San Francisco Giants Morning Minute: The Best Retaliation Possible

On this edition of the San Francisco Giants Morning Minute, we discuss the Giants getting their own measure of revenge, a big return, and another All-Star.

More from Golden Gate Sports

• Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
• 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
• Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
• 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
• 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve

Good morning, San Francisco Giants’ fans, and welcome to another edition of the Giants Morning Minute. On Friday, the Giants opened their series with the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 6-2 win. Jeff Samardzija earned his ninth win, while Patrick Corbin took his seventh loss.

The Los Angeles Dodgers also won on Friday, beating the San Diego Padres 10-6. The Giants’ lead in the National League West remains at 6.5 games. The next-closest team is the Colorado Rockies, who are third and 15 games back.

Here’s what went on Friday.

1 – Giants Get Revenge in Best Way Possible

Things became pretty chippy between the Giants and Diamondbacks on Friday. In the second inning, Samardzija lost control of a fastball (a common sight in the first two innings), and plunked Jean Segura, who had taken Samardzija deep on the first pitch of the game. Samardzija had labored through the first inning for 30 pitches, and had already put a runner on with one out in the second. Could he have been throwing at Segura? Sure. But that is not the situation in which to do so. His command was not very good early, and that looked like a running fastball that ran too far.

Arizona didn’t see it that way. In the bottom half of the inning, Corbin threw his second pitch way inside, nearly clipping Buster Posey‘s knees. The next pitch was well behind Posey. Warnings were issued by home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott, and manager Bruce Bochy was ejected for arguing that a warning should have been laid down on the first pitch that ran way in tight on Posey.

Like a great manager should, Bochy was sticking up for his players, and his star player Posey, specifically. After the game, he said he “can’t have Buster being a target…I had enough of it”. The manager’s résumé speaks for itself, but it’s things like that which makes him a great player’s manager, and one of the best in the business.

On the field, Brandon Crawford took matters into his own hands, and it didn’t take long after the funny business. Posey would take ball four, bringing Crawford to the plate. On a 1-2 pitch, Crawford slugged a center-cut fastball into the foggy night sky, and took a bit of time to subtly flip the bat away and watch as the ball landed just above the green line on the right-field wall.

Crawford wasn’t done there, as he added a run-scoring single in the third inning, a walk in the fifth, and a double in the seventh. Maybe he’s a little angry about not being an All-Star, too.

More from San Francisco Giants

• Thank you SF Giants for a fun, wild, surprising 2020 season
• SF Giants lose in heartbreaking fashion and miss 2020 MLB playoffs
• SF Giants: Mike Yastrzemski named 2020 Willie Mac Award recipient
• SF Giants: Chadwick Tromp placed on IL with shoulder strain
• SF Giants: Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners postponed

2 – Romo Relaxes Things in the Bullpen

Still fresh off the disabled list, Sergio Romo made his second appearance since being activated. He didn’t quite look sharp on Monday in his re-debut, but he was back at it again on Friday, and looked like the Romo that was such a big part of three World Series teams.

After allowing a leadoff single to Paul Goldschmidt in the eighth inning, Romo quickly settled in, striking out the next three batters in order. That included a pair of lefties, perennial Giant killer Jake Lamb, and pinch-hitter Chris Herrmann.

The no-dot slider, Romo’s go-to pitch for so long, was as good as it was before his injury. Though Romo facing left-handed hitters has never been an easy proposition, that slider got him through danger when both Lamb and Herrmann swung through it for strike three.

Romo being back to his old self would be an incredible boost to the Giants’ much-maligned bullpen. Getting through the eighth inning becomes a much easier task with Romo throwing sliders through bats on a consistent basis.

3 – Belt is an All-Star

Posey, Madison Bumgarner, and Johnny Cueto need to make a little room in San Diego, as they’ll have one more teammate with them. Brandon Belt won the Final Vote, and for the first time in his career, will get to represent his team in the MLB All-Star Game.

He celebrated on Friday by taking things easy, walking leisurely to first base after seeing ball four in four different at-bats. He’s now at 53 walks for the season, fifth-most in the National League and just four shy of setting a career-high. He took 56 walks in 556 plate appearances last season. He’s currently 200 plate appearances shy of that total.

Next: Giants Morning Minute: A Pair of All-Star Cases

And that will do it for another edition of the Giants Morning Minute. Up next, the Giants and Diamondbacks continue their three-game series, with Jake Peavy taking on Robbie Ray.