco Giants 6-5 on Tuesday evening at Oracle Park.

Jason Volser, with two runners on and two out in the bottom of the ninth inning, hit a deep drive to left fielder that looked to have been the walk off hit until Carlson reached up and robbed the Giants of a comeback victory.

San Francisco were 3-16 with runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base as they have lost the first two games of the series. St. Louis have won two games in a row after losing two in a row.

St. Louis starting pitcher Adam Wainright (7-5) pitched five innings giving up three runs on six hits while walking four and striking out three to earn his seventh win of the season.

The Cardinals (43-44) jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. Nolan Arenado golfed a 3-2 off speed pitch from Giants starting pitcher Johnny Cueto and deposited the ball into the left field bleachers for his 17th home run of the season.

“I think he was just off the plate with several of his pitches,” said Giants manager Gabe Kapler on Cueto’s outing. “Johnny is at his best when he’s getting ahead and staying ahead (of batters). I don’t think he was in count leverage enough to really have his best outing.”

Arenado, a known Giants killer when he played for Colorado, continued his barrage against the Giants as he now has 32 career homers against San Francisco.

The Giants (53-32) answered back in the third inning as their RBI leader came up with a clutch two-out hit. Brandon Crawford’s opposite field single off Wainright brought in Mike Yastrzemski and Wilmer Flores.

Crawford, who was named to the National League All-Star roster on Sunday, now has 55 RBI on the season, second in the the NL.

Paul Goldschmidt helped St. Louis regain the lead in the fourth inning. The other notorious Giants killer lined a bases loaded single into left field scoring two and giving the Cardinals a 4-2 lead.

Cueto (6-5) suffered the loss as he gave up four runs on nine hits while striking out seven and only walking one batter in six innings.

“I won’t be taking any days off. I’m going to be working very hard to get ready for the second half. My goal is to stay healthy and also for my teammates to stay healthy,” Cueto said.

Crawford, who went 4-5 on the evening and is now batting .275, drove in his third run of the game in the fifth inning with a double down the right field line to cut the St. Louis’ lead to one run.

“It’s hard to replace somebody like Buster (Posey) or (Brandon) Belt or (Evan) Longoria,” said Crawford when asked if injuries have began to take its toll on offense. “It’s kind of trying to get through this little time period without them with some wins and not dropping off too much.”

Yadier Molina gave the Cardinals an insurance run with a two-out RBI single in the sixth inning off reliever John Brebbia who replaced Cueto on the mound.

Edmundo Sosa hit his second home run off the season in the eighth inning off of Brebbia. The former Cardinals reliever gave up two runs on three hits in one and two-thirds innings.

“I thought Brebbia, in particular pitched well, outside of the breaking ball he threw to Sosa, I though he pitched really well. Sometimes it doesn’t look that and in this particular case it doesn’t. So I can understand that,” Kapler said.

The Giants rallied for two runs in the bottom half of the eighth. Mike Yastrzemski RBI single and a RBI double by Flores on a popup that landed in the Bermuda triangle in shallow center field between three Cardinal fielders.

Justin Miller recorded the final two outs to earn his first save of the season.

GAME NOTES: OF Jaylin Davis was placed on the 10-day injured list (left hamstring strain).

RHP Tyler Beede returned from his rehabilitation assignment and reinstated from the 60-day injured list.

IF/OF Jason Vosler recalled from Triple-A Sacramento.

RHP Jimmie Sherfy designated for assignment.

UP NEXT: The Giants look to avoid the sweep against the Cardinals as they conclude their three-game series on Wednesday 7/7 at 6:45pm at Oracle Park.

Cardinals beat Giants at their own game, win series opener 5-3 at Oracle Park

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Major League hitters don’t come to the park at spray line drives all over the place for nine innings like in days past. Now, they sport paltry batting averages, pick their spots and keep their focus on trying to impact the game with something big.

That’s the Giants winning style. And on Monday, the Cardinals adopted that style and thrived.

