What we learned in Giants' homer-happy win over Angels originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
The Giants started the month of May in first place. After a homer-heavy win over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday afternoon, they'll finish the month in first place, too.
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The lineup hit three homers off right-hander Dylan Bundy and Johnny Cueto did the rest as the Giants won 6-1 in their return to Oracle Park. The win came a couple of hours after the Padres, who had been in first for over a week, lost to the Cubs. The Giants lead the Padres by half a game and the Dodgers by 2 1/2 games in the NL West.
Here are three more things to know from a beautiful day at the ballpark:
Longo Ball
The Giants trailed 1-0 until the fourth, when Evan Longoria jumped on a poor first-pitch fastball from Bundy and smacked a no-doubter into the left field seats. The homer was Longoria's ninth, continuing the most important trend of the season for the Giants. Longoria, Brandon Crawford, Buster Posey and Brandon Belt have combined for 38 homers through 54 games.
Longoria came out with right side soreness before the top of the sixth, but his replacement, Mauricio Dubon, homered in the bottom of the inning. Dubon's homer was his second in two days and fourth of the season.
On The Board
LaMonte Wade Jr. got into the action in the fifth with a solo shot into the arcade section in right field. The homer was Wade's first as a Giant and his first since Sept. 21, 2019, when he was with the Minnesota Twins. It clinched a sixth consecutive game with multiple homers for the Giants, their longest such streak since July 24-29, 2001.
Wade, by the way, is making a pretty compelling case to stick around once the Giants get healthy. He was called up to help out at first base and has played solid defense there. At the plate, Wade is 7-for-20 with three walks.
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Vintage Cueto
Cueto wasn't particularly sharp early with his command, but he got big outs when he needed to and then settled in and cruised through seven. He was charged with one run on five hits while striking out five. When Cueto walked off with a 4-1 lead, he got a standing ovation from the 13,000 in attendance and acknowledged the crowd.
The Angels were without Mike Trout (who is injured) and Shohei Ohtani (who pinch hit and walked in the ninth), but still, there were a lot of encouraging signs for Cueto. His fastball averaged 93 mph and he threw a couple at 94.7. Four of Cueto's six hardest pitches of the season came Monday, and he got six swinging strikes on his fastball alone.
