SAN FRANCISCO — When the Giants acquired former National League MVP Kris Bryant moments ahead of Friday’s trade deadline, the organization was hopeful the former Cubs star might be able to make it across the country in time to play a role in Saturday’s game against the Astros.
After the Giants and Bryant arranged travel plans on Friday evening that scheduled him to arrive late on Saturday afternoon in the Bay Area, the team determined it would play one more game without the slugger’s services.
They used Saturday’s matchup with the Houston Astros to give Bryant a preview of what kind of an offense he’d be joining.
With home runs from Donovan Solano, Wilmer Flores, LaMonte Wade Jr., Darin Ruf and Mike Yastrzemski, the Giants overcame a rough start from Alex Wood to pick up an 8-6 victory over Zack Greinke and the Astros.
The power surge came at the end of a four-game home run drought for San Francisco, which marked the longest stretch without a homer in the Gabe Kapler era.
The most important hit of the day for the Giants was one of the nine they had that didn’t clear an outfield fence as shortstop Brandon Crawford delivered a two-out, go-ahead single in the bottom of the sixth against Cristian Javier.
Wood gave up a pair of home runs to Astros third baseman Aledmys Díaz and reliever Jay Jackson allowed a solo homer to catcher Martín Maldonado, but by blasting five home runs of their own, the Giants ensured their 3-game lead in the National League West over the Los Angeles Dodgers would remain intact for at least another day.
The eight combined home runs tied the Oracle Park single-game record set on September 24, 2019 when the Giants hosted the Rockies. Saturday’s game marked the second time the Giants have hit five homers in a game at Oracle Park this season, with the other coming on June 16 against the Diamondbacks.
Prior to 2021, the Giants had only hit five homers in a game twice in the two-decade history of their waterfront ballpark.
Entering Saturday’s game, Greinke had made eight career starts and logged 53 innings in San Francisco and had never given up a home run at Oracle Park. The six-time All-Star had allowed home runs at defunct ballparks such as the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Turner Field in Atlanta and the old Yankee Stadium, but he’d dominated the Giants and posted a 1.19 ERA at China Basin in large part because of his ability to keep the ball in the park.
The Giants’ first homer of the day came from Solano, who stands to be among the players who will have their playing time reduced when Bryant arrives because the Giants will likely use second base to find at-bats for Flores, Thairo Estrada and Tommy La Stella upon his return from the injured list.
A solo shot into the left-field bleachers from Solano put the Giants on the board in the second before Flores tied the game at 3-3 with a high flyball that had just enough carry to it to clear the left-field fence. After circling the bases, Flores was unable to return to the field in the top of the fourth as the Giants’ third baseman exited the game with lower back tightness.
Kapler said Flores is “day-to-day” and the Giants hope he’ll be available off the bench for Sunday’s series finale.
The next two homers Greinke gave up were no-doubters as Wade’s majestic blast into McCovey Cove marked the first splash hit of his career while Ruf’s 386-foot solo home run carried several rows into the left-field bleachers.
Wade’s go-ahead two-run homer in the fourth off Greinke made him the fifth different Giants player to launch a home run into McCovey Cove this year, which marks a new single-season record for the franchise.
The six runs the Giants scored off Greinke tied the Detroit Tigers’ output on April 12 for the most the 18th-year veteran has allowed in a game this season. In 22 starts against San Francisco prior to Saturday, Greinke had never allowed more than four runs in a game.
Yastrzemski was the only Giants player who homered against a pitcher other than Greinke as he hit his 17th homer of the season in the eighth inning off reliever Yimi García.
