DENVER: The Giants have one of the most prolific crimes affecting power in the Majors, so it wasn’t a surprise to see them continue their historic home throwing pace on a smooth Monday afternoon at Coors Field.
Darin Ruf and Buster Posey also scored home runs, while Estrada and Mauricio Dubón finished with three hits to help the Giants improve the Major League 88-50 and maintain a one-game lead for first place in the Western National League about the rival. Dodgers.
San Francisco now leads the National League with 206 homers this season and ranks second in the Majors behind the Blue Jays (210). The Giants of 2021 have already reached the fourth most important homers in the history of the franchise, with 24 games left to play, which will allow them to surpass the 235 records achieved in 2001.
Unlike the 2001 club, which received 73 homers only from legendary slugger Barry Bonds, the current Giants have benefited from a remarkably even power distribution. No current batsman on the roster has more than 30 homers, but 10 have reached double digits, including Brandon Belt and Mike Yastrzemski, who are tied to lead the team with 21 homers. (That doesn’t feature Kris Bryant, who has hit 24 homers between the Cubs and Giants this season).
Ruf set the tone for another happy afternoon after opening the game with his 15th home game of the year, a 375-foot throw to the left of Rockies left fielder Kyle Freeland in the first inning. It was the first day of Ruf’s career pitching, which has been occupying the pitching position against lefties while Austin Slater is recovering from a concussion.
Two batters later, Posey followed Ruf’s lead and crushed a 403-foot blast into the center-right field for his 17th game of the season, giving the Giants a quick 2-0 lead.
The Rockies got a throwback on Ryan McMahon’s solo shot that fired Kevin Gausman in the second, but Freeland ceded a third solo shot to Estrada to start the fourth. Subsequently, the Giants kicked Freeland out of the game scoring four more runs in the fifth behind Estrada’s second local day in the afternoon (a two-shot from the left field line) and Ruf’s triple.