Yastrzemski’s third HR settles matters
PHOENIX — When the eggheaded documentary on the year of the superjuiced ball is written, footage from Friday night’s game at Chase Field will be spliced into every section.
Even for 2019 it was nuts — the kind of nuts tht Mike Yastrzemski enjoyed and will not soon forget.
The 28yearold rookie slammed three of the 12 homers that the Giants and Diamondbacks produced, one short of the majorleague record for combined homers in a game that the D’backs and Phillies set earlier this year.
Yastrzemski’s third of the game, and the Giants’ sixth, broke an 11thinning tie and sent the Giants to a 109 victory. He became the first Giant since Jarrett Parker in 2015 to hit three in a game. He hit them off three pitchers: righthanders Mike Leake and Yoan Lopez, and lefty T.J. McFarland.
Will Smith, who took his fourth blown save in the 10th inning, got two outs in the 11th before Trevor Gott retired Christian Walker on a groundball with a man aboard to save the Giants’ sixth win in their past eight games.
The strangest of the Giants’ 62 wins could have been their worst of 62 losses after they blew leads of 72 in the eighth and 97 in the 10th — all seven runs scoring on five Arizona home runs.
The Diamondbacks hit three in the eighth inning, two off a whackble Tony Watson and a threerun blow by Adam Jones off rookie Sam Coonrod, Jones’ first since June 15. The Giants matched their largest blown lead of the season.
But they rebounded to take a 97 lead in the 10th on Kevin Pillar’s second homer of the night and 17th of the season. Brandon Belt had the other homer from the seventh spot in the order.
Surely closer Smith could end this madness and get the three outs he needed for his 30th save. Or surely not. Wilmer Flores led off and became the game’s third player to hit his second homer. After a strikeout, Nick Ahmed tied the game 99 with Arizona’s sixth of the night, dealing Smith his fourth blown save — all since the AllStar break.
The Giants were fortunate to have Yastrzemski lead off the 11th, against Lopez. He hit the most impressive homer of the night. It cleared the pool area in rightcenter field and gave the Giants a 109 lead.
The Giants’ home run leaderboard now looks like this: Pillar 17, Yastrzemski 16, Evan Longoria 15.
Yastrzemski and Pillar became the Giants’ first duo to homer at least twice in the same game since Michael Morse and Hector Sanchez did it at Coors Field in 2014. You’d think that was enough. It wasn’t.
With the Giants leading 72 in the eighth, manager Bruce Bochy turned to Watson, who is going through an awful stretch and allowed four runs for the second time in three appearances.
In his past three games, Watson has retired three hitters while surrendering nine hits, nine runs and three home runs.
Solo homers by Eduardo Escobar and Flores cut the lead to 74. Two more hits brought Carson Kelly to the plate with one out as the potential tying run. Bochy countered with Coonrod.
Kelly lined out before Jones came to the plate more than two months removed from his last home run. Coonrod threw a 96 mph fastball down the middle and Jones launched it into the bleachers to tie the game 77.
That left Jeff Samardzija with a nodecision after he allowed two runs in 51⁄3 innings and left with a 41 lead and two runners on. The Diamondbacks got a run back on Nick Ahmed’s basesloaded walk against Reyes Moronta, who then got Kelly to hit a groundball that stranded three.
Donovan Solano, just into the game on a doubleswitch, greeted McFarland with a single before Yastrzemski crushed his second homer the other way to give the Giants a 62 lead.
Samardzija’s first batter of the night, Ketel Marte, homered. After walking Kelly in the second inning Samardzija retired 12 in a row to give the offense a chance power up.
Belt tied the game with a firstpitch homer in the third, his first in 17 days. Manager Bruce Bochy chose to keep Belt downlineup after he doubled from the eighth spot Thursday.
Yastrzemski batted leadoff instead and homered later in the inning to give the Giants a 21 lead. Cueto plan: Johnny Cueto is scheduled to make his fourth minorleague start in Modesto on Tuesday, for Class A San Jose, then a subsequent start for TripleA Sacramento.
Cueto threw 49 pitches for San Jose in Visalia on Thursday. Briefly: Arizonabased orthopedic surgeon Dr. Gary Waslewski was to examine Pablo Sandoval’s right elbow Friday evening and discuss the next step in his recovery from inflammation caused by bone chips. … The Giants outrighted reliever Kyle Barraclough to Sacramento.