Sunday BP: Derek Holland had a day

Hello and happy Sunday.

There were some wild shenanigans in the San Francisco Giants game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night. First, the Giants hit three home runs off of Clayton Kershaw, which they’d never done before. And then Johnny Cueto lost a no-hit bid in the sixth inning when Hunter Pence couldn’t find a routine fly ball that landed about 30 feet away from him.

But those shenanigans could not compare to what former Giants pitcher Derek Holland had in store. Holland, now pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates, gave up a home run on the second pitch of his game on Saturday. And another one on the seventh pitch of the game. And another one on the tenth pitch of the game. And another one on the eleventh pitch of the game.

Remarkably, he stayed in the game all the way through five innings, and gave up just one more home run in the process (his final line: 5.0 innings, 13 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts, 9 earned runs).

Not sure I’ve ever seen that before.

Did Barry Bonds hit a home run today?

Why yes. Yes he did.

August 9, 1998: Against the Atlanta Braves, Bonds hit 2 home runs off of John Smoltz. A solo shot in the 1st inning cut the Giants deficit to 2-1. A 3-run blast in the 3rd inning scored Stan Javier and Ellis Burks, and tied the game 4-4. The Giants would lose 7-5. They were his 22nd and 23rd homers of the year.

August 9, 2001: Against the Cincinnati Reds, Bonds hit a solo home run in the 3rd inning off of John Winchester. It gave the Giants a 3-2 lead, and they would win 6-4. It was his 49th homer of the year.

August 9, 2002: Against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Bonds hit a solo home run in the 6th inning off of Kip Wells. It cut the Giants deficit to 4-3, which was the final score. It was his 33rd homer of the year.

Old, random MCC article to read

The odds of Brandon Hicks keeping it up (Aug. 29, 2014 — Grant Brisbee)

Editor’s note: the previous article was written before Roman started sponsoring Giants broadcasts.

Giants links

• Alex Coffey on how the 1955 Mays-Newcombe All-Stars might be the best team you’ve never heard of (The Athletic, subscription required)
• Kerry Crowley on how Jeff Samardzija’s injury impacts his future and the Giants rotation (Mercury News)
• Alex Pavlovic with a stat and an odd moment that defined his rough start (NBC Sports Bay Area)
• Andrew Baggarly on the Giants lack of a quality start from the pitchers (The Athletic, subscription required)
• Kerry Crowley on why Gabe Kapler won’t commit to specific bullpen roles (Mercury News)
• Alex Didion on why Farhan Zaidi loved working for the A’s (NBC Sports Bay Area)
• John Shea on the Giants ramping up coronavirus precautions (SF Chronicle)
• Brian Witt on why Farhan Zaidi isn’t concerned with Gabe Kapler and the Giants early mistakes (NBC Sports Bay Area)

Have a great Sunday, folks.