Matt Carpenter’s two-run triple in the seventh inning broke a scoreless tie, and sent to the Cardinals to a 5-3 win at Oracle Park in the opener of the Giants’ final homestand before the All-Star break. The Cardinals came to San Francisco sporting a chip on their collective shoulders from too many, narrow losses in recent weeks.

“We’ve been in a lot of close games and we’ve won some and we’ve lost some lately that have stung,” manager Mike Shildt said.

Carpenter cashed in a competitive at-bat against Giants’ All-Star Kevin Gausman, who was on his way to dropping his miniscule ERA even lower when he left a pitch over the plate to Carpenter in a hitters’ count. The breakthrough wasn’t easily had; Gausman had dealt to that point, allowing just one hit over the first six innings.

Carpenter, hitting just .174 coming into the at-bat, described his blast off the base of the left field wall as a breath of fresh air.

“I’d be OK if that was the swing that turned it around,” Carpenter said. “If we can have those kind of competitive at-bats that we showed and we did against a guy who is as good as anybody we’re going to face all season — if we can do that consistently, we’re going to catch some people.”

While the loss kept the Giants from extending their lead in the NL West, and their perch above all MLB clubs with the best record in baseball, the Cardinals got a needed boost from their spot in fourth place in the NL Central. For a proud franchise like St. Louis, the season hasn’t been what’s expected, but they’re of the mindset to turn it around even if that transition comes against the Giants, who they host coming out of the All-Star break next week as well.

The Giants attempted to rally with a run in the eighth and two in the bottom of the ninth, but came up short. Gausman suffered losses in back-to-back starts for the first time this season, and the Giants failed to build on their home dominance after 26 wins in their first 37 home contests.

Kwang Hyun Kim matched Gausman with a seven-inning outing in which he allowed three hits and two walks and departed with a 2-0 lead. Alex Reyes pitched an eventful ninth inning, allowing RBI singles to Donovan Solano and Steven Duggar, but he closed out with a strikeout of LaMonte Wade Jr. with a runner at third base.

Curt Casali got the start behind the plate in place of the injured Buster Posey, who injured his finger in the finale in Arizona on Sunday. Manager Gabe Kapler didn’t offer much of an update on Posey, other than to say that he remains on the roster, and the possibility of him avoiding a trip to the injured list is still a possibility.

The Giants are also awaiting updates on Evan Longoria, Tommy La Stella, Mike Tauchman and Brandon Belt as a major chunk of their offense is on the shelf heading into the break. Only Longoria appears to be a possibility to return to action during this homestand that concludes with the Washington Nationals over the weekend.

On Tuesday, veteran pitchers Adam Wainwright and Johnny Cueto matchup in the series’ second game at 6:45pm.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Cardinals-Giants open series at Oracle with matinee

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St Louis Cardinals starter Kwang Hyun Kim puts his all into this pitch against the Arizona Diamondbacks Wed Jun 30, 2021. Kim will be the starting pitcher of record Mon Jul 5, 2021 at Oracle Park in San Francisco against the Giants (AP News file photo)

On the Giants podcast with Morris:

#1 Morris after the San Francisco Giants (53-30) trip in Los Angeles they had better outcome in their meeting with the Arizona Diamondbacks (23-63) at Chase Field over the four game series.

#2 The one opponent the Giants need to really get up for is the Los Angeles Dodgers (53-31) who they started this road trip with getting swept in two games.

#3 Lots of credit to the Giants Austin Slater for an outstanding performance on Saturday night hitting two home runs in helping the Giants cause in their narrow 6-5 win.

#4 The Giants open up a six game homestand against the St Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals anytime your coming towards the All Star break with a half game margin in the standings over the Dodgers it’s hair raising.

#5 The St Louis Cardinals (41-44) will be starting Kwang Hyun Kim (2-5 ERA 3.75) the Giants will start Kevin Gausman (8-2 ERA 1.68) for Monday afternoon’s game at Oracle Park. Morris you’ll be on hand for this game how do you see these two teams matching up?

