Pence lift Giants to even the series with Astros
Hunter Pence hits a three-run homer – Giants pass Astros
San Francisco Giants’ Hunter Pence hits a three-run home run against the Houston Astros during the seventh inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
2020.08.11 – Astros led by 4 with two outs in the seventh when Hunter Pence hit a three-run pinch-hit homer to cut the lead to 6-5. The San Francisco Giants finished taking a 7-6 win in Houston on Tuesday night.
Hunter finally came out in grand fashion, and Brandon Crawford hit an RBI single in the 10th inning to lift San Francisco to victory. But before that it was Pence, who was mired in a 2 for 32 start, who came through for the Giants.
It was the first home run this season for Pence.
“We were all pretty happy for Hunter,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “Obviously that changed the game for us and put us right back where we needed to be.”
Pence, who added a single in the ninth, said the Giants showed the identity of their team with Tuesday’s comeback.
“That’s kind of been something that we’ve done pretty well here at the start of the season if we’ve been scoring a lot of runs late,” Pence said. “We do have a team mindset of keep fighting, be as scrappy as we can. … Just having everyone with that mindset, and having good at-bats.”
2020.08.11 (San Francisco Giants vs. Houston Astros) See video
2020.08.11 (San Francisco Giants vs. Houston Astros) See video
Austin Slater singled off Cy Sneed (0-3) to start the 10th and send Wilmer Flores to third after he started on second under the new extra-innings rules. Crawford then followed with his grounder to center field to score Flores.
Trevor Gott (1-0) walked one in a scoreless ninth for the win and Tyler Rogers struck out two in a perfect 10th for his first save.
An RBI single by Darin Ruf off Ryan Pressly with one out in the ninth tied it at 6-all.
Flores also homered for the Giants, who snapped a six-game losing streak to the Astros.
Alex Bregman homered for the Astros as they lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Houston got a win in Monday’s opener after losing five straight, capped by a 7-2 defeat at Oakland on Sunday that was marred by a benches-clearing brawl. Hitting coach Álex Cintrón received a 20-game suspension and a fine on Tuesday for his role in the incident and what MLB said was: “inciting and escalating the conflict between the two clubs.”
Oakland outfielder Ramon Laureano was given a six-game suspension and a fine for charging the Astros dugout toward Cintrón. Laureano is appealing his suspension, but Cintrón accepted his and began serving it Tuesday night.
San Francisco starter Tyler Anderson yielded five hits and four runs while walking three in five innings.
Houston rookie Brandon Bielak allowed six hits and two runs in five innings in his second major league start after making two relief appearances.
Houston manager Dusty Baker lamented his bullpen’s inability to close the game out after a solid start by Bielak.
“This is tough, just tough to take,” Baker said. “We had the right guys out there at the right time, but we didn’t get the job done.”
Flores gave the Giants a 1-0 lead with a homer in the second.
Martín Maldonado doubled with one out in the second to score Kyle Tucker, who had tripled, and tie it at 1-all.
Josh Reddick hit a two RBI double to center field with two outs that Mike Yastrzemski almost caught, but instead deflected, to make it 3-1.
There were no outs in the third when Bregman sent a fastball from Anderson to left field to extend the lead to 4-1.
Alex Dickerson hit an RBI single to center field with two outs in the fifth to cut the lead to 4-2.
Myles Straw hit a run-scoring single down the third base line with two outs in the sixth and Jose Altuve followed with a single that sent home another run to make it 6-2.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Giants: 2B/INF Donovan Solano was held out of the lineup as a precaution after he experienced some abdominal soreness following Monday’s game, manager Gabe Kapler said. Solano is batting .458 with a home run and 15 RBIs. Kapler said they’ll evaluate him on Wednesday to see if he can return.
Astros: OF George Springer missed his fifth game with a strained right wrist, but was Houston’s runner on second base in the 10th inning. Baker said Springer would likely start on Friday, but could be in the lineup Wednesday.
LONG BALLS
The Giants have allowed 29 home runs this year, which ranks second in the majors behind Arizona (40). Tuesday was the 15th straight game in which they have allowed a home run, which is the longest streak in franchise history.
UP NEXT
Houston’s Zack Greinke (0-0, 3.00 ERA) will oppose Trevor Cahill when the series wraps up on Wednesday night. Greinke allowed five hits in six scoreless innings in his last start but did not factor in the decision in a 3-2 loss to the Athletics in 13 innings. Cahill will make his debut after missing time because of a fingernail issue on his right index finger.
