A day after Michael Conforto observed that situational hitting — not necessarily home runs — tends to carry successful teams, the Giants strung together a six-run inning with the bulk of the damage coming with two outs.
The Giants have needed to trade in some of their strikeouts for balls in play all year, but home runs, like Conforto’s in the middle of that second inning surge, are still encouraged.
Conforto drove his fourth home run in the past six games, sparking a massive second inning and boosting a Giants (18-23) lineup without Mike Yastrzemski and Joc Pederson. He sparked the offense that supported a strong 4.2-inning start from Alex Wood and a four-out save from Camilo Doval in a 6-3 win over Philadelphia that halted a three-game losing streak.
“It’s not a real surprise, he’s got one of the most mechanically sound swings in the league,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said postgame. “And he can drive the ball to the opposite field as good as anybody.”
The Giants hit through their order in the second inning, with the aid of multiple Philadelphia miscues. Bryson Stott dropped what would’ve been a putout at second base and Nick Castellanos dropped a line drive, bobbled a ball in the corner and threw too far up the line on a play at the plate.
The Phillies’ miscues made all six Giants runs unearned, but the six runs are six runs. Michael Conforto, who has found a rhythm at the plate, ignited a two-out rally with a three-run homer down the left field line off southpaw Bailey Falter. J.D. Davis, Mitch Haniger and Brandon Crawford followed him with key hits and aggressive baserunning against Castellanos.
The biggest hit came from Conforto, who flicked a first-pitch 91.1 mph sinker over the middle into the left field corner, showcasing impressive opposite-field pop. The ball would’ve left 29 of 30 ballparks.
Conforto’s home run was his eight of the season, half of which have come in the past week.
“I like the way he’s swinging the bat,” manager Gabe Kapler said pregame. “I’ve kind of liked how he’s been swinging the bat most of the season except he’s been making better swing decisions as of late. So you’re seeing the combination of a really good swing and good swing decisions coming together at the right time and making more consistent hard contact.”
This hot stretch arrived at an urgent moment for Conforto, as the former Met hit .168 with a .597 OPS and a strikeout rate north of 30% in his first 31 games as a Giant. San Francisco signed the outfielder to a two-year, $36 million contract with hopes of him repeating his three-year stretch from 2017 to 2019 in which he averaged 29 home runs.
Conforto, whose second-inning homer put him above the Mendoza Line, appears to be course correcting in that direction.
“I think really today it was just a good swing, and being ready for a fastball first pitch,” Conforto said postgame. “Not missing it, not fouling it back, staying inside and driving the ball. That’s what I’ve been working on — trying to get to that spot, so it feels really good to execute on that one.”
Wood, the Giants’ starter, allowed a two-run homer to Alec Bohm but otherwise shut down the Phillies for 4.2 frames, rewarding his lineup’s second-inning rally.
Monday’s start represented Wood’s second appearance after a hamstring injury landed him on the injured list. He was on a soft pitch count and departed after 72 pitches; he’d normally leave around the same time anyway, with the top of PHI’s order due up for a third time.
Jakob Junis allowed a run, but Scott Alexander retired four straight batters behind him to keep the Giants up 6-3.
Casey Schmitt, the Giants’ wunderkind, was the only other Giant besides Conforto to record a multi-hit game. His 2-for-4 night, including an athletic double, gives him 13 hits in seven career games. The natural third baseman also made a slick sliding play up the middle at second base, where he played for the first time as a big leaguer.
But it was Conforto who opened the game in the second, and Doval who closed it with a four-out save. The Giants stuck to the script on how to stop a losing streak.
“I think we’re a good team,” Wood said. “Just got to go out there and show it.”