Join Morris for the Giants podcasts Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

DeSclafani goes 8.2 innings in Giants win over D-backs 5-2

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San Francisco Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani seen here pitching in the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix Sun Jul 4, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jeremy Kahn

On the same day that Buster Posey discovered that he would have two teammates joining him at the All-Star Game at Coors Field, he was forced to leave the final game of the road trip early.

Posey, who was elected to the start in the annual midsummer classic was hit on his glove hand in the bottom of the sixth inning after he took a bat to the hand, with fellow catcher Daulton Varsho at the plate.

Manager Gabe Kapler and trainer Dave Groeschner immediately ran to the side of Posey, who said that he was okay; however, after Varsho struck out, Posey left the game and was replaced by Curt Casali. X-Rays on Poseys thumb were taken at Chase Field, and they came back negative.

Posey drove the first run of the game, as he singled in Austin Slater in the top of the first inning and the San Francisco Giants defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-2 at Chase Field.

That was not the only run of the inning by the Giants, as Darin Ruf doubled to center field and Posey scored easily from first base.

Anthony DeSclafani pitched a tremendous game, as he went 8.2 innings. DeSclafani allowed two runs, on six hits, walking two and striking out seven and he saw his record improve to 9-3 on the season.

DeSclafani, who was one out away from his third complete game of the season gave up a long single to Christian Walker with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning that scored David Peralta, who singled and then went to second on defensive indifference with two outs.

Tyler Rogers walked Pavin Smith, but then got Josh Reddick to groundout to Donovan Solano at second base, as he picked up his 10th save in 14 chances on the season.

With the victory, the Giants maintained their one-half game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have nine games in a row since they were no-hit by the Chicago Cubs on June 24 at Dodger Stadium.

After starting the road trip by getting swept against the Dodgers, the Giants came back to finish the road trip at 3-3 and won three out of four in Arizona against the Diamondbacks. The Giants also are now 9-1 on the season against the Diamondbacks.

Slater, who the game-winning two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning on Saturday night was at it again on Sunday, as he hit a solo home run in the top of the third inning for his ninth home run of the season.

Ruf got in the home run act in the top of the sixth inning, as he hit a two-run home run that gave the Giants a 5-0 lead.

Reddick drove in the Diamondbacks first run of the night in the bottom of the seventh inning, as he singled to centerfield that scored Asdrubal Cabrera; however, on the play, Reddick was thrown out at second base by Casali, when he tried to advance after Duggar threw home.

Caleb Smith went six innings, allowing five runs on five hits, while walking one and striking out five and he lost for the fifth time on the season.

NOTES: Brandon Crawford and Kevin Gausman will join C Posey in representing the Giants in this year’s All- Star Game in Colorado. It is the third career All-Star appearance for Crawford, who also to the midsummer classic in 2015 and 2018, and this is the first for Gausman, who grew up in the Denver area.

Crawford ranks among the NL leaders in home runs (17, T-10th), RBI (52, T-7th), SLG (.537, 8th) and OPS (.885, 9th). Gausman sports the second-lowest ERA in the Majors (1.68) behind NYM’s Jacob deGrom and has also thrown 101.2 innings, tied for the ninth-most in MLB while his eight wins are tied for seventh-most in MLB.
The last time that the Giants had at least three representatives in the game was 2016 when Brandon Belt, Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Posey all were All-Stars in the game at Petco Park in San Diego.

This was the first time that the Giants have played on July 4 since the 2018 season, as they were off in 2019 and did not play in 2020 due to Covid-19.

With the victory over the Diamondbacks, this was the first time since the 2016 season that the Giants won on July 4 (Colorado Rockies) and now are 24-39-1 on fourth since moving to California in 1958.

UP NEXT: Gausman takes the mound on Monday afternoon, as he looks for his ninth win of the season and the Giants return home to face the St. Louis Cardinals at Oracle Park. The Cardinals will send left-hander Kwang Hyun Kim to the mound, as he looks for his third win of the season.