Related: See below 2020.08.10 (San Francisco Giants vs. Houston Astros)
Read more at: San Francisco Giants Media Services / More AP MLB: www.apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
For more on the San Francisco Giants, see the blog at www.EMIsportsCentral.com
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McCullers throws 7 scoreless, Astros beat Giants 6-4
Houston Astros’ Lance McCullers Jr. throws against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 10, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
2020.08.10 – Lance McCullers pitched no-hit ball into the seventh inning, Michael Brantley and Carlos Correa drove in two runs each and the Houston Astros snapped a five-game skid with a 6-4 win over the San Francisco Giants.
After a terrible road trip, Lance McCullers Jr. gave the Astros just what they needed to get back on track Monday night.
McCullers (2-1) bounced back from one of the worst performances of his career with a gem where he allowed one hit and struck out five in seven scoreless innings.
“He was masterful tonight,” manager Dusty Baker said. “He was more aggressive with his fastball, which increased their swinging for the breaking ball.”
The 26-year-old tied a career high by allowing eight runs in just 3 2/3 innings of a 14-7 loss at Arizona his last time out.
“It was just up to me not to blow it again,” McCullers said. “We needed a win tonight. We needed to start the homestand on a big, positive note and we did that.”
His only hit allowed Monday came when Donovan Solano extended his MLB-best hitting streak to 15 games with a grounder down the third base line that rolled just out of reach of Alex Bregman for a double with one out in the seventh.
2020.08.10 (San Francisco Giants vs. Houston Astros) See video
2020.08.10 (San Francisco Giants vs. Houston Astros) See video
“Wrong pitch,” McCullers said. “That was on me shaking and not throwing the correct pitch in that situation.”
The Astros got back in the win column a day after an ugly 7-2 loss to the Athletics that was marred by a benches-clearing fight that could lead to the suspension of hitting coach Alex Cintrón. Cintrón was yelling at Oakland’s Ramón Laureano before the A’s outfielder charged Houston’s dugout, leading to the team’s second such incident this season after the Astros also got into with the Dodgers.
San Francisco rookie starter Logan Webb (1-1) allowed four hits and five runs — only two earned because of two errors — in 3 1/3 innings.
“It’s hard not to look at the line and feel discouraged,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “But at the same time, I think he can be proud of going through that lineup and not really giving up on much hard contact. I think we have better in us behind him that’s for that’s for sure.”
The Giants got things going on offense after McCullers left the game. Austin Slater had a solo shot off Josh James that made it 6-1 in the eighth inning.
Solano chased James on an RBI double with no outs in the ninth. Ryan Pressly retired the next two batters before the Giants cut it to 6-3 on a run-scoring single by Brandon Crawford. Slater hit an RBI single before Pressly retired pinch-hitter Evan Longoria to get his first save.
Bregman was hit in the shoulder by Solano’s throw home while trying to score on Yuli Gurriel’s grounder in the third. The ball bounced off Bregman, glanced off catcher Chadwick Tromp’s mask and rolled away, allowing Bregman to score.
McCullers, who missed last season after Tommy John surgery, retired his first six batters before plunking Slater on the leg to start the third inning. He helped himself out with a nifty defensive play to end that inning when he ran to cover first base on a grounder hit by Mike Yastrzemski, made an off-balance catch and tagged Yastrzemski before falling to the dirt.
Martín Maldonado snapped a 0-for-13 slump when he connected off Conner Menez for a solo homer to the seats in right field to start Houston’s sixth and make it 6-0.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: OF George Springer missed his fourth straight game Monday because of a strained right wrist. He visited a hand specialist on Monday in Houston and there was no additional damage. He remains day to day.
SIZZLING SOLANO
Solano’s two hits Monday improved his average to .458, which ranks second in the majors behind Colorado’s Charlie Blackmon (.484).
His 15-game hitting streak is a career best, and he’s the first Giant to have a hitting streak of 15 games or more since Angel Pagan had a 19-game hitting streak in 2016.
UP NEXT
Houston rookie Brandon Bielak (2-0, 0.87 ERA) will make his second career start when the series continues Tuesday night. Bielak, who made two relief appearances this season, allowed two hits in five scoreless innings in his first start on Thursday against Arizona but did not factor in the decision in Houston’s 5-4 loss. Left-hander Tyler Anderson (0-1, 2.19) will start for San Francisco.
Related: See 2020.07.31 (San Francisco Giants vs. Texas Rangers)
Read more at: San Francisco Giants Media Services / More AP MLB: www.apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
For more on the San Francisco Giants, see the blog at www.EMIsportsCentral.com
49ERS FIT – FREE 4-DAY PASS
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