Tyler Fitzgerald recorded his second three-hit game of the series
Tyler Fitzgerald recorded his second three-hit game of the series
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PHILADELPHIA — The Giants and Phillies both have 144 games remaining in their respective seasons. The calendar has yet to flip from April to May, but it’s fair to assume there will be crisper, cleaner, quicker games ahead.
San Francisco and Philadelphia combined to walk 15 batters, four of those walks being with the bases loaded. Robbie Ray and Aaron Nola, the day’s starters, accounted for nine combined free passes. Each team committed an error. Amidst the sloppiness, the Giants enjoyed one of their best offensive nights of the season, blowing out the Phillies, 11-4, as every member of the starting lineup reached base multiple times.
“On a night that was going to be tough to hit the ball out of the ballpark, you saw a lot of balls that were hit good — trying not to do too much,” said manager Bob Melvin. “Taking our hits, taking our walks, scoring in that fashion.”
There was no shortage of notable stat lines on a night where the Giants scored a season-high 11 runs.
Mike Yastrzemski, Jung Hoo Lee, Wilmer Flores and Patrick Bailey each drove in two runs while Yastrzemski, Lee, Matt Chapman and Tyler Fitzgerald also enjoyed multi-hit games. Fitzgerald, in particular, enjoyed his second three-hit game of the series. He entered this road trip with a .219 batting average and .546 OPS, but following Wednesday’s performance, Fitzgerald’s numbers include a .314 batting average and an .842 OPS.
“Anytime as a young player you go through a struggle — you’re playing a new position, there’s a lot thrown at you — and now you’re on the other side, I think it’ll do wonders for him,” Melvin said. “But there’s a lot of season left and there’s going to be a lot of ups and downs for everybody.”
Robbie Ray allowed four earned runs over four innings and threw 93 pitches while getting a no-decision, but Lou Trivino, Camilo Doval and Spencer Bivens combined to throw five scoreless innings of relief. Trivino earned his first win since Aug. 21, 2022 by pitching a scoreless fifth and sixth.
“It’s been a long time, so it’s cool to be back in the stat column,” Trivino said. “I didn’t think it would mean a lot to me, then I found out I was the winning pitcher. I was like, ‘Okay, that’s kind of meaningful.’ It’s just cool. It’s been a while, and it’s nice to be able to contribute with such a good team.”
Said Melvin of Trivino: “It really did settle things down. He threw strikes. He didn’t walk anybody. That was huge to give us two innings like that. And (Bivens) at the end as well. It was good to see (Doval) get a clean inning and throw the ball really well, too.”
The Giants (13-5) scored four runs in the top of the first inning on Lee’s RBI single, Flores’ bases-loaded walk and Bailey’s two-run single, forcing the Phillies’ Aaron Nola to throw 35 pitches in the process. As Nola walked off the field, the home fans showered him with boos.
Those four runs appeared as though they’d be enough for Ray, but San Francisco’s starter couldn’t find the strike zone. The Phillies (10-8) had one infield hit in the first inning — a leadoff single by Trea Turner — but scored twice as Ray walked four batters, two of them with the bases loaded. Ray needed 39 pitches to record three outs, throwing so much that reliever Spencer Bivens had begun to warm up.
The Phillies earned their runs off Ray in the fourth. Bryce Harper hit his second two-run homer in as many days, and Philadelphia tied the game at 4-all.
The Giants quickly re-gained the lead in part to a questionable throw from Phillies center fielder Johan Rojas. With Lee on second after a double, Chapman singled to center. Lee stopped at third, but Rojas fired an errant throw up the third-base line that skipped past all of his teammates and bounced out of play, allowing Lee to score to give the Giants a 5-4 lead, one they’d never lose.
From there, San Francisco continued to pile on while the bullpen shut it down. Against Trivino, Doval and Bivens, Philadelphia’s bats only reached base twice. Doval, in particular, hasn’t allowed a baserunner in his last three appearances.
“Lou coming into the game today and giving us two really strong innings was great,” Ray said. “They’ve been great the whole year, and it’s been fun to watch those guys. They’ve been picking us up, so it’s time to reciprocate.”