San Francisco Giants: Williamson Ruins Home Run Record Chase

The San Francisco Giants were closing in a major league record, one they set in 2011, but outfielder Mac Williamson had other plans.

Solo home runs are kind of the San Francisco Giants’ thing. Entering Wednesday’s game with the Chicago Cubs, the Giants had hit 38 home runs on the season, and 32 of them were with no one on base. Their last 18 home runs had been worth one run. When Denard Span took Kyle Hendricks out of Wrigley Field for a home run in the third inning on Wednesday, it was their 19th straight solo dinger.

See, this isn’t new for the Giants, though. Back in 2011, they mastered the art of the solo home run. From July 6th to August 14th that year, over a month, they strung together 21 consecutive solo home runs. It started in a big way, with Nate Schierholtz hitting a walk-off bomb in the 14th inning against Pat Neshek to beat the San Diego Padres. Over a month and a week later, plus 20 solo home runs later, Cody Ross‘ two-run home run off Chris Volstad in the third inning on August 14th snapped that streak.

21 solo home runs in a row is a major league record, and the 2017 version of the Giants were challenging. Their own run at the dubious, but highly amusing record began on May 8th. It started in New York with Buster Posey, who hit a 6th inning solo job against Mets’ starter Jacob deGrom. Hunter Pence had hit a two-run home run in the first inning of that game, and little did we know at the time, it would be the last multi-run Giants’ home run for a while.

Starting with the Posey home run on May 8th, the Giants would hit 19 home runs over the next 16 days. Posey and Brandon Belt each hit five of those home runs (including Posey’s relief-inducing walk-off, 17th inning shot on May 12th). Span contributed three, including the one he hit against the Cubs on Wednesday. Justin Ruggiano and Eduardo Nunez added a pair each, while Brandon Crawford and Joe Panik both added one.

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The 2017 Giants’ lineup was just two home runs away from tying their own record, but Mac Williamson decided he didn’t want to take part in the strange collection of home runs. He had to work hard to do it, but Williamson ended the solo streak in the ninth inning on Wednesday with a two-run home run.

Facing Cubs’ closer Wade Davis, who entered the game with a sparkly, shiny 0.00 ERA and just one unearned run allowed in 17.1 innings, Williamson battled his heart out. After a pitch outside the zone to open the at-bat, Williamson fouled a ball away and swung through another to fall behind 1-2. From there, he went directly into battle mode.

Davis dragged Williamson through the garden, showing him every pitch and in just about every location. Williamson, who shortened his stride step just a hair with two strikes, fouled away the next six pitches, including four-seam fastballs, cutters, curveballs, pitches up and in, pitches down in the dirt, and pitches down and away. Williamson somehow made contact with all of them before the 10th pitch in the at-bat was too far down and in to chase, missing the zone to even the count at 2-2.

On the 11th pitch of the at-bat, Davis threw another fastball down and away, but this one wasn’t far enough down or far enough away. Williamson didn’t miss the opportunity, lofting a flyball to right field with an approach he showed off quite well in Spring Training and in his first few games following the call-up. Jason Heyward chased back and leapt at the wall, but the baskets hanging over the field kept it away from the Gold Glover’s leather and ended the chase for solo home run history.

It’s been so long since the Giants hit a two or more-run home run that they apparently forgot how to trot the bases when they aren’t alone. Williamson nearly ran into the back of Nunez, who was on first base when he hit the home run, and Nunez had to turn and tell him to take it easy while the two strolled from third to home.

The home run, Williamson’s first of the season and seventh of his career, was the first Davis had allowed since September 24th, 2015, and the first in 257 batters faced. It was also the Giants’ first non-solo home run in 605 plate appearances as a team.

The two-run blast wasn’t enough to pull the Giants back from a three-run deficit. A controversial strike three call to Panik ended the game with the Giants still down a run and with the potential tying run on second base.

Next: Giants 3 Up, 3 Down: Third Straight Series W

But maybe without that stigma hanging over their heads, hitting home runs with runners on base can be more commonplace. It would certainly help.

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