Slater with a big home home run to give the Giants a come-from-behind victory 6-5

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The San Francisco Giants Mike Yastrzemski gets congratulations from Thairo Estrada after hitting a third inning home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix on Sat Jul 3, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jeremy Kahn

Austin Slater came up with the biggest hit of the game when the San Francisco Giants so desperately needed it.

Slater launched a two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning, as the Giants came back to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5 at Chase Field. The Giants are now 8-1 versus the Diamondbacks this season, as they have scored 70 runs in those eight games, while the Diamondbacks have 38 runs in those games.

The Slater home run was originally measured at 482 feet that would have been the longest home run by a Giants player since STATCAST began back in 2015, breaking the record of Alex Dickerson, who hit a 480-foot home run earlier this season against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field; however, it was eventually measured at 463 feet.

Entering the at-bat that gave the Giants the victory, Slater was mired in a 4-for-41 slump and that all ended with that one swing of the bat.

The Giants jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the third inning, as Mike Yastrzemski hit his 12th home run of the season, then Brandon Crawford tripled in Dickerson that made it 3-0 and then Donovan Solano drove in the final run of the frame that scored Crawford. It that inning, the Giants as a team hit for the cycle.

Unfortunately, the Giants and Sammy Long were unable to hold on to the lead, as the Diamondbacks cut the lead in half, when Asdrubal Cabrera singled to centerfield that scored Jake Faria and then Christian Walker singled to score Nick Ahmed for the second run of the inning.

Ahmed tied up the game in the bottom of the fourth inning, as he hit his second home run of the season that also scored Andrew Young.

The usual Giants defense faltered in the bottom of the fifth inning, as LaMonte Wade, Jr., was unable to field the ball, when the ball hit by Pavin Smith went through his legs that sent Cabrerat to third and Smith up to second.

Following the Wade error, Jose Alvarez replaced Zack Littell, who came on to start the inning in place of Long.

David Peralta greeted Alvarez rudely, as he singled to score Cabrera that gave the Diamondbacks the lead. Alvarez was able to regroup, as he struck out Josh Reddick and then got Daulton Varsho on a great play by Crawford, who threw to Darin Ruf to end the inning.

That would be the score up until Slater hit that two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning that gave the Giants the lead for good.

Long went four innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, walking one and struck out six on the evening.

The quintet of Littell, Alvarez, Dominic Leone, Tyler Rogers and Jake McGee went the final five innings, allowing one unearned run on three hits, walking one and striking out seven. Leone pitched the seventh inning, his only inning of work, as he allowed a hit and struck out one, ended up the getting his second win of the season.

Rogers came on in the top of the eighth inning, where he gave up a hit and struck out that then bridged into closer Jake McGee, who struck out one and picked up his 16th save of the season.

Faria went four innings for the Diamondbacks, allowing four runs on seven hits, walking two and striking out three.

Thairo Estrada, who hit a grand slam in the top of the ninth inning on Friday night made a huge mistake on the bases just prior to the Yastrzemski walk and the Slater home run. Estrada walked with one out; however, he was picked off at first base by pitcher Ryan Buchter that was challenged by Gabe Kapler, but the call was upheld.

Crawford picked up three hits on the evening, including a double that gave him 616 in his career, passing J.T. Snow for ninth-most since the Giants moved to California in 1958.

NOTES: Prior to the game, as the Giants reached the halfway point of the season, the Giants were 51-30 (.630) at the halfway point of the 2021 campaign and the .630 mark is tied for the third-best winning percentage in the SF-era (1958-present) at the halfway point of the season and only the 1993 Giants (53-28, .654) and the 1962 club (52-29, .642) were better.

When Estrada hit his first career grand slam in last night’s win, it was the fifth grand slam by the Giants this season,
which is third-most in the Majors behind the
Braves and Dodgers, who each have seven
apiece entering play today…Estrada became
the sixth Giant since at least 1900 to hit a HR in
his first start with the team…the last to do it was
OF Alex Dickerson, who also did it here in Arizona on June 21, 2019.

Estrada joins Crawford, Brian Dallimore, Alberto Castillo and Bobby Bonds as the only players to hit a grand slam in their first ever game with the Giants.

