SF Giants Press Clips Saturday, April 28, 2018 San Francisco Chronicle Giants beat Dodgers, take advantage of Baez blunder John Shea Pedro Baez fell off the mound. There was no gust of wind that made him tumble. Nobody pushed him. He didn t faint. He simply got his spike caught as he delivered a seventh-inning pitch. And that s essentially how the Giants beat the Dodgers 6-4 in the opener of a four-game series. Because a runner was on third base during Baez s mishap, a balk was called. Gorkys Hernandez scored, breaking a 4-4 tie. Moments later, Joe Panik s sacrifice fly scored Kelby Tomlinson, and another chapter of Giants-Dodgers lore, this one goofier than most, was in the books. Wow, Tomlinson said. It kind of took me off guard. It was kind of confusing. I thought it was a balk, but nobody was really saying anything right away. Crazy, Hernandez said. I mean, I knew it was a balk, but I was trying to be patient until the umpire said you can score. The Giants trailed 4-2 before their unusual game-deciding rally in the seventh inning that began with Brandon Belt s bunt single, included run- scoring hits from, of all people, Hernandez and Tomlinson, and featured the mother of all balks. The Baez moment reminded old-timers of the tale of Stu Miller, a Giants reliever who supposedly was blown off the mound in the 1961 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park. That didn t happen exactly like that, but it remains a heck of a story. Baez didn t need a nudge from Mother Nature. His fall was all on him, and it proved costly. 1
It happens occasionally, said manager Bruce Bochy, recalling Santiago Casilla s walk-off balk in San Diego in July 2016, the result of the former Giants closer tripping off the mound. You take it, though. That s a big run there. Five relievers combined for 5 2/3 scoreless innings. Tony Watson pitched into and out of an eighth-inning jam, stranding two runners when retiring Austin Barnes in a 12-pitch at-bat. Hunter Strickland pitched the ninth and earned his sixth save. Bochy said he s not concerned with his bullpen being taxed heading into Saturday s doubleheader, especially because of Thursday s off day and the fact all five relievers worked a clean inning and needed no open to bail them out. Plus, reliever Derek Law will be added as a 26th man. We ll manage our way through this, Bochy said. It could ve been worse. But because of the job the pen did, it didn t force us to get other gups up. They put up zeros so we kept their workload short. The Giants opened the scoring with solo home runs in the second inning by Evan Longoria and Brandon Crawford. Longoria s traveled 425 feet and barely reached the MacBleachers, the section in right-center that Mac Williamson reached with ease the other day. Crawford s landed in the right-field arcade. The Giants have 27 homers this season, tied for fourth most in the National League. Quite a change from last year when they homered just 128 times, by far the fewest in the majors. Handed a 2-0 lead, Derek Holland gave it back and then some. The Dodgers rallied for four runs in the fourth inning on RBI doubles by Yasmani Grandal and Yasiel Puig, and when pitcher Hyu- Jin Ryu also doubled to drive in a pair, Bruce Bochy had seen enough and pulled Holland. The frustrating part was the walks, said Holland, who issued four walks, one to Matt Kemp to begin the Dodgers rally. I let them come back into the game and made it harder for our guys. That s not like me. I earned this spot in spring training, and I ve got to keep plugging away. I m not going to get too caught up in all this stuff because I know what I m capable of. As Holland struggles one quality start among five and a 5.76 ERA another lefty is dominating in the minors and could pitch his way into a long-term rotation spot. That would be Andrew Suarez, who s expected to be called up Tuesday to start against the Padres. The Giants need a sixth starter because of the double-header, but Suarez could force the issue if he pitches anywhere close to how he s pitching in the minors: 1.93 ERA and 1.157 WHIP with 23 strikeouts and nine walks, though four of those walks came in a chilly and wet season opener in Tacoma following a 1½-hour rain delay. After facing three batters over the minimum in seven innings Thursday at Raley Field, where he 2
