D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports
Jazz Chisholm could not believe it. He had blistered a ball over 100 mph right back at Alex Wood, and he had nothing to show for it besides a bat that was still in his hands.
The young Marlins star turned it into a cane, leaning upon it with his other hand on his hip, and stared back at Wood, who had snared the drive right off his hip. The Giants starter accepted the cheers from the crowd and allowed a bit of a smile.
The Giants’ start to their season should have their fans about as confounded at Chisholm.
The Giants’ offense has not erupted, and the Giants’ pitching and defense continue to compensate. Wood was untouchable, Mike Yastrzemski helped his cause and the Giants rolled to a 5-3 win over the Marlins at Oracle Park on Friday in front of 6,657, guaranteeing at least a split of the four-game series.
THINK FAST. pic.twitter.com/luP8UdMPZG
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) April 24, 2021
The Giants (13-7) grabbed their fifth win in six games and continue to build equity before the schedule presents more daunting challenges. It is less surprising that they have jumped out to a quick start and more surprising the manner in which they’ve done so: riding quality pitching and defense.
Each of the Giants’ 20 games this season has been decided by four runs or fewer, the longest season-opening stretch by the club since 1997. Entering the game, Giants starters had posted a 2.56 ERA, which was good for fourth best in baseball.
That number will only shrink after Wood’s seven strong, one-hit innings.
The lefty, making his second start of the season after an ablation procedure on his lower back kept him on the IL and then Sacramento to begin the year, allowed a leadoff home run to Chisholm and then nothing more, almost literally.
After the blast on the third pitch of the game, he retired 11 Marlins in a row — including a five-strikeout streak — before walking Garrett Cooper in the fourth. And then he zipped through the fifth, six and seventh without allowing another baserunner. He surrendered just the one hit and walk while striking out seven. Giants pitching has given up four hits in 18 innings to open this series with Miami.
Wood worked quickly, almost racing through his 97 pitches in a fashion that Gabe Kapler appreciates. His slider kept the Marlins off-balance all night, drawing 17 strikes either looking or swinging off the pitch.
The balls Miami could get into play were handled, Wood getting nine ground ball outs versus just five flyballs. Particularly impressive was Brandon Crawford, whose diving play to his left erased Cooper in the first. With Tyler Rogers on the mound, Wilmer Flores added an eighth-inning assist in fielding a ball down the third-base line and throwing strongly and accurately to second for a force-out.
The Giants’ offense was quietly effective until it got to the Miami bullpen.
Yastrzemski had the big blow in the third, watching Tommy La Stella walk in front of him before hammering his third homer of the year, this one to left.
YAZ ? pic.twitter.com/rzHKnD9Vw8
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) April 24, 2021
They did not score again until the seventh, but they wore the Marlins down. Ace Sandy Alcantara was chased after five innings, at 93 pitches, laboring through a lineup that drew four walks off of him.
It paid off in the seventh, when three hits (Mauricio Dubon double, Wilmer Flores and Brandon Belt singles) plus a Darin Ruf sacrifice fly put three runs on the board. That insurance helped when the Marlins scored two unearned runs in the ninth off Jake McGee, but the drama was low.
Yastrzemski went 2-for-3 with a walk and Belt got on in all four plate appearances, with three walks, which is a good sign for lefty bats that have struggled.
If there was a negative, Buster Posey’s 1,000th game as Giants catcher did not end in a shutout, although it did end in a win. He can take some lessons with Curt Casali and try again tomorrow.