Alex Dickerson hit THREE home runs--the first multi-homer game of his career--and the Giants clobbered the Rockies tonight in Coors Field. It was a sustained multi-hitter attack as the lineup scored at least one run in each of the first eight innings! Dickerson wound up with five hits (the others were doubles, one a booming near-homer), a walk, five runs scored, and six runs batted in. He tied a club record with 16 total bases (held by Willie Mays). Naturally, with 27 hits and 23 runs, there were hitting stars up and down the lineup but it is worth noting that young Joey Bart had three hits, two runs scored, and a run batted in. Donovan Solano and Brandon Crawford both had six RBI nights, and Mike Yastrzemski made another great catch. It was one of those nutty games but a hell of a lot of fun. The Rockies "only" used six pitchers (one was catcher Drew Butera) and they threw a combined 228 pitches!
Kevin Gausman allowed just two hits, both solo shots, and both by shortstop Garrett Hampson. Hampson would probably be the story on another night, but not tonight. Gausman was pulled after five innings and 87 pitches (5 K, 1 BB) and that was probably smart. Pitching in Denver is more "quit while you're ahead" than "go get a few more outs." Andrew Suarez pitched a scoreless 6th and 7th but came out after yielding two runs in the 8th. Wandy Peralta got the final five outs, giving up a run in the 9th.
Dickerson's first homer was a 480-foot moonshot, the longest by a Giants hitter since a 475-footer by Brandon Belt in 2015. That's when Statcast started tracking such things. Trevor Story is credited with a 505-foot satellite launch against the Giants two years ago, that's #1 on the Statcast list, but anything over 450 feet is prodigious. Dick is a big part of the team's plans but he's had a slow start to this abbreviated season. He had four hits in the two wins in Anaheim but still came into tonight's contest slashing an ugly .221/.299/.355 line, well below expectations. We know he's talented, but can he stay healthy and be a consistent, productive hitter? I sure hope so.
Infielder Daniel Robertson made his Giants debut and had a hit and a run scored subbing in the 7th for Evan Longoria (who had two hits). Robertson was on the taxi squad and was acquired for "cash considerations" from the Rays last month. He replaced OF Joey Rickard (60-day IL) on the roster and is a right-handed hitter who plays mostly second base but also has experience at third and short.
Logan Webb gets the start tomorrow (12:10 Pacific). The Rockies counter with lefty Kyle Freeland.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
p.s. Three teammates in the same game each getting six runs batted in is a first since 1920 when the RBI became an official statistic.
1 comment:
The Giants are THIRD in all of baseball with 195 runs scored. The Padres (211) and the Dodgers (210) have the two top spots.
Wow. Tell me you saw that coming! It looks like the Giants have a solid lineup. They are averaging 5.27 rpg (6th best) which beats the MLB average of 4.69!
In 2019 they were 4.19, third from the bottom. In 2018 they were 3.72, second from the bottom. In 2017 they were 3.94, second from bottom.
The new management team deserves a lot of credit for a dramatic improvement, mostly fueled by nobodies (Yaz, Solano, Flores, Dick, Slater) and rejuvenated vets (Belt, Craw, Longo).
Now if they can get a similar improvement on the pitching side . . .
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