San Francisco Giants Morning Minute: Unusual Name Leads Offensive Onslaught

On this edition of the San Francisco Giants Morning Minute, we discuss an unusual name leading the offensive charge, and a Giant poking fun at himself.

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Good morning, San Francisco Giants’ fans, and welcome to another edition of the Giants Morning Minute. On Tuesday, the Giants shook off their disheartening loss from Monday, hanging a 15-spot to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in game two of their four-game set. Johnny Cueto earned his 11th win of the season, while Wilfredo Boscan took the first loss of his young career.

The Los Angeles Dodgers also won on Tuesday, earning their fifth straight victory. Even while going on a hot streak, they have only been able to pick up one game in the division. They remain 5.5 games back in the National League West.

Here’s what went on Tuesday.

1 – Gillaspie (?!?!) Leads the Onslaught with a Big Night

It’s incredible how quickly things can turn around in baseball. One night after being completely shut down in a 1-0 loss, the Giants’ offense woke up with a monster night. The team scored a season-high 15 hits, and racked up 22 hits, the most by any team this season. Everyone got involved in the fun, but maybe the most surprising person in the party was new third baseman Conor Gillaspie.

One day after it was revealed that everyday third baseman Matt Duffy would be heading to the disabled list with an achilles strain, Gillaspie took over what will likely be a mostly everyday role. He responded with his best night as a Giant by far, picking up four hits and driving in four runs.

After flying out in the third inning, Gillaspie launched a home run to right field, his second as a Giant, in the fourth inning. The ball was crushed, and nearly left PNC Park and made a landing in the Allegheny River. The two-run blast made it 5-0 Giants, and the team could have stopped scoring at that point. They didn’t, and neither did Gillaspie.

He brought home another run in the fifth inning with a single. His third hit was another single in the seventh inning. His fourth hit (the second time in his career he’s reached that plateau) drove in another run, his fourth of the night (third time he’s done that).

It wasn’t just Gillaspie that had a fine day at the plate, obviously. The struggling Denard Span picked up three hits and three RBI. Angel Pagan hit a grand slam, the second of his career. Gregor Blanco picked up three hits, including a pair of doubles. Brandon Belt, Buster Posey, Ramiro Pena, and Jarrett Parker all collected two hits, with the latter two players coming off the bench.

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2 – Brandon Belt Pokes Fun at Himself

All things considered, Brandon Belt had a pretty nice day yesterday. He hit a pair of doubles in six at-bats to give himself a team-leading19 two-baggers on the season, the fifth-best total in the National League. But he also struck out three times, including to a position player in the ninth inning. Pirates’ catcher Erik Kratz junked Belt to death, eventually getting him to swing and miss at a 79-mile-per-hour changeup (at least that’s what MLB.com is calling it).

Even with the Giants comfortably ahead, Belt still, understandably, caught some grief for that.

But Belt was a good sport about the whole thing, posting his response not long after the game ended.

And to prove that he’s sharp-witted when it comes to the Twitter machine, Belt had a hilarious response that was almost as awkward as he is, when a Pirates’ fan thought Belt was making fun of Kratz, rather than himself.

Belt’s a great hitter, but he’s a great Tweeter too.

Next: Giants Morning Minute: Baseball is a Game of Inches

And that will do it for this edition of the Giants Morning Minute. Up next, the Giants and Pirates butt heads in game three of their series, with Jeff Samardzija and former Giants’ farmhand Francisco Liriano taking the mound.