UP NEXT: Anthony DeSclafani goes for his ninth win of the season on Sunday evening, as the Giants close out the series, while the Diamondbacks will send left-hander Caleb Smith to the hill, as he looks for his third win of the season.

Estrada goes 3-for-5 including a grand slam in Giants win 11-4

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The San Francisco Giants Thairo Estrada belts out a ninth inning grand slam against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix on Fri Jul 2, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jeremy Kahn

If the San Francisco Giants (51-30) wanted to get out of their recent rut, they needed a change in their lineup and they may have found it in Thairo Estrada.

All the youngster did was go three-for-five, including a 431-foot grand slam in the top of the ninth inning and the Giants put an end to a season-high four-game losing streak with a 11-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks (23-61) at Chase Field. This was the seventh win in eight games for the Giants over the Diamondbacks this season.

The Estrada grand slam broke open a close game, helping Alex Wood to his eighth win of the season for the Giants, who maintained their half-game over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West, after the Dodgers defeated the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park by the final score of 10-5.

Estradas grand slam came with two outs after Buster Posey walked, then Austin Slater grounded into a double play and then the Giants way to break the game wide open began. Brandon Crawford drew a walk, then Wilmer Flores reached on a throwing error by Nick Ahmed that allowed Crawford advance to third base, after a walk to Steven Duggar that loaded the bases, Estrada launched a J.B. Bukauskas pitch deep into the left field seats.

Wood went the required five innings, as he allowed two runs on four hits, walking three and striking out eight before giving way to the bullpen.

It was a tough night for the Diamondbacks pitching staff, as their starter Zach Gallen was forced to leave the game in the top of the third inning with a strained hamstring and then manager Torrey Lovullo was forced to use his bullpen for the rest of the game.

Prior to leaving, Gallen went two innings, allowing three runs on five hits, walking three and struck out three, as he saw his record fall to 1-4 on the season and the Diamondbacks lost for the 25th time in their last 28 games.

Crawford, like Estrada also picked up a three-hit game in four at-bats and scored twice in the big win for the Giants, who continue to have the best record in the National League.

Lamonte Wade, Jr., who was surprisingly sent down to Sacramento a few weeks back continues his hot hitting, as he went 2-for-3 with a run scored and three runs batted in that included his seventh home run of the season.

Wade drove in the first run of the game, as he hit a sacrifice fly that scored Flores and then Mike Yastrzemski drove in the second run of the inning with a single that scored Duggar.

Alex Dickerson then added to the Giants lead, as he hit a solo home run deep into the Phoenix night, as it landed 415 feet away from home plate.

After the Diamondbacks began to cut into the Giants lead, Wade hit a two-run home run to give the Giants a 7-2 lead and they needed those runs, as the Diamondbacks began to comeback.

Edwin Escobar and Pavin Smith each hit solo home runs in the bottom of the eighth inning off of Jimmy Sherfy that saw Jake McGee get up at the end of the inning, as he was getting ready to come on to close the game; however, that all changed when Estrada hit the grand slam the put the game away for the Giants.

NOTES: Buster Posey was officially selected to his seventh All-Star Game. Posey won the fan vote at catcher and has been selected to start the game by the fans for the fifth time in his career (first time since 2017). With five fan elections, he joins Barry Bonds (12 fan selections) as the only players in Giants history to be voted in by the fans at least five times and Posey joins Hall of Famers Johnny Bench (10), Gary Carter (8) and Mike Piazza (11) as the only NL backstops with at least five fan elections.

The Estrada grand slam was the fifth of the season, for the Giants, joining Brandon Belt, Duggar, Mike Tauchman and Yastrzemski.

Since the 2019 season, the Giants are 12-5 in their 17 games at Chase Field against the Diamondbacks and have hit 17 home runs during this time and have also outscored the Diamondbacks 100-71 in those 17 games.

UP NEXT: Sammy Long will go for his second win of the season, as he takes the mound on Saturday night, while the Diamondbacks will start Jake Faria, who is 0-0 on the season.