SAN FRANCISCO – Kyle Harrison bounced back from his worst outing of the 2024 season and pitched into the sixth inning, setting the tone as the up-and-down Giants beat the Minnesota Twins 7-1 at Oracle Park on Friday night.
Harrison (5-4) allowed one run and five hits over 5 1/3 innings on the way to his first victory since May 17. The young lefty, who had three strikeouts and one walk, has won four times this season following a San Francisco loss.
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It was in stark contrast to Harrison’s previous start on July 6 in Cleveland when he was tagged for four runs in 3 1/3 innings.
The Giants, losers of four of their previous five games, will certainly take it.
San Francisco's starting rotation has been a mess mostly due to injuries all season, although indications are that the squad could be back to full strength after the MLB All-Star break. Blake Snell, Alex Cobb and Robbie Ray all threw bullpen sessions prior to Friday’s game as manager Bob Melvin looked on.
Ryan Walker retired five batters, Tyler Rogers set down three and Camilo Doval closed it out in the ninth in a non-save situation.
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The Giants' bats were clicking, too.
Brett Wisely matched his career-high with three hits, falling a home run shy of the cycle. He also walked and drove in a pair of runs. Jorge Soler, Matt Champan and Michael Conforto all reached base three times each while Heliot Ramos singled twice.
The Giants took an early lead following Soler’s leadoff triple in the first inning and never looked back. It was the fourth triple of Soler’s career and the first since Sept. 15, 2019.
They scored twice in the second then added solo runs in the fifth and sixth on the way to their 46th win of the 2024 season. Last year, San Francisco got its 46th win on June 30.
Here are three takeaways from Friday’s game:
Making it work from the top spot
Soler hasn’t had the type of season that anyone had expected after signing with the Giants in the offseason but the Cuban slugger appears to have found a home atop Melvin’s lineup.
Batting in the leadoff spot for the 11th consecutive game, Soler had a pair of hits off Twins starter Joe Ryan.
Soler struck out swinging in the second then hit a sharp single to left in the fifth to drive in Wisely. He also drew a six-pitch walk off Minnesota reliever Caleb Thielbar in the sixth.
Obviously the Giants would prefer Soler to be in the clean-up spot, but for right now they have to like what they’re getting from him as a leadoff hitter.
Leaping LaMonte comes through
First baseman LaMonte Wade prevented a potential Twins’ early uprising when he made a leaping catch and tag on Minnesota’s Carlos Santana to end the first inning.
Wisely, the Giants’ shortstop, fielded the grounder smoothly but his throw over to first was high, forcing Wade to jump to get the ball before making a swipe tag on Santana as he ran by.
Known more for his offense – Wade drove in San Francisco’s first run with a sacrifice fly – the Giants’ fan favorite has been fairly solid at first base during the 2024 season. He’s made one error in 45 games there after committing 10 in 116 games in 2023.
More defensive doings
Wade wasn’t the only Giants player making big plays defensively.
After hitting Minnesota’s first batter in the third, Harrison made a nice grab to snare a soft comebacker by Christian Vazquez and turned it into a 1-4-3 double play.
The following inning, Ramos did what Ramos has done since getting called up and another tremendous defensive play,
Ramos, who was recently named an All-Star for the first time in his career, took a hit away from Santana with a headfirst diving catch of Santana’s sinking liner to center.
Chapman added another gem when he chased down a Santana pop-up in foul territory and made the catch just as he got near the protective railing.
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