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The San Francisco Giants accomplished the most glorious of regular season feats on Thursday, sweeping a four-game road series. It doesn’t get much better, unless the Los Angeles Dodgers are on the receiving end.
It was also over in the third inning, when the Giants flexed their muscles in ways that you had not envisioned that they would.
It was a fun inning, in large part because the Giants scored seven runs before the Cincinnati Reds recorded a single out. It was also a fun inning because it had all the makings of a dink and dunk inning, until it didn’t. The Giants led 1-0, and it seemed as though the would just slowly add to it.
Mike Yastrzemski walked, then Darin Ruf singled. Brandon Crawford knocked one in with a single, then Evan Longoria walked. Alex Dickerson had an RBI single, then Mauricio Dubón followed suite.
Three runs were already in, the bases were loaded, and there were no outs. Yet at a ballpark as live as the one in Cincy, the Giants were one ground ball away from feeling like they were stuck in a fight.
Instead, Steven Duggar stepped up and hit what was perhaps the most impressive home run of the season, even when you weigh for the park.
T-teach me how to Duggy pic.twitter.com/AbU9uK3E9b
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) May 20, 2021
You can’t really see it from that angle, but that ball did not land where it looked like that ball landed. It bounced high off of a dark vertical wall and bounced back towards the fence.
Duggar has flashed power in the Minors that hasn’t ever played much at the Major League level, by my goodness that swing was something. The ability to hit massive dingers does not a power hitter make but ... pretty nice start.
The Giants weren’t even done with the inning, let alone the game, as Ruf stepped up for a two-run blast a few hitters later.
With Brandon Belt sidelined, Ruf got another start against a righty, and he showed up with 4 hits, a home run, 2 doubles, and a walk. Pretty good day at the office. I would love to have that type of day at the office sometime, but I don’t even have an office.
The route was on, and the Giants would add to it. Crawford would add another big fly, his 11th of the year.
It’s late May and there are six players in all of baseball with more home runs than Crawford.
Longoria busted out of his slump with a long ball as well.
Every Giants position player who started had a hit, save for Yastrzemski who walked thrice. Five of them had multiple hits, and the Giants finished the game with 19 runs — the most in a game by any team this season.
Johnny Cueto was not dominant, but five innings of one-run ball at Great American Ball Park is plenty good enough, especially when your offense averages two runs per inning.
The Giants won 19-4 to sweep the series and finish 6-2 on the road trip.
Next up: the Dodgers.
Yes.