What the San Francisco Giants Learned From the Astros Series

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – MAY 14: Brandon Belt #9 and Brandon Crawford #35 of the San Francisco Giants slap hands after they both scored on a bases loaded two-run rbi single from Kelby Tomlinson #37 against the Cincinnati Reds in the bottom of the third inning at AT&T Park on May 14, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

The Brandons Are Hot, and Everyone Should Take Notice

Overshadowed in the loss was Brandon Crawford‘s 10-game hit streak. In five of those games, he’s had multiple hits, putting an exclamation point on the streak. After starting off the year looking lost at the plate, Crawford has completely turned it around. His home run against Gerrit Cole marked his third home run for the month, after only hitting two in April. Crawford is now hitting .449 for the Month, going from a .189 to a .310 average in the span of 78 at-bats.

Brandon Belt would be riding a long hitting streak of his own if he was able to get a hit in last Friday’s bout against the Rockies. He didn’t have quite the slump his namesake had, but his hot bat has definitely been just as noticeable. After getting home runs in bunches over the past week or so, he sits at 11 for the young season. So far in May Belt has 10 multi-hit games, including one on Tuesday night.

The Brandons are busy kicking butt and taking names, so much that there is potential All-Star talk for the duo. At the beginning of the season, I would’ve been fine if they were both hitting above .250, so this definitely exceeds my expectations. The Giants need it right now more than ever, since some of their new additions are going through slumps of their own.

It’s been four years since the Giants have had three guys in their starting lineup hit .300 or better. While I don’t think the Brandons can sustain hitting over .400 every month, it would certainly be encouraging to see them have successful seasons. Both have been the receivers of criticism for their plate approach, so it’s nice to see critics eat their words.

Before I forget, I also want to acknowledge Gorkys Hernandez, who is looking like a starter more than a bench guy these days. He had the all-important triple against Verlander, and scored on a Buster Posey sac fly. Hernandez is really picking it up with the bat, and the Giants could use his defense in the outfield big time.

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