SAN FRANCISCO - Buster Posey figured something was coming. For weeks, he has been asked about the longest home run drought of his career, and as he rounded third and headed for home in the fourth inning, he started to wonder what his teammates had in store for him.
The answer: Nothing.
Posey got the silent treatment as he jumped down the dugout steps, so he happily whipped his helmet down toward the other end of the dugout and raised both arms to celebrate his first blast in exactly two months. Only then did his teammates break and join the celebration. When Posey finally sat down, he noticed a dugout camera facing his direction. The stoic superstar looked at the camera for a second and then flashed a goofy thumbs-up that said all you need to know about the suddenly surging Giants.
"There seems to be a really good energy in the dugout," Posey said later.
He paused and thought about what he had just said.
"I sound like Hunter Pence right now," he cracked.
More importantly, he's hitting along with Hunter Pence right now. Pence did his best to turn the struggling offense around on the last road trip, but at times he was a one-man wrecking crew. Through two games against the Cardinals, the rest of the Giants have gotten the bats going. Posey's slump-busting streak has been the biggest development. The Giants' most important hitter has seven hits in two games, including three on Friday that helped spark an 8-2 win.
San Francisco Giants
Posey said he feels he has his legs under him again, and added that he's seeing the ball well. That certainly wasn't the case in recent weeks as he flung bats after poor at-bats.
"It was great to see him start smiling and laughing when he touched home plate," first baseman Brandon Belt said. "It's out of the ordinary. Normally he's pretty stone-faced."
Normally, Posey is capable of carrying a lineup for weeks at a time. Whether it was fatigue or undisclosed injuries or just a lengthy slump, Posey has not looked himself up until this series. With their former MVP rolling, the Giants have, too. Of their 14 runs in this series, 10 have come with two outs. That's the lineup that showed up nightly in the first half.
"That's what you need at this stage - your guys to start swinging well," Bochy said. "It's just quality at-bats is what I'm seeing. They're getting good swings off when they get their pitch. The confidence grows with success. They're going up there with confidence and doing their thing."
The Giants did something else Friday that bodes well for the final two weeks. When Yadier Molina made a throwing error that turned a potential double play into a two-on situation, the lineup pounced. Nine more Giants came to the plate in the inning with six runs scoring.
"That's the name of the game when you get into the playoffs: Who can make the least amount of mistakes and who can take advantage," Belt said.
The Giants know that better than anyone. They play clean ball late in the year, and when an opponent wobbles, they're more than happy to provide a finishing blow. The six-run rally pretty much put Friday's game out of reach, so the Giants started building for the future.
Bochy got Santiago Casilla on the mound for the first time in a week and the former closer had a sharp inning, striking out two. Cory Gearrin also had a confidence-boosting outing, and Bochy turned to as much of his bench as he felt comfortable using.
The biggest move was made in the fifth, and it could pay dividends for years to come. The Giants acquired Matt Moore not just for this season, but for future title runs. In the fifth inning, Bochy went a long way toward earning Moore's ongoing trust. The Cardinals scored a run on a bases-loaded walk with two outs and Bochy stepped onto the field. But instead of the slow walk, he jogged to the mound, a sign that Moore would get a chance to work out of his own jam and qualify for a win.
"That was the first time I've had a manager come out and visit with me and not pull me out of the game," Moore said. "That was something pretty cool."
Bochy said he jogged out to look in Moore's eyes and see how he was really feeling. He liked what he saw. The next batter flied out.
"It felt kind of like respect. He trusted that I was feeling good," Moore said. "I told him, 'I've got this guy and I'm fine.' In the moment, that's a pretty cool thing to happen."
It may pay off down the line if Bochy has to make a tough decision with Moore, or it may not. Either way, the pitcher appreciated it, and that was a theme in the winning clubhouse. The Giants have won two straight big games and they're now three up on the Cardinals in the Wild Card race. Bochy, not one to mess with success, said the team will not take batting practice on Saturday, either. That's three straight days without on-field work. Players are not complaining.
"It's that time of year where it helps to take a few days off from that," Belt said. "That extra hour or two at home with your family, it's definitely helping out."