struck out nine and walked one and 63 of his 85 pitches were strikes, Suarez said, I haven t had my command this good in a while. San Francisco Chronicle Giants Williamson expected to play Saturday, Osich to DL, Slater called up and sent down John Shea Three days after colliding with a wall pursuing a foul ball, Mac Williamson was placed in concussion protocol, but he passed a variety of tests and avoided the concussion disabled list. I expect Mac to be in the lineup tomorrow, manager Bruce Bochy said after Friday s win over the Dodgers. Williamson didn t feel immediate symptoms Tuesday after tripping over a bullpen mound and slamming headfirst into a wall. In fact, he hit a 423-foot homer in his next at-bat, his third homer in five games. But he was scratched shortly before Wednesday s first pitch with a stiff neck. On Friday, Bochy said, He didn t have any symptoms but did get a little lightheaded when doing some baseball activity a couple of days ago. That s why he was shut down. He has not shown any symptoms since. To ensure they d have a deep bench Friday, the Giants called up outfielder Austin Slater from Triple-A Sacramento. Slater struck out as a pinch-hitter and was optioned to Sacramento after the game. In other transactions, reliever Josh Osich was placed on the disabled list with a hip strain, Chris Stratton (whose wife gave birth to a baby girl Wednesday) was reinstated and will start Saturday s opener and reliever Derek Law was desigated as the Giants 26th man for Saturday s double-header. Little faster start than I m usually used to, said Slater, who homered, doubled and singled Thursday to boost his Triple-A average to.358. I usually start out slowly and get my feet wet and start rolling. But coming out of the gate, I m hot this year so far and trying to keep the momentum I started last year when I was up here. Williamson s on-field tests included batting practice he put on another impressive show Friday running and catching fly balls, and he was checked by doctors. Briefly: Hunter Pence (right thumb sprain) played right field in his first rehab game at Sacramento because the Giants don t want to move Chris Shaw out of left field.... Andrew Suarez remains likely to start Tuesday against the Padres. Thursday in Sacramento, the lefty faced three batters over the minimum in seven innings of one-run, three-hit ball.... Bochy confirmed reliever Will Smith (Tommy John surgery) will join the bullpen Tuesday or 3
Wednesday. Smith looked good in back-to-back appearances in Sacramento and will make one more rehab outing Sunday.... Reliever Mark Melancon began his throwing program Thursday, playing catch from 60 feet. San Francisco Chronicle Saturday s Dodgers-Giants doubleheader a look into the future Bruce Jenkins If you re a passionate sports fan and had designs on a Saturday getaway say, a camping trip in the wild you might want to reconsider. The Warriors host Game 1 of the second round, the Sharks have a big game in Las Vegas, and a kid throwing 100 mph will spice up the Giants- Dodgers rivalry at AT&T Park. That s quite a doubleheader the Giants have lined up. The 7 p.m. nightcap finds Johnny Cueto facing the Dodgers Alex Wood, and those are two of the most effective National League pitchers to date. But it s the first game, with a 1 p.m. start, that has gained the scouts attention. Chris Stratton, who looks like a fixture in the Giants rotation for years to come, will face righthander Walker Buehler, the best prospect in the L.A. system and perhaps the down-the-line successor to Clayton Kershaw as the Dodgers ace. Buehler made his first start of the season on Monday against Miami and threw a first-inning pitch clocked at 101 mph reported to be the second-fastest pitch in the big leagues this season (behind St. Louis reliever Jordan Hicks; the Angels Shohei Ohtani subsquently joined the party, hitting 101 against Houston on Tuesday). At 6-foot-4 and 175 pounds, built along the lines of lean and long-necked teammate Cody Bellinger, Buehler has a bit of swagger about him. And it appears we re about to see a pure, power-against-power matchup between the former Vanderbilt star and Giants outfielder Mac Williamson, if he is cleared to play. How s this for a collegiate pitching staff: As Vanderbilt prepared for the best-of-three national championship series against Virginia in 2014, the club had a choice between Buehler and Tyler Beede, who had just been drafted by the Giants, to start the opener. Buehler got the nod, getting knocked around in a game the Commodores eventually won, and after Beede took the loss in Game 2, Vanderbilt clinched the title with a 3-2 win. A year later, after Buehler wrapped up his junior year, the Dodgers made him their first-round pick despite the alarming news that he was headed straight for Tommy John surgery. They have no regrets. Walker is a bit of a meteor just now, replacing disabled Rich Hill in the rotation and likely to return to the minors after Saturday s start, but he will be back. He s pretty cocky, and we like that, said the Dodgers Kike Hernandez. We expect a lot of him. He s a stud. The fantasy game 4
