SF Giants: Good pitching and timely home runs lead to 4-2 victory

SF Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani was excellent in a return to familiar territory while leading the way to a 4-2 victory. DeSclafani is in the midst of his seventh major league season, but five of those seasons came in a Cincinnati Reds uniform with the Great American Ballpark (GAPB) as his home field. GAPB is one of the more hitter-friendly ballparks in MLB, and DeSclafani’s flyball-heavy approach produced mixed results.

The Giants reeled in the 31-year-old on a one-year, $6 million contract and that is a move that has paid off handsomely for both player and team. The right-handed hurler likely had a little extra motivation in today’s game and he did not disappoint.

Good pitching and timely homers carry SF Giants to victory.

In fairness, he did not get off to a good start as he yielded a solo home run to the first batter he faced in Jesse Winker. DeSclafani continued to pitch through traffic in the first couple of innings, but he settled down after that.

He was not his sharpest and it’s always interesting to see how a pitcher reacts when you don’t have your best stuff, and DeSclafani responded well. In total, he gave the Giants seven innings of one-run ball while allowing six hits, two walks, and recording seven strikeouts.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the longtime Reds starter has been one of the best pitchers in the National League as he has a 2.03 ERA through nine starts.

Of course, the Giants had some timely hitter as well. Alex Dickerson had an encouraging day and looked to break out of his season-long slump. Prior to today’s game, the left-handed bat had produced a 68 OPS+ through 90 plate appearances while being worth -0.5 WAR.

However, he might be turning the corner as he registered three hits in four at-bats, including a three-run home run. Next to a grand slam, three-run homers might be my favorite type of home run, but that is neither here nor there.

Brandon Crawford joined the party with a solo shot in the seventh inning to give the Giants an insurance run. Zack Littell and Jake McGee pitched the eighth inning and ninth inning, respectively, and combined to yield just one run while securing a 4-2 victory.

At 26-16, the SF Giants have the best record in the National League. The season is still young, but that’s a phrase we will grow out of soon enough.