SAN FRANCISCO _ With the franchise's top prospect, Joey Bart, making his major league debut at Oracle Park, Thursday's series finale against the Los Angeles Angels was a step toward the future for the San Francisco Giants.
The Giants are supremely confident Bart will eventually become a middle-of-the-order force, but his potential to emerge as a two-way star wasn't the only reason the organization's top decision-makers promoted Bart.
For now, the Giants want Bart to serve as a reinforcement to a red-hot lineup that helped the club capture its third consecutive win with a 10-5 series-clinching defeat on Thursday.
The future may look bright, but the Giants are focused on the present after picking up their first series victory since taking two of three from the Rangers July 30-Aug. 1.
Bart recorded the first hit of his career with a 109.5-mile per hour double over third baseman Anthony Rendon's head in the bottom of the sixth, but as expected, Bart's production came in support of other Giants players who have been carrying the offense of late.
The team's first three-game win streak of the season still leaves the Giants five games under .500 (11-16) with nine games left until the trade deadline, but president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and Gabe Kapler spoke extensively Thursday about capitalizing on the recent success of the team's lineup.
One of the players responsible for the Giants' past glory and present uptick in play is shortstop Brandon Crawford, who lofted a solo home run out to left field in the fourth inning Thursday for the 100th homer of his career.
Crawford's milestone homer conjured up names of stars from the past as he became the 10th player in the Giants' San Francisco era with at least 100 homers, 200 doubles, 500 RBIs and 1,000 career games played and is only the second shortstop (Rich Aurilia) to make the list. Crawford, Aurilia and Travis Jackson, who played for the New York Giants from 1922-1936, are the only shortstops in franchise history to hit 100 homers with the Giants.
With a lift from their middle infielders, the Giants scored at least six runs for the 12th time in 27 games this year and did so for the sixth time in their last seven games with another early outburst against Angels left-hander Jose Suarez.
Suarez gave up four runs and recorded just four outs at Oracle Park as Giants second baseman Wilmer Flores put his team on the board with a home run for the second consecutive night. Flores' two-run home run in the bottom of the first tied him with Mike Yastrzemski for the team lead with six home runs and tied him with Yankees slugger Luke Voit for the most two-strike home runs in the majors this season.
After clubbing a full count offering from Suarez over the left center field wall, all six of Flores' homers in the 2020 season have come with two strikes.
Flores finished the night with three hits and four RBIs, giving him eight over the past two games.
The Giants saw 78 pitches from Suarez and Angels reliever Matt Andriese over the first two innings, maintaining a patient and disciplined approach at the plate that has served the team well over the last week.
Dating back to the Giants' 98-loss season in 2017, it's been rare for a starting pitcher to make mistakes and still pitch with a comfortable lead, but that's exactly how right-hander Kevin Gausman operated against the Angels.
Gausman wasn't as sharp as his previous two outings against the A's and the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he still racked up 18 swings and misses and eight strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings of four-run ball.
