Blake Snell didn’t have his no-hit stuff working, though it hardly mattered the way the Giants were swinging the bat.
Mike Yastrzemski, Heliot Ramos and Matt Chapman homered and San Francisco reached double digits for hits for the second time in three days on the way to a 7-4 win over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.
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Using a steady mix of his fastball, changeup and curve, Snell had eight strikeouts in six innings to improve to 2-3. The crafty left-hander allowed three runs – his most in a game since June 2 – and four hits with one walk. Snell, who threw 114 pitches in his masterpiece against the Cincinnati Reds, needed 93 to get through his afternoon in Washington.
Erik Miller followed Snell and gave up one run before Ryan Walker came in and pitched out of a bases-loaded jam. Tyler Rogers retired three batters, then Camilo Doval worked into and out of a jam in the ninth for his 22nd save.
With their 10th win in the last 14 games, the Giants (58-58) are once again at .500.
San Francisco Giants
Chapman and Michael Conforto delivered RBI singles in the third inning to give the Giants an early lead.
After the Nationals got to Snell for three runs in the bottom of the frame, two coming on Juan Yepez’s third home run of the season, the Giants muscled up.
Yastrzemski homered in the fourth, then Ramos and Chapman went deep in the fifth.
San Francisco kept tacking on, scoring twice more in the sixth before holding on for the W.
Here are the takeaways from Wednesday’s game:
Yaz Ends Power Drought
Yastrzemski had been in one of the longest power slumps on the Giants' roster before he demolished an 0-1 fastball from Nationals starter Jake Irvin in the fourth inning.
The drive, which went 422 feet and had an exit velo of 107 mph, was Yaz’s ninth of the season and first since July 11. All but one of his home runs have come while he’s way down the lineup. This time Yaz was hitting in the No. 7 spot.
Chappy's Happy Place
Is there anyone more comfortable at the plate right now than Chapman? He doubled to left in the first inning, legged out an infield RBI single in the third then crushed his team-leading 19th home run of the season in the fifth.
It’s the seventh time this season that Chapman has had three hits or more in one game. In his last 14 games, the Gold Glove third baseman is batting .377 (20-for-53) with six home runs and 13 RBI.
Challenging Times
The Giants have had varying levels of success when it comes to replay challenges on the field this season. Against the Nationals on Wednesday, they had all the luck going their way.
The most significant moment happened in the third inning when Chapman was initially called out after hitting a grounder to third base. The play was so close that manager Bob Melvin challenged. After a short review umpires overturned the call and Chapman was awarded with an RBI single, as Heliot Ramos scored.
Earlier in the game another challenge also worked in San Francisco’s favor. Nationals leadoff hitter CJ Abrams hit a grounder to first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. who flipped to Snell covering first. The Nationals challenged and were stymied when the call was upheld.
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