What we learned as Estrada plays the hero in the Giants’ comeback over the Cubs originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
The Giants and Chicago Cubs combined to score three runs in six innings on Monday before scoring 10 in the final three innings for a wild battle that ended in San Francisco’s favor, 7-6.
Thairo Estrada’s three-run blast in the top of the ninth inning was the icing on the cake to start a six-game road trip. The Giants combined to hit three long balls, and Heliot Ramos and Patrick Bailey also joined the party.
Efforts from Ramos, Mike Yastrzemski and Jordan Hicks seemed enough to secure the victory before everything went wrong in the bottom of the seventh.
Ramos opened the seventh by tying the game at 2-2 with a solo shot into the right stands. Estrada’s hit with the bases loaded gave the Giants a 3-2 lead. But coach Bob Melvin curiously kept Trenton Brooks in the game instead of going to the bench. The result was three runners stranded on Brooks’ third out of the game.
The Cubs responded by scoring four runs in the bottom half of the inning, including a three-run shot by Ian Happ off reliever Erik Miller. The entrance could have easily been different as well. Brooks misreading a pop fly didn’t help. Neither did home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez.
Before Estrada’s home run, the Giants left 12 men on base and went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
Here are three takeaways from a wild win for the Giants.
Star in the making
O first fan voting returns for the MLB All-Star Game were released on Monday, and Ramos led all Giants in votes with 241,532. That’s good for ninth among outfielders. It’s not good enough.
Ramos, since being called up on May 8, has looked like a star in the making, and Monday was the latest example. Especially when the Giants really needed their red-hot bat. Ramos’ solo shot was his ninth home run of the year, and he now has four consecutive multi-hit games after going 2-for-5.
In that four-game span, Ramos went 9-for-19 (.474) with three home runs and seven RBI. He has power in all fields. He’s hitting smart. He doesn’t turn 25 until September.
If somehow you haven’t bought Heliot Ramos shares yet, do so now. Time is running out.
All this Yaz
Yastrzemski’s spelling bee last name is baseball royalty, and his baseball IQ shined at Wrigley Field. From the fourth to sixth innings, Yastrzemski hosted a baseball clinic.
First, in the top of the fourth, Yastrzemski smoked a triple to right field to knock in the first run of the game.
Then, in the bottom half of the fifth, Yastrzemski showed his hosel in right field and hit Patrick Wisdom at home plate.
One at-bat after hitting a 104.1 mph triple right off the bat, Yastrzemski threw a perfect strike down the third base line to load the bases. The Cubs couldn’t even play with the artwork.
From little league to big league, Yastrzemski showed everyone how it’s done.
Effective Hicks
No matter the pitch, Hicks’ velocity was down all day. The former flamethrower still found ways to pitch five strong innings despite walking four and dealing with an up-and-down strike zone.
Hicks forced 10 swings and errors, the most of any pitcher in Monday’s game. He struck out four, had four groundouts and four fly balls for strikeouts as well. Whenever Hicks was in trouble, he found a way out of a difficult situation.
The converted reliever continues to prove that he is no longer a pitcher, but rather a pitcher. Monday was the first time Hicks has finished five innings this month, and it marked his first scoreless outing since the start of the season. Hicks dropped his ERA below 3.00. Hicks now has a 2.82 ERA on the year as one of the best offseason moves by any team.
