Joc Pederson, Thairo Estrada both homer twice in SF Giants 13-3 win over Cubs
The SF Giants avoided getting swept by the Chicago Cubs on Sunday afternoon with a 13-3 blowout victory. While the Giants opted for their second consecutive bullpen game, San Francisco's offense rose to the occasion and lifted the team to a 33-32 record on the season. They are now 3.5 games back of the Dodgers for second place in the National League West and seven games back of the Diamondbacks for the division lead.
SF Giants DH Joc Pederson runs the bases after homering against the Cubs on June 11, 2023.
John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
After John Brebbia worked around a double and a walk in the top of the first inning, the Giants quickly got on the scoreboard. Cubs starter Hayden Wesneski hit lead-off hitter Thairo Estrada on the arm with a fastball. Two pitches later, Joc Pederson sent a fastball on the outside corner to left-center field for a two-run homer.
Tristan Beck (Giants preseason #19 prospect) was the Giants only clear bulk innings option heading into the day and entered in the top of the second. Beck induced a pop-up from Yan Gomes to lead off the inning that fell just beyond the reach of shortstop Casey Schmitt (Giants preseason #3 prospect). A walk to Patrick Wisdom putt wo runners on base.
Beck nearly escaped the jam without allowing a run, but Schmitt rushed a throw to first base after bobbling a grounder from Cubs center fielder Mike Tauchman. The ball sailed into the Cubs dugout for Schmitt's first error of his MLB career and allowed a run to score. Beck struck out his former Stanford teammate Nico Hoerner to end the inning without surrendering the lead, but the error added to his growing pitch count, which reached 33.
Beck continued to deal with bad luck in the top of the third. After surrendering a pair of singles, Beck induced a slow groundball to Estrada. Estrada flipped the ball to Schmitt covering second base, but Schmitt, who only began playing shortstop last season, misjudged his footwork and was unable to tag the base in time. The tying run would have scored on the play anyway, but it forced Beck to throw even more pitches.
The Giants did not wait long to retake the lead. Schmitt helped make up for his error with a lead-off double that setup Pederson for his second two-run homer of the afternoon. After going to the opposite field in his first plate appearance, Pederson crushed a cutter in the middle of the plate to right field for the Giants' 101st Splash Hit in Oracle Park history and his seventh big fly of the season.
Pederson was locked in at the plate this weekend against the Cubs. He finished the series 8-11 with a pair of home runs, zero strikeouts, a walk, and a warning track flyout.
Wesneski allowed a single to Wilmer Flores and walked Mike Yastrzemski to start the fourth inning, which led Cubs manager David Ross to call upon his bullpen. Righty Michael Fulmer entered with two runners on and nobody out. He induced a trio of pop-ups from Mitch Haniger, Blake Sabol (Giants preseason #33 prospect), and Schmitt, but Sabol's fell in right field for an RBI single.
Ryan Walker replaced Beck at the start of the fourth inning and helped salvage a bullpen game that had gotten off to a rocky start. Walker breezed through two shutout innings of work, striking out a pair while only allowing one opposing hitter to reach base on a bloop single.
J.D. Davis, Michael Conforto, and Sabol each added to the Giants' lead with RBI hits in a three-run fifth inning, extending San Francisco's lead to 8-2. The Cubs got one run back in the top of the sixth, Walker's final inning of work, thanks to a pair of errors (one by Walker himself and one by left fielder Mitch Haniger).
The Giants once again answered a Cubs rally with some runs of their own. This time, they added two runs on a solo home run by Estrada (his eighth home run of the season) and a sacrifice fly by Wilmer Flores that scored Pederson.
Even though the Giants had seemingly put the game away, their offense continued to pour it on against the Cubs' bullpen. In the following inning, a single by Haniger and a fielding error by Mike Tauchman put two runners on base for Estrada. He hit his second home run of the game. Estrada's stint on the injured list might make it harder for him to crack this year's All-Star team, but he made up for some lost time on Sunday afternoon.
Luke Jackson and Taylor Rogers each completed a perfect inning of work before Giants manager Gabe Kapler turned to veteran shortstop Brandon Crawford in the top of the ninth inning. Crawford actually topped out at 89.7 mph and even mixed in a few breaking balls but struggled to throw strikes. The 13-year veteran found his rhythm after allowing a walk and base hit, retiring the next three batters he faced.
The SF Giants do not get a break in the schedule after dropping their series at home. Instead, they head east to St. Louis, Missouri to begin a three-game series against the Cardinals. Giants ace Logan Webb is set to face off against lefty Matthew Liberatore in the first game of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 4:45 PM Pacific at Busch Stadium.