Speaking of which: Sonny Gray is having a difficult time in the Big Apple. The former A s star should have it made back there, playing alongside sluggers Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, fast-rising catcher Gary Sanchez and a crop of infielders so excellent (Didi Gregorius and potential stars Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar), the Yankees won t feel compelled to trade for Manny Machado or pursue him on the free-agent market. Struggling with his command and declining velocity, Gray has a 7.71 ERA and awoke last week to the New York Post headline, Gray Awful Again. With the boos raining down, the self-assured Gray said it s no big deal. To me, it s not a life-or-death situation. To which Fred Kerber replied in the Post, No, it s not. In New York, it s far more important than life or death.... Between the Pac-12 Network and inperson looks, we ve seen Darren Baker play second base for Cal in seven recent games. Just a freshman, Dusty s kid is a graceful, athletic defender and a dangerous hitter with his line-drive stroke and speed. Nice, too, to see Dusty at every one of those games. Bits and pieces on Warriors-New Orleans: Noted trash-talker Rajon Rondo is seeing that quality emerge in backcourt teammate Jrue Holiday, telling reporters, It s a different side of him. He s playing with a lot of rage. I love every minute of it.... Note to Shaquille O Neal and everyone else still saying it wrong: That s Rah-john Rondo, not Ray... The teams final regular-season game was meaningless, but the finish was a bit embarrassing for Kevin Durant, who was stripped by Rondo in the final minute to clinch the Pelicans victory. Durant would love an encore of that matchup, as well a revival of his three-point shot (10-for-40 of late)... Pelicans GM Dell Demps played at Hayward s Mount Eden High School, University of Pacific, the semipro Bay Raiders and the Warriors (just two games, 1993-94) in his day... A different way of looking at things: San Antonio coach Ettore Messina described the Warriors stifling defense as extremely cynical... Where hasn t Jim Barnett been? The Warriors esteemed analyst broke in with Bill Russell s Celtics in 1966. He played for the original version of the Houston Rockets the expansion San Diego Rockets the following season. And when you look up the first NBA team to play in New Orleans the 1974-75 Jazz there s Barnett on the roster, averaging 13 points a game before a midseason trade to the Knicks... And by the way, let Utah come up with some other name. New Orleans should always be the Jazz. MLB.com Tomlinson stars in Giants' weird winning rally Chris Haft SAN FRANCISCO -- Kelby Tomlinson provided order and offense to a scenario that lacked both qualities, which helped make the difference in the Giants' 6-4 victory Friday night over the Dodgers. Tomlinson lined a pinch-hit double off left-hander Tony Cingrani to drive in one of the four seventh-inning runs that erased Los Angeles' 4-2 lead before a howling AT&T Park audience. "That's his biggest hit of the year," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Tomlinson, who himself came around to score on Joe Panik's sacrifice fly. 5
Tomlinson's hit followed Brandon Belt's ill-advised dash from second base to third on Austin Jackson's grounder and preceded the awkward balk committed by Dodgers reliever Pedro Baez, who toppled off the mound, looking like a child learning to ride a bicycle, when his spikes caught in the dirt. Though Tomlinson receives few chances to make an impact in his role as a utility infielder, his productivity against the Dodgers shouldn't have been surprising. He owns a.324 career batting average as a pinch-hitter. "He has a short swing, a base-hit swing," Bochy said. "He doesn't strike out much. You feel comfortable that he's going to put the ball in play." That's Tomlinson's constant goal when Bochy brings him off the bench to hit. "I just try to go up there and compete," Tomlinson said, "It's my first at-bat of the day, so you just have to try to figure it out as you go." Though Tomlinson had faced Cingrani just once, he had a sense of how he would compete against the Dodgers reliever. "He throws a lot of fastballs," Tomlinson said. Additionally, with Gorkys Hernandez at first base, Tomlinson wanted to avoid grounding into a double play. "I looked for something to try to get the ball in the air," Tomlinson said. He didn't, but he made such solid contact on his smash to left field that it might as well have been a drive off the wall. The Giants' run total was their second-highest of the season against the Dodgers, who limited them to one or zero runs in five of their previous six meetings. This time, the scintillating pitching belonged to the Giants, who surrendered four hits in 5 2/3 shutout innings after starter Derek Holland allowed all of Los Angeles' runs and four hits in 3 1/3 innings. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Getting ahead of the hitter, no matter who's at the plate, is one of baseball's biggest musts. Holland violated that unwritten law by falling behind on the count 2-0 against Hyun-Jin Ryu before the Dodgers hurler grounded his two-run, fourth-inning double. Though Holland eventually evened the count at 2-2, he worked harder than he had to against a relatively inexperienced hitter. 6
