Brandon Crawford leads SF Giants to 7-5 victory over Yankees
The SF Giants offense came alive on Saturday afternoon in a 7-5 victory over the New York Yankees. After they were shut out by the Yankees on Opening Day, the Giants overcame a pair of defensive mishaps with solid performances at the plate and on the mound.
SF Giants starting pitcher Alex Cobb pitches against the New York Yankees. (2023)
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Giants starter Alex Cobb was immediately in trouble in the bottom of the first inning. He allowed a single to Aaron Judge in the bottom of the first inning (because Judge hasn't done enough to Giants fans) before walking Anthony Rizzo.
Facing Giancarlo Stanton with one out in the inning, Cobb induced a grounder back to the mound that should have started an inning-ending doubleplay. Instead, Cobb's front foot landed awkwardly on the mound as he threw towards second base, sending the ball sailing into center field. Judge came around to score, and New York had runners on the corners with only one out.
Cobb bounced back to prevent the Yankees from adding to their early lead. It was far from the first time a Giants arm escaped a difficult situation relatively unscathed.
Stanton blasted a solo homer off Cobb in the third inning, extending the Yankees lead to 2-0, but that was all the run-scoring New York could manage against the Giants starter. Cobb threw 38 pitches in the first inning, which immediately made it hard to envision him working deep into the game. Indeed, he was pulled after 3.2 innings pitched. He allowed a pair of runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and a walk with 6 strikeouts.
Facing young Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt, the Giants were unable to score early, but they continued working his pitch count up. In the top of the fourth, designated hitter Joc Pederson drove in the Giants first run of the regular season with a solo home run. The 2022 All-Star finished the day 2-for-4 with a walk.
Mike Yastrzemski, the next batter, doubled off Schmidt and came around to score on a towering home run from shortstop Brandon Crawford. Crawford, the veteran shortstop coming off a down offensive season at the plate, was the Giants star of the night. He was 3-for-5 with 2 runs, a double, home run, stolen base, and 3 runs batted in on the day. There's obviously a lot of season left, but he looked like the 2021 version of himself that finished fourth in National League MVP voting.
Swingman Jakob Junis replaced Cobb in the fourth and found himself in a jam to start the following inning. Junis induced what should have been a leadoff fly out from DJ LeMahieu, but Yastrzemski lost the ball in the sun. It sailed over his head and was scored as a double. Then, Junis allowed another single to Judge and a double to Rizzo, which tied things up 3-3. With runners on second and third and nobody out, New York had a chance to retake the lead.
Instead, Junis induced a pair of soft groundouts and a strikeout to prevent the Yankees from scoring another run. He ultimately lasted 2.1 innings pitched and only allowed a run.
With the game tied, the Giants immediately answered. David Villar singled, Crawford doubled, and Blake Sabol was hit by a pitch to load the bases with nobody out. LaMonte Wade Jr. (not to be confused with Villar) and Thairo Estrada each managed infield singles that scored a run, giving the Giants a 5-3 lead.
Giants reliever John Brebbia allowed three hard-hit fly balls to center field, but they all landed in Yaz's glove. Taylor Rogers made his official Giants debut, allowing a solo homer to Josh Donaldson in an otherwise quiet inning of work.
With the Giants leading 5-4 in the ninth, Pederson singled and scored on Yastrzemski's second double of the day before Crawford drove Yaz in with an opposite-field single. With a pair of insurance runs, Giants closer Camilo Doval was well-positioned to record his first save of the season.
Doval was electric throughout the preseason, starring in the World Baseball Classic. However, he seemed uncomfortable on the mound throughout his outing on Saturday. The righty was called for a pitch clock violation before he had thrown a pitch. Doval will have to make one of the biggest adjustments to the new rules, having traditionally worked slowly.
Starting behind pinch-hitter Aaron Hicks, the righty fell behind 3-0 but eventually struck out Hicks on a slider at the bottom of the zone. Rookie Anthony Volpe singled on a hanging slider, and Doval walked LeMahieu to bring Judge to the plate representing the tying run.
Judge singled on a first-pitch single, bringing Rizzo to the plate representing the winning run.The former Cubs star worked a full count and walked in an eight-pitch at bat.
Stanton came to the plate with the bases juiced and Doval having already thrown 22 pitches in the inning. Doval was called for another pitch-clock violation, falling behind 1-0 in the count. A fastball inside put Stanton even more firmly in the driver's seat. However, Stanton grounded a 97 mph fastball in the middle of the plate right to Crawford, who turned a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.
After splitting their first two games of the season, the SF Giants and Yankees will face off on Sunday in a series rubber match. Ross Stripling is scheduled to get the start and make his Giants debut. He will be going up against right-handed starter Domingo Germán. First pitch is scheduled for 10:35 AM Pacific.
