San Francisco Giants 3 Up, 3 Down: They Beat San Diego!
The San Francisco Giants took care of business again, taking two of three from the Padres to win their fourth straight series.
3 UP
1 – Role Players Stepping Up
Backup catcher Nick Hundley was the star of this San Diego series. He only received one at-bat in the first two games of the set, but he made the most of it. With the bases loaded, two outs, and the Giants trailing by a run, Hundley smacked a Brad Hand offering into center field to score a pair, giving the Giants a walk-off win to open the series.
He got the start on Wednesday with Buster Posey getting a rest day, and he again made the most of it. He opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first inning, laced a double off the wall in left field to start the second inning, and broke the game open with a two-run home run to right field in the fourth inning. He added another double in the sixth, giving Hundley his sixth career four-hit game and his first as a Giant.
Alen Hanson had a nice day filling in at second base on Tuesday, collecting a hit, stealing a base, and scoring the first run of the day while also adding some stellar defense. Austin Jackson is also starting to wake up, and giving the Giants what they envisioned when they signed him: a right-handed hitter who can be a lefty killer. He had an RBI single on Monday, then drove in a pair on Wednesday with a double.
2 – The Rook
Andrew Suarez was brought up to be a spot starter on Tuesday, and pitched brilliantly in his second start as a big leaguer. He gave the Giants some much-needed length after such a long weekend, going seven innings and needing only 84 pitches to do so. He allowed just two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out five.
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
Suarez did many of the same things he did in his first start. He controlled the zone well, and was able to comfortably pitch inside and outside. When he got into trouble, he was able to quickly get himself out, inducing three groundball double plays to end potential threats before they really started.
Most importantly, Suarez looks like he belongs. He hasn’t seemed to be in over his head at any point, and the Giants can use that confidence moving forward. The rotation continues to be ravaged by injuries, and Suarez isn’t heading back to Sacramento any time soon. Some more performances like his start on Tuesday would be welcome with open arms.
3 – Finishing Strong
The Giants won their fourth straight series with their triumph against the Padres, completing a 7-3 homestand that put them back over .500. This one feels like it’s the biggest one of the four, because the Padres have given San Francisco such fits recently. The Giants had won one of the previous 10 series with San Diego, losing eight and splitting one four-game set.
San Francisco has won nine of their last 13 games, and they’ve averaged 5.1 runs per game in that stretch. In their first 18 games, they averaged just 2.8 runs and lost 11 of those contests.