Bats Bounce Back

SF 11  AZ 4

Every hitter in the Giants starting lineup got at least one hit. The only exception? Buster Posey, the best hitter on the team. Buster was walked twice but didn’t figure in the scoring. The coup de grâce was delivered by FNG Thairo Estrada who hit a grand slam in the 9th. He had two hits and an RBI before that. LaMonte Wade, Jr. had a two-run homer, continuing his streak of excellent play, and Alex Dickerson broke out of his funk–we hope–with a homer. Brandon Crawford had three runs batted in and Steven Duggar scored three times. Starter Alex Wood struggled with command but still struck out eight in his five frames. He came up with some big pitches, mostly with the slider, when the game was still in the balance. Jarlin Garcia and Dominic Leone had an easy time in the 6th and 7th, but Jimmie Sherfy gave up two homers in the 8th, both solo shots. Zack Littel did the mop-up work in the 9th. That was the 81st game, the halfway mark of the season, and the Giants are 51-30.

Estrada is 25 years old and from Venezuela. He came up with the Yankees and mostly played second base but added a little shortstop, third base, and even some outfield. He’s a righty hitter and was tearing it up at AAA. He has yet to find his ML stroke but he’s only had 128 ML PA. With Mauricio Dubon struggling the Giants needed to make a move. Estrada  is probably not as skilled a defender as Dubon but he may have more upside as a hitter.

Sammy Long starts tonight at 7:10 PT.

Go Giants!

–M.C.