SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants have all of a sudden hit homers like a normal team, and in recent days Bruce Bochy has answered a few questions about that more traditional way to get offense. To come back Friday, though, the lineup went back to its strange roots.
The Giants trailed 4-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh, but they gave Tony Watson a lead with a downright bizarre rally. Brandon Belt led off with a bunt single, but he was hung up at third on a fielder’s choice grounder. After that, it went: walk, single, double, balk (Pedro Baez tripped off the mound), sacrifice fly. It added up to four runs and a lead.
Hunter Strickland closed out a 6-4 win in the ninth. The Giants struck first in a series that will include four games in 48 hours. Here's what else you need to know...
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—- Belt’s bunt single came on a 3-1 count while leading off and down two runs. It really was the perfect spot for it, and Enrique Hernandez didn’t even get a throw off after coming over from his shifted position. That’s the second time Belt has done that this season. He’s currently batting 315.
—- Remember that slow start from Evan Longoria? He has changed the perception quickly. Longoria hit a solo shot in the second to open the night’s scoring. The homer was his fifth, and has him on pace for 32 in his first year in orange and black.
—- Longoria later hit a blast that was run down on the track in deep left-center. The ball went 372 feet, the exact same distance as Yasmani Grandal’s shot to right in the next inning that Andrew McCutchen tracked down in Triples Alley. Grandal dropped his bat like he had hit one into the bay and then shook his head as he rounded first. This is a cruel ballpark.
—- Austin Jackson was hitless in two at-bats against Hyun-jin Ryu, hit into a fielder’s choice against Tony Cingrani, and struck out against Scott Alexander. He was brought here to hit lefties and he’s 10 for 48 against them with no extra-base hits.
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—- Derek Holland got over his first inning issues, but this time he didn’t make it through the fourth. Holland went 3 1/3 and allowed four earned on four hits and four walks. It looked like he might get out of a jam, but battled during a nine-pitch at-bat and then pulled his hands in on a sinker and chopped a two-run double down the line. That was it for Holland.
