San Francisco Giants & The Week That Was: Week Four Back on Track

Play of the Week: Gregor Blanco Flies

Gregor Blanco is pretty good at this whole fourth outfielder thing. He’s made a living out of always being available when the Giants need him, and coming up in big spots. On Wednesday in the series finale against the Padres, the Giants needed Blanco’s skillset.

In the sixth inning, Blanco pinch hit in the pitcher’s spot and stayed in the game as the left fielder, giving Angel Pagan a bit of a breather while the Giants had a big, eight-run lead. That big lead shrunk a little bit, and by the eighth inning, the Giants’ advantage was down to five. After Cory Gearrin issued a one-out walk, Derek Norris stepped to the plate with aspirations of cutting into that lead a bit more.

On the first pitch, Gearrin let a sinker wander over the middle of the plate, and Norris put a good swing on it. Though Norris’ stick shattered, the ball rocketed off his bat, making a beeline for the left-center field gap in between Blanco and center fielder Denard Span. Blanco got on his horse and galloped to the ball’s eventual destination, and went into a full dive. He stuck his glove out while his body was nearly parallel to the ground, and as he landed on the outfield grass, he found the ball wedged in the webbing of his glove.

As he took a minute to regroup after sliding on his chest along the outfield grass, Blanco received a nice ovation from the home fans for potentially saving a run and keeping the lead exactly as it was.

It’s a great luxury for the Giants to have a guy like Blanco.

Next: Giant Killer of the Week