It’s a blast at Coors with just one homer
GIANTS 12, ROCKIES 3
DENVER — The Giants entered Tuesday leading the league in homers, and Coors Field is supremely power friendly.
So, of course, this was the night San Francisco extrabase-hit the Rockies to death with just one measly homer, recording seven doubles and two triples in a 12-3 victory that nudged the team’s majorleague-best record to 89-50. The Giants, winners of five of six, lead the seemingly unshakable Dodgers by a game in the NL West.
Steven Duggar was the standout when it came to driving balls around the outfield, with two triples and a double and three RBIs. He’s the first Giant with two triples in a game since Stephen Vogt on June 15, 2019, against the Brewers. Since being recalled Sunday, Duggar is 6-for-13.
“Steven’s provided such an incredible boost to our club,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “It’s hard to imagine the last few games going the way they did without his contributions.”
Mike Yastrzemski interrupted the string of non-homers with a two-run blast to right in the seventh, his team- and career-high 22nd, topping the 21 he hit as a rookie in 2019.
Kapler said he thought Yastrzemski’s timing looked really good “not just on his swings, but on his takes. You can tell that that he was feeling confident at the plate and he was on fastballs. That’s really good sign for him.”
Brandon Crawford chipped in three of the Giants’ 15 hits, and Tommy La Stella, Brandon Belt and Buster Posey set the tone in the first with consecutive two-strike doubles — the first time in San Francisco history the team opened a game with three doubles.
“Just kind of winning time of possession, being in the dugout longer than they are and staying off the defense for as long as we can, then just continue to throttle the gas,” Duggar said of the team’s offensive approach.
Also swinging a dangerous bat: starter Logan Webb, who with Duggar at third in the second inning, ripped a double down the third-base line on the first pitch he got from Chi Chi Gonzalez.
“I told some of the coaches I was going to sit slider,” Webb said, mentioning pitching coach Andrew Bailey and hitting coach Donnie Ecker. “Thankfully, he threw a slider, because if it was a fastball, I was screwed.
“It’s cool, a couple of guys were joking around saying this is the only place I have a chance to hit a home run — and so I was definitely trying, like always.”
Webb has a triple and two doubles among his four hits this season.
He also pitched pretty well. Webb (9-3) worked seven innings and allowed three runs, which is a quality start and then some — but for Webb, it ended an even more impressive run. He hadn’t allowed more than two runs in any of his previous 14 outings and, since May 11, Webb’s ERA is a big-league-best 1.65. He gave up nine hits, struck out six and walked none, and 66 of his 85 pitches were strikes.
Webb’s run of 14 outings with no more than two runs allowed was the best by a Giants pitcher since Ferdie Schupp went 16 in a row, 191617. Only seven pitchers in the modern era have put together longer streaks.
“I’m going to be real honest with you here, I’m more happy we won the game,” Webb said. “I wasn’t thinking about it at all. I just wanted to get out of it without giving any up any more runs, just because it’s a different place here.”
“In many ways, Webb’s start today was better than any of those” in the streak, Kapler said. “He threw 19 balls today. That stood out on the bench to us. It’s exactly what you have to do pitching in this ballpark.”
Kervin Castro, one of the team’s top relief prospects,
made his big-league debut in the eighth and went two innings, allowing two hits and striking out one.
“Castro fits right into our pitching philosophy of work fast, pound zone and know your plan,” Kapler said. “I thought one thing was really notable with Kervin right away — when a runner got to second base, he was prepared to change signs with our catcher. That told me what our group has sensed all along, that he can keep his wits about him.”
The Giants have matched their season high at 39 games over .500.