Lewis Brinson – Sports Radio Service

By Morris Phillips

David Villar’s pair of home runs kept his late-season audition humming along, but the Dodgers had responses to Villar and the Giants in their 7-3 win on Wednesday afternoon.

The Giants 2-0 lead was eclipsed by Justin Turner’s three-run homer in the fifth off Alex Cobb. Then in the eighth, Trea Turner doubled, scoring Austin Barnes to give the Dodgers a 4-3 lead. Two batters later, Max Muncy’s three-run shot put the game away, and officially eliminated the Giants in the NL West race.

“I wanted to get the ball in the air on that one,” Muncy said. “We have the fastest guy in baseball (Trea Turner) on third base.”

The Giants suffered consecutive losses to the Dodgers after their five home run performance on Monday. That leaves them 28 1/2 games out of first place with 27 games remaining.

So what’s next? A trip to Milwaukee for a doubleheader with the Brewers on Thursday, followed by a weekend in Chicago with the Cubs.

While the Giants would love to catch fire and challenge the Brewers and Padres, who are holding the last, two playoff spots, just surviving the condensed schedule this week would be admirable. A revolving door roster, giving several guys opportunities to shine, will help ease the grind.

Currently at the top of that list are Villar and Lewis Brinson, after the pair both homered three times in the series.

“We’ve talked the last couple of days about how instrumental David can be to the future of this franchise,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “I see him as a guy who’s setting the stage for what might happen next season.”

Even more impressive than Villar’s 30 combined home runs at Triple-A Sacramento and San Francisco with the Giants is his enthusiasm. Clearly, he senses the opportunity to grab a regular role at first or third base with Wilmer Flores, Brandon Belt and Evan Longoria unlikely to return next season. Homering off Clayton Kershaw in the fifth inning to give the Giants a lead just intensified his aspirations.

“He’s a historic pitcher,” Villar said. “But my job is to do exactly what I did. I got a mistake slider that was over the heart of the plate, and I know that I’m capable of driving the ball to the right side of the field.”

Villar doubled down in his next at-bat in the seventh, with a home run to the same area in the bleachers that tied the game, 3-3. The second shot victimized reliever Jeff Bruihl and his cut fastball.

Outside of Villar, the Giants’ offense did little with their other six base hits contributing to seven men left on base. Flores, Longoria and Austin Wynns each suffered 0 for 4 afternoons.

NOTES: Luis Torres is traveling with the club and expected to pitch on Thursday. Jakob Junis, who was the scheduled starter, Sean Hjelle and Scott Alexander are also likely to pitch with their roles to be determined. Bryce Johnson, the outfielder, was optioned to Sacramento.

By Morris Phillips

Five days ago, Giants’ manager Gabe Kapler said this:

“The main issue for us is we haven’t been as good in the (strike) zone. I think earlier in the season, we were much better at driving balls in the zone.”

Don’t recall that quote that Kapler issued after his team dropped a third straight to the Padres on Wednesday?

Probably not. But apparently his team did. Seven home runs, eight doubles and a triple in the last four games suggest the Giants got the message. And four, straight wins, including Monday’s eye-opener, a 7-4 win at Dodger Stadium may also suggest they haven’t closed the book on the 2022 season.

Or foreshadowing other areas to shore up.

“The home runs were big,” Kapler said. “I think we at least equally won the game with some defense.”

After Freddie Freeman homered to give the Dodgers a 2-0 first inning lead, the Giants were left to check the weather (95 degrees at first pitch) and see what they could glean from the scouting report on opposing pitcher Andrew Heaney (only seven home runs allowed, but six of those in his most recent three starts).

A plan of attack emerged (rake!) and the Giants followed it intently.

In the third and fourth innings, Lewis Brinson, J.D. Davis, Thairo Estrada and David Villar went deep to give the Giants a commanding 6-2 lead. In the ninth, with the Giants nursing a 6-4 lead, Brinson went deep again. If you know this quartet, you’ve exhaustingly followed a rough season. If not–Brinson’s arrival came on Thursday after the slugger languished in the Astros’ farm system all season–here’s help: we’ll call them the next generation of Giants’ sluggers.

Monday’s haul was just the third time the Giants have hit five homers in a game at Dodger Stadium with the feat previously achieved in 1999 and 2004. The win broke a seven-game losing streak to the Dodgers and provided hope. That’s not easily achieved when you trail your rival by 26 1/2 games in September.

“It’s fun when you win, especially here in LA,” Villar said. “As a team, it just feels like we’re gelling.”

Defensively, Brandon Crawford and Evan Longoria provided gems with Longo’s leaping catch of Freeman’s smash ending the fifth inning and preventing the Dodgers from scoring what would have been a big run.

Logan Webb was extremely honest regarding Freeman’s homer (“The Freeman pitch was not a great pitch. I can’t throw that guy anything.”) but he also was a winner. Webb settled in, didn’t give the Dodgers anything else, and earned his 12th win in his 28th start (both career bests).

The Giants look for an improbable, fifth, consecutive win on Tuesday with Tyler Anderson on the mound for the Dodgers. The Giants have not yet announced a starter for Tuesday.