Pitching propelled the Giants into the first three weeks of the season, but with a night off in that department, the team turned to power instead.
Buster Posey returned after missing two days with a swollen left elbow and beating two homers, and Tommy La Stella added his first season, a two-run shot. Then came the free kick, the eighth inning that included not one, but two home runs in three rounds – by Alex Dickerson and Wilmer Flores – in a 10-7 victory that gave the Giants the victory of the series in Philadelphia, with a game yet to be played.
“It was time to put our foot down on gas and run a few runs,” Dickerson said. “And we managed to do it against a very tough pitching staff, so it was an excellent victory for the team.”
Dickerson’s Homer gave the Giants their first lead of the evening, and Flores’s was a powerful blow. Both came off Connor Brogdon, who did not allow a run in his previous 12 outings last season and gave up just three shots in total in the six 2021 appearances he entered on Tuesday.
“The kind of offensive production like tonight isn’t going to happen every night, but I think it’s more of the kind of crime we have,” said manager Gabe Kapler. “It also exemplifies one of the strengths of our team, which is our bank.
“Whenever we put a starting line there, it’s always difficult, because we know we have a few bats on the bench that should play regularly for us every day.”
Posey, who had a three-shot night, collapsed on his elbow in Miami on Saturday and wore a substantial elbow protector on Tuesday. That didn’t stop him in any way: in the fifth half, he smashed a slider from Zack Wheeler’s first step to 428 feet on the left. In the sixth, he did the same on a 3-2 diver, sending him 396 feet to the left.
It was Giants’ first multi-homer game of the year – and Posey’s first on May 28, 2016.
“I thought his swings were great,” Kapler said. “He had a lot of confidence since he stepped into the batter’s box today. He had mentioned that he was fine and ready to leave. ”
Posey, who gave up last season because he and his wife, Kristen, had just adopted twin girls who were born prematurely, has four homers in his 11 games.
“People seem to forget when he didn’t play last year how good he really is,” Dickerson said. “It was amazing. It was great to see him come back, to see that fire again and how he handles a pitching staff. And obviously, what he did with the bat is similar to what he did 10 years ago. ”
Although the offense did, the pitching was not as sharp as usual. Starter Logan Webb, back in rotation while Johnny Cueto misses at least two starts with a wide stalk, allowed four rounds, three of them on a homer by Brad Miller in the third.
Webb had an extraordinary source, allowing running in only 17 innings. But it was a different story since: Webb allowed 10 runs in four outings, three starts and 15 innings. “I think a little bit of him is just his ability to work maybe through a few rough patches in the game, maybe there are a few pitches here and there,” Posey said before the game.
Jarlín García, who also struggled to open the season, gave up a two-round shot to Alec Bohm in the fifth, and his ERA is 8.53. Jake McGee, on the COVID-19 list after two days of side effects from the second vaccination, gave up a solo explosion by Rhys Hoskins in the ninth.
Brandon Belt, who made a superb catch over the shoulder in the wrong field in the seventh, left the game at the bottom of the ninth, with what Kapler described as a tight four.
Susan Slusser covers the Giants for The San Francisco Chronicle. E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @susanslusser
The Giants hit five homers in four innings to explain all of their races in a 10-7 victory in Philadelphia on Tuesday night. Here’s a look at the five balls that cleared the fences.
Hitter |
round |
HR type |
Buster Posey |
5th |
Solo |
Tommy La Stella |
5th |
2-run |
Posey |
The 6th |
Solo |
Alex Dickerson |
The 8th |
3-run |
Wilmer Flores |
The 8th |
3-run |