In the first three recaps that I covered for MCC, the Giants scored three runs in 27 innings and went approximately 0-for-two billion with runners in scoring position. It wasn’t a me problem (or so I liked to think): the Giants had RISP woes that dated back throughout August. While the Giants had the sixth-most runs in baseball through the All Star break, that stat dropped to 14th in baseball for the month of August. So you can imagine my trepidation when I decided to cover this game; despite scoring 10 runs yesterday night, I was convinced their run woes would come back to haunt me.
It was not to be. The San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies, 12-3. Over the last 7 days, the Giants are slashing .281/.363/.500 with runners in scoring position. They’ve scored 35 runs on just 7 home runs, a stark reversal from the early trends of the season, where it seemed they couldn’t buy a run but for it leaving the ballpark. They scored nine runs tonight before hitting a home run; and yes, there’s the Coors effect to consider, but the Giants are also having purely good at-bats, the kind that give you the warm and fuzzies because the reverberating sound of bat on ball is just so pure it feels like warm Ghirardelli hot chocolate on a cold San Francisco night.
After an August that saw Posey hit below league-average (99 wRC+) for the first time since 2019, he’s having a monster September with a 162 wRC+ through the first four games. He added onto that tonight, going 1 for 5 with a double that scored Brandon Belt. According to the broadcast, it was the first time since moving to San Francisco that the Giants have had three straight doubles to open a game; Buster’s double came on the heels of a LaStella leadoff double and a Belt double shortly thereafter. A triple double, if you will; the only superior kind of double trouble to a Double-Double animal style, unless of course we’re discussing Double-Bubble, which would be entirely another muddle.
The Giants, having no illusions about the dangers of Coors (as Miller said on the broadcast, it’s remarkably easy to put up a “crooked number” in this ballpark) decided to ease all our fears and continue scoring with abandon even though they had the three runs cross the plate in the first.
This included the pitcher. Webb, now nicknamed Webb-tani in my headcanon, decided to do it himself and hit an RBI double for his first at bat that drove in Steven Duggar after the latter’s leadoff triple. Webb isn’t necessarily a good hitter … he had a -33 wRC+ before this game, but his 5 RBIs on the season actually tie him for 4th-overall in that category among pitchers (minimum 30 PA).
Speaking of triples and Steven Duggar, Duggar decided to show off his wheels again in a later inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, Duggar hit a bases-clearing triple that brought the score to 8-1 Giants.
Since rejoining the Giants, Duggar has had six hits in fourteen at bats, with three triples and a double. Triple triple, but just a single double. We should be befuddled!
Mike Yastrzemski also added on to the Giants total, driving in runs 10, 11, and 12. The first two came from his first home run since August 28th, a 433-foot moonshot that drove in Evan Longoria, and the last one came from a single to right in the top of the ninth that also scored Longoria. Yaz getting hot would come at a perfect time, so the two good at-bats plus a walk he added on earlier give encouraging signs that he may be turning his slump around.
You may have noticed I have not yet mentioned the pitching. This is not because it was bad, or unexciting: rather, it was extremely exciting, as we got a nice little Webb gem and quality start, as well as a major league debut from Kervin Castro.
Webb went seven innings, allowing three earned runs on nine hits with six strikeouts and no walks. It was the first time in fifteen starts that Webb has allowed more than two earned runs, the longest such streak in San Francisco Giants history. Only seven players in all of MLB history have had a longer streak than Webb, according to the broadcast.
Kervin Castro made his major league debut, allowing no runs on two hits across two innings of work. Castro has had an excellent season in AAA, pitching 44.0 innings with 60 strikeouts and a 2.86 ERA. He’s just 22, but could be a key right hander down the line for the Giants to anchor their bullpen.
Partially to get Castro MLB experience, partially to save an exhausted bullpen — the Giants managed to get through today’s game using just two pitchers, and have an offday just around the corner on Thursday. First, they have one more game against the Rockies, and are now guaranteed a series win. They’ll go for the sweep tomorrow.
