Giants’ Pederson homers again in 9-3 win
As much as the San Francisco Giants love their platoon advantages, manager Gabe Kapler took the wisest course of action Wednesday against the Mets. He put Joc Pederson in the lineup.
Pederson, who’d launched three homers the previous night, got his first start of the season against a left-hander and lasered a shot to right in his first at-bat, good for two runs. That was one of the Giants’ four homers in a 9-3 victory at Oracle Park.
Kapler’s against-thegrain decision to plop Pederson back in the lineup?
“That was strictly selfpreservation,” Kapler said. “I want to survive the day.”
Sure, there are some good reasons to get the man who’s on a roll back in there, even if he rarely faces left-handers — Pederson had just 10 at-bats against lefties in the first 42 games. But, Kapler said, confidence at the plate can provide some marginal advantage.
He also has been using hot-hitting Mike Yastrzemski against lefties, too, although that’s much less unusual, with seven starts, even if batting him third against Thomas Szapucki was mildly unexpected. Yastrzemski, too, homered off Szapucki, who was making his first big-league start.
“If nothing else, you know when a player like Joc steps in the batter’s box today, he has a good idea of where the barrel is — that just means you have this feeling in your hands, in your body, about where the sweetest spot on the bat is,” Kapler said.
There is also a benefit to giving a player who’s had a significant game a pat on the back. Pederson on Tuesday became the first Giants hitter with three homers in a regular-season game at Oracle Park. (Pablo Sandoval did it in Game 1 of the 2012 World Series.) If someone who’s done something extraordinary isn’t on the field the next day, there will be some disappointment.
“One of the variables is having some awareness about what people expect,” Kapler said. “Internally, externally. We can't get too focused on what people outside of our clubhouse want to see, but just the general, `Hey, people expect to see Joc perform again.'”
Pederson has been using an unusual selection for his walk-up music lately, including Tuesday and Wednesday: ABBA'S “Dancing Queen.” Coach Fernando Pérez and travel secretary Abe Silvestri suggested it, and Pederson called the song “the best ever.”
“We'll keep riding it,” he said. “As long as I keep getting hits, I'll keep using it.”
Yastrzemski is also on a tear, with hits in nine consecutive games, a span in in which he's 13-for-29 with two homers, seven RBIS, 12 runs, seven walks and only four strikeouts. As with Pederson, the difference is mostly mental. Barry Bonds, in a chat with Pederson before Tuesday's game, had discussed eliminating distractions, which is essentially what Yastrzemski has done on his own the past two weeks.
“I'm just really trying not do too much,” Yastrzemski said. “I think that's been the biggest thing for me, really looking at certain game situations and understanding that trying to hit a home run isn't the best-case scenario every
time. Sometimes you need to get a rally going. That's kind of freed me up to just be a lot more relaxed and really get back to that mental side of my game.
“I was just sick of not playing well, like so fed up with it. I was driving myself crazy trying to do too much and just made a promise to myself that I wasn't going to do that this year. A clear mindset gives you the ability to actually follow through with what your plan is instead of failing.”
Yastrzemski's zen impresses even Kapler.
“He has this thing that he does where he stands on the steps and he kind of gets locked in to the pitcher,” Kapler said. “He looks like a cat chasing prey, like just very locked in and focused and nothing can take his attention away. When he gets in the batter's box, he kind of carries over that that calm, easy, soft demeanor. Then he sees the ball early and makes really good decisions and his swing is in a really good place. It's fluid. It's athletic.”
Evan Longoria, back in the lineup after missing Tuesday's game with a jammed left shoulder, left no doubts about his health by drilling a three-run homer in the first and — following Yastrzemski's in the second — another one, a solo shot. They were the first two home runs of the season for Longoria, who missed the first five weeks after finger surgery.
Longoria said he had some initial concerns about the shoulder, but it had improved by Wednesday morning. He was trying not to get too extended with his swing, though — and still hit a blast to dead center.
After scoring five runs in their previous three games, the Giants put up 22 — and hit eight homers — in the past two. Wednesday, however, was the first time in four games San Francisco didn't allow 10 or more runs. Jakob Junis started for the Giants and went six innings, giving up three hits, a walk and two runs, one in the third on Brandon Nimmo's RBI groundout, plus Francisco Lindor's solo homer in the sixth.
Kapler and Junis both praised rookie catcher Joey Bart's play behind the plate. “I haven't shaken him off once,” Junis said.
Jeff Mcneil, playing left for New York, charged into the side wall face-first in the third inning chasing a drive by Donovan Walton, and he exited for a pinchhitter in the fourth. The Mets announced his injury as a left knee contusion.