Justin Verlander shook off a 39-pitch first inning to complete 5 innings of scoreless ball and Rafael Devers had a breakout game to give Verlander his first Win as a Giant. Key Lines:
Heliot Ramos LF- 2 for 5, 2B, R. BA= .267. Ramos also made a diving catch in shallow L-CF to take away a hit and even a potential double.
Rafael Devers DH- 3 for 5, 2 HR(19), 2 R, 4 RBI. BA= .264. Breakout game for Devers. The first home run as all wrists as he was way out in front but kept his hands back long enough to hook it with a wrist flip. TV broadcast said it was the second lowest pitch hit for a HR in MLB this season. Those are some strong wrists! Second HR came one pitch after he was knocked down by a heat-seeker at the ear. He took a long time to take inventory after that knockdown and a few very deep breaths then crushed the next pitch out of the park. This was Devers third consecutive multi-hit game and first multi-homer game since the trade. He suddenly looks a lot happier and more confident and that's a very good thing for the Giants.
Matt Chapman 3B- 1 for 2, HR(14), BB, HBP, 2 R, 2 RBI. BA= .243. The HR was crushed to R-CF. Chapman got hit on the hand with a pitch later in the game and Brett Wisely PH for his final AB. Hopefully just a precaution and due to the Giants large lead.
Casey Schmitt 2B/3B(.245), Dominic Smith 1B(.250), Patrick Bailey C(.208) and Luis Matos CF(.173) each had a hit. Bailey's hit was a double. Smith, Bailey and Matos had RBI's and Smith and Matos scored a run each.
Justin Verlander RHP- 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 4.70. Verlander walked the bases loaded in the first inning and things looked so bad there was activity in the Giants bullpen. He got out of it but threw 39 pitches and looked unlikely to pitch the required 5 innings for a Win. He settled down and got through a full 5 allowing just 3 more baserunners and 59 more pitches. By the time he officially exited the game the Giants had a 6-0 lead and Verlander had his first Win of the season and first as a Giant. Hopefully he will have a few more before he's done.
Ryan Walker RHP(4.35), Joey Lucchesi LHP(1.93) and Tyler Rogers RHP(1.51) pitched scoreless frames out of the bullpen. Sean Hjelle RHP(7.71) gave up a 3-spot in the 7'th inning but completed the inning.
The Giants find themselves in a much better place than 2 days ago and will have a happy flight and a day off at home tomorrow. Logan Webb RHP starts the first game of the homestand and weekend series against the Mets Friday Night facing Clay Holmes RHP who comes in with a 3.48 ERA but 4.58 over his last 7 starts.
As a critic of his performances this season, I couldn’t turn away today from the TV … to see Verlander fight back through the 5th was one of the most remarkable pitching turnarounds I’ve seen all season. And say what you want about Javier Lopez as an announcer, but his knowledge of pitching gave this broadcast a really gripping analysis to what Verlander was trying to do. If nothing else, one of this generation’s best pitchers will now have a win in the books as a San Francisco Giant!
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