What we learned as Giants, DeSclafani shut out Rockies originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Gabe Kapler put a headset on in the second inning of Monday night's game and thought about the question. What pleased him more: Anthony DeSclafani striking out the side in the top of the first inning or the lineup batting around while scoring four runs in the bottom of the inning?
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"It's like making me choose between my sons," Kapler said.
On this night, both sons were stars.
The Giants won 12-0, scoring nine runs in the first two innings for their first win of more than four runs all year. Their pitcher was even better, though. DeSclafani struck out nine to get his first shutout since 2016. He needed just 100 pitches to soar through the night.
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He Came, He Saw, He Conquered, He Got Back to the Warm Clubhouse
Evan Longoria returned to the lineup after missing three games with a tight hamstring and picked up right where he left off. Longoria had an RBI single in the four-run first and then added a two-run double -- which left the bat at a Giants season-high 113.2 mph -- in the second.
When he reached second, Longoria was replaced by pinch-runner Jason Vosler. It's possible the hamstring was tight again. It's also possible that all parties looked up and saw a 6-0 lead against a team with a .546 road OPS and decided that Longoria could spend the rest of this one getting treatment in a heated clubhouse.
Both hits came against southpaw Austin Gomber, who saw his ERA jump from 3.38 to 6.65 after giving up nine earned in 1 2/3 innings. Longoria is 10-for-18 against lefties this year with four homers, two doubles and nine RBI.
Batting Around and Around and Around and ...
The only downside of this night for DeSclafani was that he ended the bottom of the first and the bottom of the second with outs. The Giants batted around in each of the first two innings, marking the first time they did so twice in one game since the fourth and fifth innings on April 11, 2013 against the Cubs.
As a team, the Giants raised their batting average from .215 to .221 during the game. Four players had multiple hits, led by ...
Buster's Alllll the Way Back
Buster Posey went to dead center in the sixth for his fifth homer of the month, putting him on pace to easily get into double-digits for the first time since 2017. That was also the last year he had a five-homer month; he hit six in May of that season.
The ball looked like it would get caught up in the cold air, but it kept carrying and carrying until it landed in the net beyond the center field wall. It was Posey's first homer at Oracle Park since Sept. 24, 2019, and just his second since the end of the 2018 season.
Posey had four hits for the 19th time and first since 2018. He's batting .327 with a 1.050 OPS as the end of the month nears.
