The San Francisco Giants played five home games on Tuesday, and each felt very important in the heat of the moment and afterward.
Let’s take it in chronological order.
The first came in the fifth inning, with the Giants trailing Philadelphia Phillies 4-0. It’s from Buster Posey, and it was just a solo recording. A solo shot doesn’t help much to eliminate a 4-0 lead – a four-run deficit doesn’t feel much bigger than a three-run deficit.
But it broke the ice for the Giants, and although you did not expect them to knock down another nine runs, it suddenly felt possible. You quickly remembered that Duane Kuiper and Javier López had just told you minutes before that Philly was a place where a four-run lead was not safe.
They just had to get the first run to crack the ice, you told yourself.
They got that first run. Buster got them the first run.
It is fitting that the next home team came later in the same innings, this time on a two-run jack thanks to Tommy La Stella. Suddenly, the 4-0 deficit turned into a 4-3 deficit, and the game was just there for the Giants to take.
However, the Giants did not take the game. At least not right away. They gave back everything that La Stella worked so hard to acquire.
It’s the sixth inning and the Giants track 6-3, and Posey drops back into the box.
There was a time when a starting pitcher would not be allowed for Gerald for the third time, when Posey had already launched one of his. It’s not that time anymore, but Posey fights like hell to bring back the past.
A solo bomb pulled the Giants within two and reminds you that this team can not only hit once, but also a few of them.
It was Posey’s first two-player game in five seasons. I like this development.
That 6-4 deficit held until the eighth innings, where things got really exciting. The Giants got a rally going, thanks to a double by Evan Longoria and a walk by Brandon Belt. Maybe you pitched for a single that would reduce the deficit in half and give you hope of going into the ninth inning.
Alex Dickerson made you one better, with the Giants fourth homer of the night and … whew. I could do it completely. Completely.
That gave the Giants the lead, but with Citizens Bank Park playing like a Top Shot track, it didn’t feel completely safe.
So the Giants reunited, with singles thanks to Posey (an inside single!) And Brandon Crawford, and Wilmer Flores stepped in and used his pinch duties as an excellent opportunity to bow to the quintet of Giants Dingers to place.
Five home runs, which made up all the giant runs in their 10-7 victory. Five home runs, all of which looked like big leagues, stopped at the indoor softball game to show off.
And one victory that came by relentlessly breaking down a big deficit, until that big deficit was small, until that small deficit was a small lead, until that small lead was comfortable.
Some notes:
- Logan Webb is unlikely to earn a place in the starting rotation anytime soon, and is also likely to play the role of forward when someone is injured, which, given the Giants beginners’ performance history, could mean he leads the team in the beginning. Webb allowed 7 hits, 2 runs and 4 runs in 4 overs, while hitting 4. The Giants already miss Johnny Cueto, but if they can win the games if he is replaced, it will be a long way to a winning record.
- Posey has 4 home games in 42 records. In 2018 and 2019, he had 12 home games in 893 record appearances.
- Jake McGee has returned to his short vaccine-driven period on the List of Injured. He gave up a run (thanks again for the assurance, Flores), but struck the strike. Tyler Rogers picked up another perfect eighth to lower his ERA to 0.77.
- The Giants have now won two of their four road series this season, ensuring they will have at least a 500 record through their first road games. They’re 11-6, and that’s a pretty aesthetic pleasure.