SOUND SMART Though Belt did not hit a home run Friday night, he's one short of matching his personal onemonth high of seven, which he reached in May 2015 and August 2015. Two other months in which Belt hit six homers were April 2014 and May 2017. Two Giants who did go deep, Evan Longoria and Brandon Crawford, hiked San Francisco's home run total to 14 in the last nine games. UP NEXT The Giants will challenge Los Angeles in Saturday's day-night doubleheader with their top starters, at least based on this year's performance. Proud papa Chris Stratton, whose wife gave birth to the couple's second child (daughter Mary) on Wednesday, will pitch the 1:05 p.m. PT opener at AT&T Park opposite Walker Buehler. Opponents are hitting.178 off Stratton, who's 2-1 with a 2.32 ERA. In the 7:05 p.m. PT nightcap vs. the Dodgers' Alex Wood, the Giants will go with right-hander Johnny Cueto, who leads the Majors with a 0.35 ERA. San Francisco is 3-1 when Cueto starts. MLB.com Williamson cleared after concussion scare Chris Haft SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants outfielder Mac Williamson will rejoin the club's lineup Saturday, having passed the various tests included in Major League Baseball's concussion protocol Friday. Had Williamson not met the proper standards, he likely would have been placed on the sevenday concussion disabled list. As part of baseball's concussion protocol, Williamson took batting practice and performed baseball-related activities. "I expect Mac to be in the lineup tomorrow," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said after Friday's 6-4 victory over the Dodgers. Williamson's health issues resulted from a collision with the wall near the Giants' bullpen as he chased a fly ball Tuesday night. The mishap left Williamson with a stiff neck. He had excelled in five games since being recalled from Triple-A Sacramento, batting.316 with three homers and six RBIs. Williamson was prohibited from speaking to reporters as part of the concussion protocol and thus wasn't available for comment. Other roster moves were made or impending: Left-hander Josh Osich went on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to Thursday, with a strained right hip. He was replaced on the active roster by outfielder Austin Slater, who rivaled Williamson at Sacramento by hitting.358 with 13 RBIs in 14 games. However, Slater will return to Triple-A on Saturday to make roster room for right-hander Chris Stratton, who will return 7
fom paternity leave to face the Dodgers in the first game of the doubleheader. Right-hander Derek Law arrived Friday from Triple-A for his stint as the Giants' 26th man during the doubleheader. Due to Saturday's doubleheader, the Giants will need to summon a starter for Tuesday's game against San Diego at AT&T Park to give everybody in the rotation his usual rest. The leading candidate to make that spot start is Sacramento left-hander Andrew Suarez, who allowed four runs in 5 1/3 innings in his Major League debut and absorbed the decision in San Francisco's 7-3 loss to Arizona on April 11. NBC Sports Bay Area Belt bunts, beats shift, and ignites Giants comeback vs Dodgers Alex Pavlovic SAN FRANCISCO Brandon Belt didn t score a run Friday night. He was thrown out in the inning that decided a game with the Dodgers. He spent part of the bottom of the seventh with his arm around Joe Panik on the dugout bench, hamming it up for a camera that had the red light on. But Belt had a big impact, kickstarting an odd rally that led the Giant to a 6-4 win, and he did so in a fashion that has been in the making for years. Belt has always put bunts down for hits in spring training, hopeful that National League West foes will stop shifting him so aggressively once the season starts. He has rarely had such success after opening day, but he was leading off the seventh inning Friday with the Giants trailing by two. He finds it easier to bunt against lefties, and the Dodgers had brought in a tough one in Tony Cingrani. On a 3-1 count, Belt pushed a perfect bunt toward third. It had an exit velocity of 41 mph and landed eight feet from the plate, but that was more than good enough. It was just the right situation, he said. We needed baserunners. It seemed like the right thing to do. You always want to get that extra-base hit and get in scoring position but at that point of the game we just needed runners and to get momentum. I needed to get on base. When you get on base, stuff happens. You get people on base and you put pressure on the pitcher. It makes it tougher to throw strikes. Things did happen once Belt reached. Crazy things for most teams, but things that seem all too normal when the Giants are rolling at AT&T Park. Belt advanced on a wild pitch but was thrown out on a fielder s choice grounder by Austin Jackson. Then, the lineup started churning. Brandon Crawford walked. Gorkys Hernandez 8
