San Francisco Giants 3 Up, 3 Down: Winners in Washington
The San Francisco Giants clinched the season series against a good ballclub in the Washington Nationals, taking two of three in the capital.
1 – The Crawford Show
For most of the Giants, Sunday was their last time playing at Nationals Park this season. It certainly wasn’t Brandon Crawford’s last game in Washington. The Crawford show continued strong on Sunday, keeping his ridiculous hot streak alive and well.
Facing the reigning two-time NL Cy Young Award winner, Crawford was the offense. He tagged Nats’ ace Max Scherzer for a two-run home run in the fourth inning, breaking a scoreless tie. That would be the only scoring on the day for either side.
Crawford collected four hits on the day (three off Scherzer), including a pair of doubles, and he added two more hits (both doubles) on Friday. He was hitting .189 at the end of April, but now finds himself fourth in the National League batting average race at .338. He’s also tied for fifth in the league with 18 doubles, and sits right behind his teammate Brandon Belt in slugging (.536) at seventh. Crawford will certainly be an All-Star. He looks like a player who can be more than that, though.
2 – Out-dueling the Best
Outside of Crawford, Scherzer pitched an absolute gem on Sunday. The home run represented the only two runs he allowed, and he allowed just one hit to players not named Crawford while striking out nine. The Giants needed a strong pitching performance to make those two runs stand up, and Derek Holland was up to the task.
He only went five innings as his pitch count continued to creep up throughout the day, but he allowed just three hits and two walks in his five innings, keeping the Nationals off the board. He struck out four, and did not allow a hit with a runner in scoring position.
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Quietly, Holland remains a steady presence in the rotation. He’s not going out and dominating opponents every fifth day, but he’s giving his team a chance to win. He has allowed three or fewer runs six times in his last eight starts, which has given the Giants a chance to win five of those games.
3 – The Heart of the Bullpen
Part of the reason the Giants can afford to have five-and-dive outings like the one they got from Holland is the emergence of their bullpen as a dominant force. They have six legitimate late-inning options, with Reyes Moronta, Tony Watson, Sam Dyson, Will Smith, Mark Melancon, and Hunter Strickland occupying spots.
That group of six continued to nail down games in Washington. In 9.2 combined innings, the group allowed just five baserunners and one run while striking out seven. After Holland’s day ended, they combined for four shutout innings and didn’t allow a hit.
It’s turning into a theme for the Giants. They can go to the bullpen early because they have so many dominant arms down there that can lock down games. Combined on the year, the sextuple has combined for a 1.91 ERA and 1.015 WHIP, and have racked up 140 strikeouts in 137 innings. The Giants have to be careful not to wear these guys out completely, but they have been lights out so far this season.