Luis Matos clouts first MLB HR as Giants take 7-6 win from D-backs
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San Francisco Giants rookie Luis Matos hit his first career home run in a moment of need for his team, a blow that he and fans won’t soon forget.
The Giants and Diamondbacks jostled for the lead through the first six innings Saturday. The 21-year-old outfielder stepped in against starter Merrill Kelly. Matos had grounded into a double play and singled earlier in the game off Kelly’s sinker, but he finally got a pitch he could drive out of the park in his 10th career big league game, a high inside fastball he knocked over the left-field wall to chase Kelly from the game.
“He started me with two balls and no strikes, so at that moment, I knew he had to attack the zone,” Matos said through a translator. “I knew he was going to come in and give me a good pitch to hit, and that’s what I got.”
Matos’ 2-run homer would be the difference for the Giants, who came away with a 7-6 win, already securing a series victory over the D-backs. San Francisco has now won their fourth straight series and are just 1.5 games behind Arizona’s first-place perch atop the NL West.
“It feels like (Matos is) going to be able to put the ball in play,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “He’s got really good bat to ball skills, a really good understanding of where the sweet spot is on the bat. Nice to have a hitter down at the bottom lineup that can do that kind of damage for us today.”
The Giants' No. 3-ranked prospect had displayed power in the minor leagues, hitting six home runs in his last six games with Triple-A Sacramento just before being called up. Matos had initially been more of an on-base threat in the majors before Saturday, and he has been even more selective since his call-up. Matos has a 20.3% chase rate as a Giant, one of the lowest on the team, compared to 33.5% in Triple-A.
“I think I am a line-drive hitter,” Matos said. “I don’t think I have power. I think that the home runs will come in. I just concentrate myself in making good contact, putting the ball in play and just hitting line drives.”
The victory came in a game that didn’t start off so great for the Giants. Opener Ryan Walker served up a slider that Ketel Marte launched just barely over the right-field wall, bouncing just off the green railing of Levi’s Landing for a solo homer. Just as he had allowed Juan Soto to do Monday, Walker’s susceptibility to the long ball put the Giants in an early hole.
The Giants had also been down 1-0 on Friday night, after an Evan Longoria solo shot. And just like Friday, the Giants’ bats answered back, with Michael Conforto leading the charge. The 30-year-old outfielder took a high fastball from Kelly and pushed it down the left-field line, giving the Giants a 2-1 lead with two outs. His knock might have given some fans deja vu; he similarly hit a two-out double to give the Giants a 2-1 lead in the series opener.
“It feels like these guys have a ton of confidence that they’re coming back, and maybe coming back to put a crooked number on the board,” Kapler said. “If you do that a couple of times in the game, you generally deliver a knockout blow.”
Keaton Winn came in as the bulk inning pitcher in relief of Walker, and struck out three while allowing just two hits in his first three innings. But the 25-year-old rookie struggled in the fifth, giving up an RBI single to Marte and passing on two runners to Sean Manaea when he exited, who both later scored on Christian Walker’s bases-loaded double off Manaea.
“I thought (Winn) threw the ball well,” Kapler said. “A lot of strikes. Good fastball-split combinations, really nasty splits especially early on. But, I thought it was a good outing for him.”
The Giants' offense continued to answer when their pitchers struggled, though. After a Thairo Estrada single, Joc Pederson lined a ball into right center that skated under right fielder Jake McCarthy’s glove, rolling all the way into Triples Alley for an RBI three-bagger. Blake Sabol would then sac-fly Pederson home, tying the game before Matos’ big blast in the sixth.
In the end, Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval ended the back and forth, making Matos' homer decisive. Although Doval made things more interesting than normal, he struck out Pavin Smith to earn his league-leading 22nd save of the season.
Giants 7, Diamondbacks 6 Arizona San Francisco ab r h bi ab r h bi Totals 40 6 12 6 Totals 32 7 10 7 Perdomo ss 5 1 2 0 Wade Jr. 1b 4 1 1 0 Marte 2b 4 3 2 2 Schmitt 3b 0 0 0 0 Carroll cf 5 1 0 0 Estrada 2b 4 2 1 0 C.Walker 1b 5 0 3 3 Pederson dh 4 2 2 2 Thomas pr 0 0 0 0 Davis 3b-1b 4 0 0 0 Gurriel Jr. lf 4 0 1 1 Conforto rf 2 0 1 1 Smith dh 5 0 0 0 Sabol lf 3 0 1 2 Rivera 3b 4 0 1 0 Johnson cf 0 0 0 0 C.Kelly c 4 0 1 0 Bailey c 4 0 1 0 McCarthy rf 4 1 2 0 Crawford ss 3 1 1 0 Matos cf-lf 4 1 2 2 Arizona 100 040 001 — 6 San Francisco 201 022 00x — 7 E_Carroll (1). DP_Arizona 1, San Francisco 0. LOB_Arizona 9, San Francisco 5. 2B_C.Walker 2 (22), Rivera (10), Wade Jr. (12), Conforto (7). 3B_Pederson (2). HR_Marte (13), Matos (1). SB_McCarthy (16). SF_Sabol (2). IP H R ER BB SO Arizona M.Kelly L,9-4 5 10 7 5 2 2 K.Nelson 2 0 0 0 0 4 Ruiz 1 0 0 0 0 1 San Francisco R.Walker 1 2 1 1 1 2 Winn 3 5 3 3 0 3 Manaea BS,0-1 1 1 1 1 0 2 Jackson 0 1 0 0 0 0 Ta.Rogers W,4-2 1 1 0 0 0 1 Ty.Rogers H,16 2 0 0 0 0 3 Doval S,22-24 1 2 1 1 1 1 M.Kelly pitched to 2 batters in the 6th, Winn pitched to 3 batters in the 5th, Jackson pitched to 2 batters in the 6th. HBP: M.Kelly (Crawford). WP: Doval. Umpires: Home, Mike Muchlinski; First, Sean Barber; Second, Alan Porter; Third, Jim Wolf. T: 2:39. A: 34,343 (41,915). See More Collapse
The Giants have now won 12 of their last 13 games and will be going for their second home sweep of the season Sunday. With the offensive production the team has displayed, scoring 95 runs in this stretch, Kapler said the team has faith they can keep up their success.
“We believe it’s big innings that win baseball games offensively,” Kapler said. “We always feel like that’s right around the corner. It’s a confident feeling on offense right now.”
Reach Sam Warren: Sam.Warren@sfchronicle.com
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
