Red-hot Giants stretch winning streak to six
Jeff Samardzija helped the Giants hold off Pittsburgh for a series sweep.
Besides the timely hits and the sparkling defense, Jeff Samardzija saw another long-lost phase of the Giants’ attack return Sunday.
“There were multiple times out there today when guys were smiling,” the pitcher said. “They were high-fiving and having a good time. That’s what it’s all about, and hopefully we’ll keep it going.”
The happy vibes were hardly limited to the playing field. The clubhouse was ablaze with goodnatured zingers after the Giants’ sixth consecutive victory, 5-3 over the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
The dark cloud is gone, replaced by a new air of confidence. No one is delusional — the Giants would need to win 18 more in a row just to get back to .500 — but for veterans like Brandon Belt, there is a sense of relief that they are back on track.
“I think there’s a confidence and an expectation to win now, whereas before it might have actually been the opposite,” the first baseman said. “I’m not sure what triggered it, but this is the way we feel we could have been playing the whole time.”
This was the Giants’ second consecutive series sweep — after not sweeping a series all season. They also continued their trend of rallying late: this was the fifth time in a row they’ve come back to win.
Pittsburgh led 2-0 in the seventh inning when Hunter Pence drew a leadoff walk. Buster Posey followed with a double off starter Trevor Williams.
Left-hander Tony Watson came in from the bullpen, but Belt and Brandon Crawford — two lefthanded hitters — foiled the strategy by greeting Watson with consecutive run-scoring singles. Two batters later, pinch hitter Kelby Tomlinson put the Giants up for good with a sacrifice fly that made it 3-2.
“Really, everybody was coming through in the clutch a little more often,” Manager Bruce Bochy said after the Giants improved to 26-13 when scoring four runs or more.
Belt added a two-run homer in the eighth inning of Edgar Santana. It was Belt’s team-leading 16th homer of the season.
Samardzija pitched six solid innings, with help from sensational plays behind him. One play after misplaying Jose Osuna’s drive to right into a triple, Hunter Pence atoned by making a preposterous diving catch in the right-centerfield alley. Pence, body extended, snared the ball just as it was about to hit the grass and raised his right hand in triumph.
“When the ball’s hit to Hunter, you just kind of sit back, watch, enjoy and let him do his thing,” Samardzija said. “He’s a competitor and he cares every day out there.”
Belt also made an eye-popping play. With his back toward home plate, the first baseman drifted into medium-deep right field to make an over-the-shoulder grab of Josh Bell’s looping fly ball.
“I’m not sure how I caught that ball, to be honest with you,” Belt said. “It was just hand-eye coordination and reaction. … I didn’t have any time to think about it, which helped.”
In all, it was part of the position player equivalent of a complete game: Belt made a key defensive play, drove in a run with a hit against a situational lefty and smacked one into the seats.
“That’s my goal every time out there,” he said. “I want to be the most well-rounded player I can be. There are more ways than one to win a baseball game, so I try to keep that in mind.”
The Giants bullpen finished things off and Sam Dyson got a save for the second consecutive day, this time with a perfect ninth. In all, the Giants bullpen has allowed just three runs in 25.2 innings of work over their past six games (1.07 ERA).
• Christian Arroyo, the Giants’ promising infielder, is expected to be sidelined for at least two months after sustaining a broken left hand. Arroyo was hit by a pitch Saturday night in the fifth inning of a game at Triple-A Sacramento. Bochy saw the X-rays Sunday morning and called it a “bad break” for Arroyo.
• The pitching matchups for the Tigers series: Matt Cain (3-7, 5.46) vs. Michael Fulmer (7-6, 3.19) on Tuesday; Ty Blach (5-5, 4.60) vs. Daniel Norris (4-6, 5.00 ERA) on Wednesday; Johnny Cueto (6-7, 4.26) vs. Anibal Sanchez (0-0, 6.34) on Thursday.
• Bochy said rookie third baseman Ryder Jones (hand) remains in line to be ready for the Tigers series opener.
Contact Daniel Brown at 408920-5354.