Pence part of grand day for offense
By John Shea
CINCINNATI — Hunter Pence wasn’t cut out for Triple-A.
No offense to the Sacramento minor-league team, but the right fielder badly wanted back in the big leagues. If he was close to 100 percent in his return from a broken arm, he might as well be assisting the Giants rather than the River Cats.
So Pence sent a text to manager Bruce Bochy, strongly hinting he wanted to be activated. Indeed, he was and made his 2015 Giants debut Saturday night, going 2-for-3, scoring three runs and helping inspire an 11-2 victory over the Reds, the Giants’ second straight rout.
“I just felt everything feels ready to rock ’n’ roll,” Pence said. “That’s what I’m here to do, help us win up here.”
Whenever Bochy or Giants players were asked about Pence in recent weeks, they said they missed “his pres- ence.” That one of his best assets is “his presence.” That the team would benefit, once he returned, by “his presence.”
In Pence’s presence, the Giants set a season high in runs for a second straight night on 16 hits, also a season high. The Brandons — Belt and Crawford — had three apiece, and each homered. Gregor Blanco also homered, the Giants’ first three-homer game of the season.
Belt, homerless his first 30 games, hit his second in two nights, both coming on the first pitch. Crawford hit a grand slam, the fourth of his career, counting last year’s postseason. Ryan Vogelsong pitched 52⁄ innings for the win, yielding six hits, including a Jay Bruce homer.
According to Pence, the Giants were headed in the right direction before his arrival, and he has a point. They own the National League’s best record (15-8) since April 19, and won 8-1 Tuesday and 10-2 Friday after entering the trip without surpassing six runs in any game.
“They’ve been playing some really good baseball,” Pence said. “They had the one stretch, and you hit those from time to time, where we lost eight in a row. To be 18-18 (in Pence’s absence) shows how good they’ve been playing and how much they’ve been fighting, how much we’ve been fighting.
“We have an incredible unit here. I’m excited to be joining that unit.”
Pence joined the Giants after a five-game rehab assignment, convinced his fractured left forearm was healed and his timing at the plate was fine. His first at-bat, he ripped a double to right-center and followed with a single to right, scoring easily from first on Crawford’s double.
“Just to see him flying around the bases like that again, it’s fun to watch,” Crawford said.
Because rain caused batting practice to be canceled, no one saw Pence hit until the game, and he said he was comforted in “showing the guys my swing does feel good.”
With the Giants leading 11-0 in the sixth, Bochy pulled Pence. Bochy batted Pence sixth and said he could soon move him up in the order, adding Pence won’t need regular rests.
“I don’t think he needs to be monitored,” Bochy said. “This guy, he’s a little different. He’s in such incredible shape and worked so hard in rehab. Playing nine innings is not a chore. If there’s a sense something’s going on in his wrist area, he’ll take a day. But as far as his legs, he’s good to go.”