Maybe Matt Moore really did ignite something with his near no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Giants came home to AT&T Park on Friday night and looked like real contenders, punishing the lowly Atlanta Braves 7-0 behind Jeff Samardzija to forge just their third two-game winning streak since the second half started and did so with a second straight shutout.
There was a bouquet of positive signs in the victory, too. The Giants scored three runs in the first inning for the first time since May 28, and had a 5-0 lead after two. They received another solid outing from Samardzija, who didn’t give up any home runs and strung together seven zeros despite some early wobbles.
The Giants also played errorless ball for the 11th straight game, and Brandon Crawford exhibited particularly spectacular defensive wizardry at short. Brandon Belt, Denard Span, Buster Posey all had two-hit games, and Angel Pagan whacked his ninth home run.
Then, to complete a perfect evening, the Chicago Cubs rallied in the ninth inning against the Dodgers down south and beat them 6-4 in extra innings. Hence, San Francisco is just one game back in the National League West.
So, are happy days finally here again for the Giants, and can they make it three in a row for the first time since the All-Star break? “It feels good to win a couple games in a row, yeah,” said Crawford. “Hopefully, we can keep it going.”
As for Moore providing the critical spark, Crawford wasn’t necessarily buying that theory.
“I think the energy has been good for the past week or two,” he said. “Whether we’re winning or losing, we’re coming into the game ready to go and ready to compete. The next day we worry about the next day.”
This particular next day might be extra critical. Peavy gets the ball and will be counted on to keep this mini-roll rolling, and if you can’t beat up on the worst team in baseball — the Braves are now a ghastly 47-82 — who are you going to beat up on?
“I’ve looked forward to this since I was moved out of the (starting) role,” said Peavy. “But there’s nobody in this clubhouse panicking. Matty did a great job the other night, and Jeff followed suit. We’re just trying to bring every bit of focus and concentration into each day’s game, and we’ll do all we can to keep it going (Saturday).”
Friday’s win didn’t exactly start out like an imminent laugher. Samardzija surrendered a double to Ender Inciarte to open the game, and after Inciarte was thrown out at third base by Crawford trying to advance on a grounder, Freddie Freeman doubled off the right field wall to put runners at second and third with one out. But Samardzija toughened up and struck out Matt Kemp and Nick Markakis to escape the jam.
The Giants then rewarded him in the bottom half of the first, and did it all after two were out against Braves starter Joel De La Cruz (0-7), getting an RBI single from Belt and a two-run double by Joe Panik.
Samardzija promptly got himself into another jam in the second, loading the bases with nobody out but once again getting out of it unscathed. The Giants got a force out at home on a De La Cruz grounder to first, Samardzija struck out Inciarte and Crawford snared Adonis Garcia’s hot liner to end that threat with no damage.
“Let ‘em hit it to Crawford, basically, that’s the game plan,” said Samardzija. “They got a couple runners early and you just try to battle and not let them put early runs up.”
From there, it was pretty much a cruise control victory. The Giants added two more in the second on Pagan’s two-run homer into the right field arcade, his ninth long ball of the season.
Staked to a 5-0 lead, Samardzija (11-9) settled into a groove and made it through seven innings for the second straight start — earning a victory this time after a tough 2-0 loss to the New York Mets — walking three and striking out six. The bullpen took it from there, Hunter Strickland and Cory Gearrin pitching a scoreless inning apiece to preserve the shutout.
Samardzija even provided a little offense on this night, doubling to left in the fifth and then flashing his wide receiver wheels, scoring on a Span single to centre.
Outfielder Hunter Pence sat out the game with hamstring tightness, but it doesn’t sound like he’ll be out long. “I’m feeling much better, the treatment’s already working pretty good,” Pence said. “It’s just tightness, I’m taking a day of rest, and hopefully I’m ready to rock tomorrow or the next day. It’s day to day.”
Results (Home team in CAPS)
NY YANKEES 14    Baltimore 4
WASHINGTON 8    Colorado 5
TORONTO 15    Minnesota 8
DETROIT 4    LA Angels 2
Kansas City 6    BOSTON 3
NY METS 9    Philadelphia 4
MIAMI 7    San Diego 6
Cleveland 12    TEXAS 1
Pittsburgh 5    MILWAUKEE 3
Seattle 3    CHICAGO WHITE SOX 1
HOUSTON 5    Tampa Bay 4
ST. LOUIS 3    Oakland 1
ARIZONA 4    Cincinnati 3
Chicago Cubs 6    LA DODGERS 4
SAN FRANCISCO 7    Atlanta 0