San Francisco Giants 3 Up, 3 Down: Winning Series Against Arizona

The San Francisco Giants played tough against the Arizona Diamondbacks, winning two of three against a team in the hunt for a playoff spot.

3 UP

1 – A New Left Fielder

In his first full series back from the disabled list, Jarrett Parker got a pair of starts against the Diamondbacks and made both of them count. He flashed the leather all weekend, making a spectacular sliding catch in left field on Saturday and picking up two outfield assists, one on Saturday and another on Sunday. His throw to the plate was one of the biggest plays of the day on Sunday, as he completed a double play with an absolute strike to cut down J.D. Martinez before he could score and ended an Arizona rally.

His bat has been on fire since coming back as well, and he played a huge parts in both wins during the series. On Saturday, he got the scoring started by lacing a double off the wall in the seventh inning, and ended the game in the 10th inning with a walk-off single that beat the shift. The next day, he erased a 1-0 deficit in the second inning by crushing a Patrick Corbin offering way beyond the center field wall for his first home run of the season.

In three games since returning, Parker has been the offensive threat the team hoped he could be coming into the season. He’s gone 6-13 with four extra-base hits (three doubles and the home run), and has driven in seven runs. He’s driven in more than one run in all three games. Parker has two months left in the season to make some noise, and he’s gotten off to a great start.

2 – Second Catcher Playing Big

Nick Hundley was the starting catcher on both Saturday and Sunday, and he brought his big lumber with him. Giving Buster Posey a day off on Saturday, Hundley collected three hits, including a double off the center-field wall in the second inning. Even the only out he made that day was impressive, as he nearly hit another opposite field home run at AT&T Park. Instead, he was mere feet short, but Hundley continues to show off impressive strength to right field.

Posey was at first base on Sunday, giving Hundley another start. He made it count with a big hit in the fifth inning, sending a single up the middle to add two insurance runs and bring the lead to 6-2.

Hundley has turned in a mighty fine season as Posey’s understudy, owning a more than respectable .271/.292/.452 slash-line as a backup catcher. His 22 extra-base hits rank him seventh on the team, despite having over 130 at-bats fewer than anybody ahead of him on the list.

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3 – What a Relief

Albert Suarez‘s last two outings didn’t go quite as planned, giving up four runs in 3.1 innings and taking a loss in extras to the Dodgers. On Sunday, he was back on the mound and looked as good as ever. He entered in a sticky spot, with two outs in the seventh inning and two runners in scoring position. Facing former All-Star A.J. Pollock, Suarez finessed him into a groundout to end the threat, and effectively sealed the game at that point.

Suarez worked quickly through the eighth, going 1-2-3 through the heart of Arizona’s order in Jake Lamb, Paul Goldschmidt, and Martinez. A one-out single in the ninth would be the only runner Suarez allowed, and he sealed the deal with a pair of strikeouts to close out his first career save.

Entering Sunday, Suarez averaged 92 miles per hour on his fastball, but he brought the heat against the Diamondbacks. He threw 19 fastballs on Sunday and averaged 93.8 mph on the pitch, even reaching as high as 95.6 in the ninth inning. Add that in with a curveball that comes through in the 70s and Suarez can be a real weapon out of the bullpen.