singled. Kelby Tomlinson hit a pinch-double. Pedro Baez caught a spike on the mound and tripped for a balk that gave the Giants a lead. The trail runner went to third and scored on Joe Panik s sacrifice fly. Bochy has seen Santiago Casilla balk in a run in a similar way. When Baez did it, the ballpark erupted. You take it, the manager said. Cingrani, who later was described as having dead arm, looked uncomfortable once the momentum started rolling the other way. Bochy said Belt s bunt ignited things, and credited him for continuing to work on the skill into his 30s. He s worked at it. He worked on it this spring and I think he sees that it s a base hit, Bochy said of Belt, who had beaten the shift that way twice this season. He s got the timing down there on the bunt. It hasn t been easy for him because he s not a guy that s bunted a lot, but he worked hard on it this spring. The rest of this one didn t go according to plan, but it still worked out. Derek Holland lost his command in the fourth but Pierce Johnson, Cory Gearrin and Sam Dyson kept the Dodgers at four runs. Once the Giants scored four in the bottom of the seventh, Tony Watson and Hunter Strickland closed it out. For a moment, the Giants looked like they would lose the opener and burn through their bullpen a night before a doubleheader. Instead, they re fine, and Derek Law will join Saturday as the 26th man. Chris Stratton will return to take Austin Slater s roster spot. NBC Sports Bay Area Giants return to strange roots, win series opener vs Dodgers Alex Pavlovic SAN FRANCISCO The Giants have all of a sudden hit homers like a normal team, and in recent days Bruce Bochy has answered a few questions about that more traditional way to get offense. To come back Friday, though, the lineup went back to its strange roots. The Giants trailed 4-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh, but they gave Tony Watson a lead with a downright bizarre rally. Brandon Belt led off with a bunt single, but he was hung up at third on a fielder s choice grounder. After that, it went: walk, single, double, balk (Pedro Baez tripped off the mound), sacrifice fly. It added up to four runs and a lead. Hunter Strickland closed out a 6-4 win in the ninth. The Giants struck first in a series that will include four games in 48 hours. Here's what else you need to know... - Belt s bunt single came on a 3-1 count while leading off and down two runs. It really was the 9
perfect spot for it, and Enrique Hernandez didn t even get a throw off after coming over from his shifted position. That s the second time Belt has done that this season. He s currently batting 315. - Remember that slow start from Evan Longoria? He has changed the perception quickly. Longoria hit a solo shot in the second to open the night s scoring. The homer was his fifth, and has him on pace for 32 in his first year in orange and black. - Longoria later hit a blast that was run down on the track in deep left-center. The ball went 372 feet, the exact same distance as Yasmani Grandal s shot to right in the next inning that Andrew McCutchen tracked down in Triples Alley. Grandal dropped his bat like he had hit one into the bay and then shook his head as he rounded first. This is a cruel ballpark. - Austin Jackson was hitless in two at-bats against Hyun-jin Ryu, hit into a fielder s choice against Tony Cingrani, and struck out against Scott Alexander. He was brought here to hit lefties and he s 10 for 48 against them with no extra-base hits. - Derek Holland got over his first inning issues, but this time he didn t make it through the fourth. Holland went 3 1/3 and allowed four earned on four hits and four walks. It looked like he might get out of a jam, but battled during a nine-pitch at-bat and then pulled his hands in on a sinker and chopped a two-run double down the line. That was it for Holland. NBC Sports Bay Area With Williamson out of lineup again, Giants recall Austin Slater Alex Pavlovic SAN FRANCISCO The taxi squad was more of a caravan on Friday. Derek Law got the word in the morning that he needed to head from Sacramento to San Francisco, and as he was on the drive, Austin Slater got the same call. Slater is officially active Friday, taking the roster spot of Josh Osich, who has a groin strain. Law likely will be the 26th man for Saturday s doubleheader, although some moves are still up in the air because of Mac Williamson s state. Williamson was out of the lineup for a second straight game after hitting the padded wall in left while trying to make a catch. He was lightheaded while working out Wednesday and thus went into the concussion protocol, but he has had no symptoms since and manager Bruce Bochy believes Williamson will play Saturday. Right now he s got zero symptoms, Bochy said. But this is part of the deal when you have the possibility of having a concussion. Williamson did fielding drills and took BP on Friday afternoon and appeared to be his normal self. 10
