Giants avoid three-game sweep at Los Angeles with a 4-1 victory Sunday.
Hundley, Belt homer to end team’s scoring drought in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES >> A team wearing blue won all three games of the weekend series at Dodger Stadium, but the Giants managed to avoid a sweep at the hands of their rivals.
It’s paradoxical to picture the Giants donning the color of a division foe, but that’s exactly what they did en route to a 4-1 Father’s Day victory in their series finale against the Dodgers.
Armed with blue-tinted caps and assorted baby blue accessories to support the Prostate Cancer Foundation, manager Bruce Bochy said he hoped a different hue would change the Giants luck. Consider that wish granted. “A tough trip, a long game and I’m sure the boys were tired,” Bochy said. “To come back and play another day game today, it was a gut check for everybody and they came through today.”
Despite recording just 11 hits over 27 innings in Los Angeles,
the Giants were victorious Sunday thanks to a pair of two-run home runs by catcher Nick Hundley and first baseman Brandon Belt, and Chris Stratton’s best career start against the Dodgers.
After Hundley crushed a two-run shot halfway up the left-center field bleachers in the first, the Giants snapped a streak of 11 consecutive games at Dodger Stadium without scoring more than two runs when Belt clobbered a third-inning fastball over the 375foot marker at the top of the left-field fence.
“When I’m in there, I’m trying to do damage,” Hundley said. “Whether it plays out that way or not, I want to drive the ball.”
Belt’s home run marked his first hit since returning from the disabled list following an emergency appendectomy. The 386-foot blast was his team-high 12th homer of the year and came at the end of an atbat that showcased his immense value to the Giants lineup.
Following a first-inning walk against Dodgers rookie Caleb Ferguson, Belt worked the count full in the third and forced the southpaw to come in with a fastball on the seventh pitch of his at-bat. Despite entering play with just one home run on the year against a lefty, Belt delivered an oppositefield shot to extend the Giants lead to 4-1.
The four-run outburst helped Stratton secure his team-leading eighth win of the season and his second win in six career starts against Los Angeles.
The right-hander started the day with a 7.72 ERA in seven games against the Dodgers after allowing six earned runs in 1 1/3 innings in his last outing against the club, but navigated through six innings Sunday, surrendering just three hits and no earned runs.
“It was big, definitely the last time was not a pretty one,” Stratton said. “Competing was big and I’ve got to credit Hundley behind the plate. I don’t think I had my best stuff today, especially fastball command but that’s something I’ll continue to work on.”
After logging seven innings of three-run ball against Miami, Stratton turned in back-to-back quality starts for the first time since April 12 and 18, when he led the Giants to wins over Arizona and San Diego.
“That’s definitely the next step, is just to continue the success and get deeper into games,” Stratton said. “It’s something that our bullpen really needs. We’ve got a really good bullpen and I just don’t want to continue to tax them early in games.”
Bochy called on four relievers to finish off the Dodgers Sunday. Lefty Will Smith pitched a scoreless seventh, Mark Melancon recorded two outs in the eighth and Tony Watson
bridged the gap to closer Hunter Strickland by inducing a Matt Kemp groundout and striking out Max Muncy to open the ninth.
Following a grueling 10day trip, the Giants will return home for a 10-game homestand and an extensive stretch that sets up favorably for a veteran club. Though the club has only two off days left prior to the All-Star break, the Giants will play 20 of 26 at AT&T Park and 27 of 35 in the Bay Area as they open the second half with a three-game set across the bay in Oakland.
“We have a very, very good home-field advantage,” Hundley said, “with our fans and how well we play at AT&T Park. Whether everybody in our division is playing well or nobody in our division is playing well, we have to win at home.”
• Shortstop Brandon Crawford traveled to Arizona on Sunday night and will be placed on the paternity list as he and his wife, Jalynne, are preparing to welcome their fourth child.
Crawford said he expects to return to San Francisco on Wednesday evening so he’ll be ready to rejoin the club at the start of a fourgame series against San Diego on Thursday. The Giants have not announced a corresponding roster move, but Kelby Tomlinson will likely be promoted from Triple-A Sacramento.