What we learned as Snell is near-perfect before Giants’ runaway win Originally appeared in NBC Bay Area Sports
SAN FRANCISCO – Mike Yastrzemski tripled leading off the ninth inning and raced home as the relay throw from the outfield sailed over Minnesota third baseman Diego Castillo, lifting the Giants to a 3-2 victory over the Twins on Sunday.
That capped an excellent day at Oracle Park that was highlighted by an outstanding performance from Blake Snell.
Snell was brilliant in his most dominant outing in a Giants uniform, allowing one hit in seven innings.
Winless in his first seven starts since signing with San Francisco in the offseason, Snell struck out eight and held a perfect game through six innings before Margot singled to lead off the seventh.
The Giants backed him up with just enough offense, but Snell still had to sweat after Camilo Doval blew the save in the ninth.
Thairo Estrada had an RBI single in the second inning, while Patrick Bailey’s single in the third put the Giants ahead 2-0.
Here are the conclusions from Sunday’s game:
Thairo shows his funk side
Thairo Estrada hasn’t performed well at the plate since coming off the injured list on Tuesday, but he showed signs of breaking out of his slump on Sunday.
The Giants second baseman hit an RBI single off Twins starter Chris Paddack in the second inning, ending a 14-at-bat hitless streak.
San Francisco desperately needs more offense from Estrada as he hits near the bottom of the lineup.
YAZ DOUBLES THE BET
Yastrzemski’s bat is another one the Giants need to take more advantage of during the second half of the season, and he also showed signs of improvement at the plate.
Yaz doubled twice and walked one in his three plate appearances, raising his OPS to .738.
Historically, Yastrzemski has hit well at Oracle Park and that has been the case this season as well.
TORTURE TORTURE
Nothing is easy anymore when Doval is called up, and the Giants closer made the home crowd sweat again.
Doval walked the first batter he faced in the ninth inning and then allowed a double to Christian Vazquez. After striking out Matt Wallner, Doval was tagged for a deep two-run double by Margot. Margot stumbled and fell on his way to third, but the Giants were unable to get him out before he returned to second base.
It is the fourth save blown by Doval this season.
