Longoria, Posey go yard for SF, beat Seattle
Giants veterans Buster Posey and Evan Longoria have combined for more than 20 years of major league service time, earned nine All-Star nods, won five Silver Sluggers and brought home four Gold Glove Awards.
At this point in their respective careers, the days of competing for and receiving individual awards are behind them. The days of leading the Giants to victory, however, might still be alive and well.
Following a gut-wrenching loss on Opening Night, Posey and Longoria each homered for the second straight game while the team’s reigning Silver Slugger Award winner, Donovan Solano, delivered the go-ahead hit in
a resilient 6-3 victory over the Mariners.
The Giants blew a fiverun eighth inning lead on Thursday, but came from behind to secure their first win of the season Friday thanks to contributions from their eldest players.
After Posey, 34, put the Giants on the board with a solo homer in the third inning against Mariners starter Yusei Kikuchi, Longoria, 35, launched a gametying blast into the right field bleachers in the top of the sixth.
Solano, 33, who had two hits on Thursday, put the Giants ahead for good with his third hit of Friday’s game on a two-run seventh-inning double that scored Brandon Crawford and Mike Yastrzemski. With reliever Drew Steckenrider on the mound, the hitter known in the Giants’ clubhouse as “Donnie Barrels” yanked a 3-1 fastball that was well off the inside corner down the left field line.
The Giants’ next hitter was Longoria, who dribbled a seeing- eye single up the middle to bring home Solano for his third RBI of the night.
After the Giants used five relief pitchers on Opening Night behind starter Kevin Gausman, the club was hopeful starter Johnny Cueto, 35, could provide length that would prevent a number of key relievers from needing to throw on back-to-back nights.
In the early innings, Cueto didn’t appear as if he was ready to save the bullpen.
Cueto needed 29 pitches to navigate through a lengthy second inning and after Posey homered to tie the game in the third, the Giants’ starter battled command issues and gave up a pair of runs in a rough third inning.
With his pitch count climbing and the Mariners gaining confidence, Cueto turned the tables on Seattle by staying as unpredictable as possible. The veteran finished his outing by picking up a strikeout on a changeup, a flyout on a fastball, a pop-up on another fastball and inducing a double play groundout on a slider.
Cueto threw 105 pitches, relying heavily on his offspeed offerings as he mixed in 29 sliders, 28 changeups, 25 fastballs, 19 sinkers and three curveballs, according to Statcast.
Manager Gabe Kapler lifted Cueto after he threw 5 2/3 innings, which required the Giants’ bullpen to get 10 outs a night after it failed to preserve a five-run lead with six outs to go.
Left-hander Wandy Peralta recorded the first four outs before Tyler Rogers pitched a clean eighth inning, allowing the Giants to turn the ball to Jake McGee for the second straight night. 24 hours after the team gave its fans a taste of Giants torture, McGee had a drama-free ninth inning with a 1-2-3 frame to seal the win.