BASEBALL: Crawford reaches an RBI milestone for Giants; A’s pitcher Bassitt added to All-Star squad.
Shortstop’s 3 RBIs key 3rd straight win
SAN FRANCISCO >> The season that Brandon Crawford has enjoyed so far in 2021 can now easily be considered among the most productive for any Giants player his age since the club moved to the Bay Area more than 60 years ago.
Crawford went 3-for-3, including a solo home run in the sixth inning, and finished with three RBIs to help lift the Giants to a 10-4 win over the Washington Nationals on Saturday at Oracle Park.
Austin Slater, Joey Bart and Thairo Estrada combined for eight hits as the Giants (56-32) won their third straight game.
The victory ensured that the Giants will enter next week’s all-star break with the best record in Major League Baseball and in sole possession of first place in the National League West.
The Giants entered Saturday with a two-game lead over the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers, and today’s season finale with the
Nationals is their last game before the break.
“So far in this series we’ve fought for every pitch,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “That’s a huge factor, and we’re not letting our foot off the gas at any point. That’s also important.”
Crawford now has 18 home runs and 58 RBIs in 78 games this season. Of every San Francisco Giant aged 34 or older, only Barry Bonds had more RBIs by the all-star break than Crawford. Bonds had 73 RBIs in 2001 when he was 36 and 63 in 2003 when he was 38.
With his three RBIs on Saturday, Crawford, who turned 34 in January, eclipsed the first halves Bonds had in 2000 and 2002, and the first half of the season Willie Mays had in 1966 when he was 35. Those years, Bonds and Mays had 57 RBIs by the all-star break.
Crawford was named to his third All-Star team last week. Saturday, he had a sacrifice fly in the first inning, singled in a run in the third, doubled in the fourth and homered off Nationals reliever Kyle McGowin in the sixth before he was taken out in the seventh inning.
Crawford’s 18 home runs matches the mark set by Jose Valentin in 2004 for the most by a shortstop 34 years or older before the All-Star break. Crawford’s career-high for homers in a season is 21.
“In recent days, I’ve been most impressed, just because not only has he performed, but he’s been incredibly durable,” Kapler said. “For what it’s worth, he could have easily finished the game for us today.
“Let’s just say this, he has posted every single day. He has wanted to be in the lineup every single day. His body has responded well to the big workload. He hasn’t lost any part of his power. His left-right explosiveness has seemingly gotten better over the course of the season.
“His arm has been incredibly accurate. He’s been in the right place at the right time, and all of this just seems to be getting better. That’s probably what’s standing out most to me.”
Crawford had 59 RBIs in 147 games two seasons ago. His single-season career-high for driving in runs is 84, which he accomplished in both 2015 and 2016.
“I’ve felt good,” Crawford said. “As a team, we’ve swung the bats really well and done a great job of getting on base. I’ve been happy to be able to be there to drive the guys in, but I think that’s kind of a testament to our whole team doing a good job of getting on base.”
The Giants finished with 14 hits as they scored three runs in the first inning, all unearned, and five more in the third, making short work of Nationals starter Jon Lester.
Lester didn’t make it out of the third inning as he allowed nine hits and three earned runs. The Giants made him throw 29 pitches in the first inning, all but ensuring a short outing for the five-time all-star. Lester, who nearly signed with the Giants as a free agent in 2014 before he joined the Chicago Cubs, threw 80 pitches, with just 46 for strikes.
“Kind of the same song and dance as the last couple here,” Lester said. “Seems like I can’t minimize the bad. I’m OK with the hits and runs but when it’s consistently two and three innings, it’s putting the team in a bad position.”
Meanwhile, Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani continued his torrid stretch, allowing just three hits over six shutout innings. DeSclafani had six strikeouts before he gave way to Tyler Beede, who allowed three earned runs in the seventh inning in his first appearance since Sept. 26, 2019.
DeSclafani is now 7-1 in his last eight starts since May 28.