--- In theory, Slater s stay could be temporary. The Giants are not going to carry six outfielders and they ll have a decision to make if Williamson is fine and everyone gets through Saturday s doubleheader unscathed. But, Slater also probably should be here regardless. It s hard to argue that he s not one of the five best outfielders in the organization and he was batting.358 with a 1.077 OPS in Triple-A at the time of his promotion. It s a faster start than I m usually used to, he said. I m coming out of the gate hot this year so far, and I m trying to keep the momentum I started last year when I was here. Slater batted.282 as a rookie and he can play all three outfield spots. He s not someone you would really start in center, but he has spelled Steven Duggar there this season for the River Cats and can handle it in a pinch. He also has played second base and shortstop as a professional and played third base in college. Recently, he started taking grounders at first. I m still fresh with the taco at first, he said. (Slater was asked to repeat that excellent quote. He laughed and clarified that the taco is the first base glove.) The point of all this: The Giants should probably take advantage of Slater s versatility. The Dodgers came into town with three catchers, with Austin Barnes starting at second base and Kyle Farmer playing third. They put an infielder Chris Taylor in center field last year and watched him take off. It really does seem like Slater should be on this team in a more varied role. --- Mark Melancon played catch Thursday for the first time since being shut down at the end of March and said he felt good. He did so again Friday. It will be a slow crawl, but this is progress. --- Hunter Pence will play four to five innings for the River Cats tonight. You know everything you read above about Williamson and Slater? Well, Pence is obviously in the outfield mix, too, but this is complicated, and the Giants will take their time. We re going to give him a few at-bats there to where he s comfortable, Bochy said. Translation: With what Williamson is doing, the Giants are in no rush with Pence's rehab assignment. --- Chris Stratton s wife, Martha Kate, gave birth to an adorable daughter on Wednesday. Stratton is expected back in San Francisco for Saturday s doubleheader. 11
The Athletic How a bunt, a tumble and some group trust carried the Giants to a come-from-behind win against the Dodgers Andrew Baggarly Yes, Brandon Belt knew the dugout camera was pointed at him when he put his arm around Joe Panik and allowed his teammate to affectionately stroke his beard. Oh, I knew, Belt said. I just wanted to show everybody how much I love Joe. The era of good feeling is upon the Giants. They continue to hit home runs, likely at an unsustainable pace. But now their lineup is beginning to rediscover more inventive methods of circling the bases. Sometimes crooked numbers begin as a crime of opportunity. Belt and Panik started and ended one of the most productive innings of the season Friday night a four-run output in the seventh that resulted in a 6-4 come-from-behind victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&T Park. A couple of shots into the arcade? A bases-clearing double to the gap? Try a bunt single against the shift. And a sacrifice fly. And between those two events, a walk, run-scoring hits from two players (Gorkys Hernandez and Kelby Tomlinson) who entered with one RBI between them, and a slip on the rubber from Dodgers pitcher Pedro Baez that resulted in a balk that scored the tiebreaking run. The inning didn t send anyone s slugging percentage soaring. But when it results in a home victory over your archrival, especially one in which your starting pitcher couldn t get out of the fourth inning, and when it leaves you in less than dire shape entering a doubleheader the following day, how could anyone in a two-flaps down giveaway hat be caught grumbling? That s huge for us, Belt said. We needed an inning like that, grinding out at-bats and getting those runs in. To me, that s going to get us where we need to be. We can t rely on home runs in this ballpark. If we can do more of that, we ll be a force for sure. Belt had homered in five of his previous seven games, with six total this season. He was one home run away from setting a personal best for a single month. But when he led off the seventh against Baez with the Giants down two runs, the Dodgers played their usual infield shift. The left side of the infield was unmarked leftovers in the office fridge. And Belt was not above helping himself. It s the second time he successfully bunted against the shift this season not counting his check-swing single that broke up Patrick Corbin s no-hitter in Arizona and this one wasn t a show-me attempt to try to keep the defense honest. It was a full-fledged stratagem. 12
