San Francisco Giants Need More Aggression On Base Paths

After nabbing their first stolen bases of the season, the San Francisco Giants won that game in dominant, suggesting they should be more aggressive.

Coming into the game on Wednesday, the San Francisco Giants desperately needed a win to avoid getting swept in their series against the Washington Nationals.

The offense had been sputtering, getting held to 10 runs in their last five games.

Despite some clamoring for the Giants to make roster changes, manager Bob Melvin stated he wasn't ready to make that move and was comfortable seeing what the current players could do with more time.

They answered to the tune of a 7-1 victory to end their home slate before hitting the road to play six games in Florida starting Friday.

San Francisco did something for the first time on Wednesday as well: they stole a base.

With steal numbers up last year because of the larger bases and new throw over rules, it was surprising to see them unwilling to attempt taking 90 extra feet.

That changed when utilityman Tyler Fitzgerald grabbed two bags in the second inning after he stole second and third on back-to-back pitches. He was then driven in to score the Giants' third run of the game.

This was an important part of the game because the Nationals had taken an early 1-0 lead after Jordan Hicks gave up a homer in the top of the second inning. San Francisco was able to put pressure on opposing pitcher Patrick Corbin and Washington's defense, getting three runs across that they never looked back from.

Melvin had a cheeky answer when asked about their newfound aggression on the base paths, saying to Alex Espinoza of MLB.com, "What are we, 1-0 [in games] with three stolen bases?"

In all seriousness though, this is something the Giants should be looking to do more often.

Putting pressure on opposing defenses and trying to manufacture runs as they battle through a tough stretch where they haven't performed well with runners on base could give them a better opportunity to get runs across the plate.

Whether that's what they ultimately decide to do or not will be seen.