Duggar, Stratton lead way in win
Steven Duggar is 24. He has been in the major leagues for less than two months and just hit a two-run homer for the only runs in a late-August victory against the first-place team. Try telling him it made no difference for the Giants in the National League West race.
“We really got it going the past couple of days,” Duggar said after he and Chris Stratton starred in Monday night’s 2-0 victory against the Diamondbacks. “It’s exciting to see. It’s a lot of fun showing up every day, especially with these guys.
“If we can keep reeling off some wins, we might surprise some people.”
And now, the splash of cold water: The Giants, who have won three in a row, are still a game below .500 and seven out of first place with 29 to play.
Youthful exuberance aside, the real value of Monday’s series-opening win was the information that management gleaned about two still-learning players, data that goes into decisions about 2019 and beyond.
The Giants know they have a potential hitter in Duggar, who
turned on a 3-1 fastball from lefty Patrick Corbin with two outs in the second inning and sent his first AT&T Park homer into the Arcade. Brandon Crawford singled ahead of him.
Duggar has settled two games in a row with two-run hits from the eighth spot in the order, which is a tough place to hit and a temporary home for the center fielder.
“He’s not going to hit there his whole career. Trust me,” manager Bruce Bochy said, adding he might move up Duggar when the Giants face right-hander Clay Buchholz on Tuesday night.
In a way, Duggar’s future is more secure than that of Chris Stratton, who turned 28 on Wednesday and still has not established himself as a 30starts-a-year pitcher.
But he has given the Giants a lot more hope in two starts since he was sent to the minors for re-education, with Ryan Vogelsong his professor. Stratton made some necessary changes to his delivery, and on Monday night, the division leaders paid the price.
Stratton threw 117 pitches in eight shutout innings, both career highs, holding Arizona to five hits and six strikeouts without a walk. His 117th pitch was a curveball that started at Eduardo Escobar’s knees and ended in the dirt, well below the batter’s swing.
Stratton retired 17 of his final 18 hitters in a game that easily could have gone south in a hurry. He allowed two singles to start the game, then fell behind David Peralta 3-0. Peralta swung at the next pitch and hit a groundball for a force.
Stratton then jammed Paul Goldschmidt on a popup and got Daniel Descalso to end the inning with another groundball. Goldschmidt had been 7-for-14 against Stratton, who retired him three times, once on one of Crawford’s best diveand-throw plays of the year.
Stratton was so sharp, catcher Nick Hundley lobbied Bochy to keep the pitcher in the game after seven innings despite a pitch count that had reached 101.
With several relievers off limits because of overwork, Bochy did not need much persuading.
“I didn’t know I was going back out there,” Stratton said. “If nobody comes and shakes your hand, you go back out and stay focused.”
Stratton’s team-leading ninth win was in jeopardy when Tony Watson and Hunter Strickland each walked a batter in the ninth to put the tying runs aboard.
Strickland added to the drama by working the count full to Nick Ahmed, who flied to right to end the game.
Strickland earned his first save since June 10. Will Smith had a second consecutive day off after pitching on three straight days. Bochy expects the lefty to be available Tuesday night.