I just got better at it, honestly, Belt said. I feel a lot more comfortable and confident doing it, even with one strike. Before, with one strike, I didn t want to chance it. But it was the right situation, and we needed baserunners. That was a tough pitcher. He s throwing good stuff. It seemed the right thing to do. Belt did not score he was thrown out trying to go from second to third on Austin Jackson s fielder s choice to shortstop but he put left-hander Tony Cingrani in the stretch and the Giants made it tough on him from there. Brandon Crawford walked and Jackson scored on Hernandez s single. Then Tomlinson came off the bench and Cingrani fed a pitch into his simple swing for a tying double. Baez entered and the matchup with the mound proved troublesome. He caught a cleat or slipped on the rubber or otherwise had a spasmodic episode that allowed Hernandez to score the tiebreaking run, Panik put bat on ball for his sacrifice fly that capped the rally. It matched the Giants fourth largest inning of the season, and it was their biggest inning that did not involve a home run or an error. The Giants entered having scored 55.3 percent of their runs on the long ball, and two more from Evan Longoria and Crawford off Hyun-Jin Ryu in the second inning gave them a 2-0 lead. By the end of the night, their 27 home runs was fourth in the NL and they were on pace to hit 103 this season at AT&T Park, which would be their most since 2000, the inaugural year of the ballpark at China Basin, when they hit 110. This lineup has more power than last year s group that finished dead last in the major leagues. But relying on the home run, especially at home, is probably not the most sustainable way to build a path to winning series. At some point, the Giants must improve their hitting with runners on base. They entered with a.172 average with runners in scoring position; Crawford (.071), Longoria (.118), Panik (.118) and Andrew McCutchen (.160) have not performed to the backs of their baseball cards in those situations. As Bruce Bochy has said often, these are good hitters and it s a matter of time before they start to come through in the clutch. Until they do, though, that belief cannot begin to erode in subtle ways. If Belt sees an opportunity to get on base with a bunt, and leave it up to the next guy, that s what he has to do. When you get on base, stuff happens, Belt said. While the Giants probably cannot bank on an opposing pitcher s pratfall to score the go-ahead run night after night, the fact that Belt put his trust in his teammates and sacrificed his slugging percentage is a good indication that belief in one another remains intact. 13
The same holds true for the bullpen, which minimized a potential disaster while firing 5 2/3 scoreless innings. It might have counted as a major contribution just to work efficiently and save bullets for Saturday s doubleheader. The relievers did better than that to keep the game close and give the Giants a chance to steal this series opener. Tony Watson again inspired one to wonder why the hell the Dodgers didn t attempt to re-sign him after last season. He gave up a couple of ground-ball singles in the eighth but worked around them, surviving an 11-pitch confrontation with Austin Barnes to strand two runners. And Hunter Strickland struck out two in the ninth while recording his third save out of four games on this homestand. That s the key to any bullpen I ve been in, Watson said. You know the guy in the ninth inning will anchor it down and it s up to everybody else to figure out how to get those outs and get him the ball. Sometimes you ve got to pick up the phone early, but having that anchor helps the manager piece the game and the outs together. It s especially big in the National League with double switches. You have a plan and you re able to make it work. So many times in the past three seasons, Bochy would set up an inning around matchups or double-switch while looking an inning or two down the road only to have it blow up when the pitchers couldn t execute their part of the equation. Thus far, Bochy s moves are working out. Seems like a lot of bullpens throw electric stuff all over the place, but it s about how you piece those weapons together, Watson said. Boch is one of the best at that and I ve watched it from afar for a long time. It s always been impressive and it s something I wanted to be a part of. Home runs are great. So are complete games. But teams learn to rely on one another when they have to scramble to see their way to a handshake line. That s when you have to trust every club in the bag. That s when players learn to trust their teammates. The Giants had to make some creative shots out of the thick stuff Friday night. But with two games on Saturday, and Chris Stratton and Johnny Cueto on the mound, they ll be just fine, thank you, to build their day around a pair of drives that split the fairway. Notes: Mac Williamson, who banged his head against the wall in foul ground Tuesday, was put through the concussion protocol and responded well following pregame work that included batting practice. Bochy said he expects Williamson to avoid the 7-day concussion DL and be in the lineup Saturday. The club placed left-hander Josh Osich on the 10-day DL with hip discomfort. Outfielder Austin Slater, who struck out as a pinch hitter, was optioned back to Triple-A Sacramento following a one-day stay. Right-hander Derek Law will be added as the 26th man Saturday. Hunter Pence went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and scored a run in his first rehab game for Sacramento. Dodgers phenom Walker Buehler, who throws 100 mph, 14
will be the Dodgers 26th man and will start Game 1 vs. Stratton. Left-hander Alex Wood will oppose Cueto. 15