SF Giants Press Clips Monday, April 23, 2018 -...

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1 SF Giants Press Clips Monday, April 23, 2018 San Francisco Chronicle Giants take series after Brandon Belt’s record-setting at-bat Henry Schulman ANAHEIM — For 12 minutes, 45 seconds Sunday, Andrew McCutchen stood on deck wondering if he would ever get to play baseball again. Johnny Cueto was in the tunnel keeping his arm loose. Joe Panik spent an eternity at first base. At the plate was Brandon Belt, who has an ill-deserved reputation for not swinging. He swung the bat so many times in this at-bat that fatigue set in. As he lined out to right, he had no idea he and a 21-year-old pitcher in his second big-league game made history. Belt and right-hander Jaime Barria set a major-league record for the most pitches in one plate appearance, 21, in the first inning of a 4-2 victory against the Angels that finally secured the Giants’ first series victory of 2018. “I’d never seen anything like it,” manager Bruce Bochy said. The 21-pitch encounter was the longest since individual pitches were tracked starting in 1988. Belt had a big hand in the victory long after he and his mates saw 49 pitches in the first inning yet failed to score, a fitting symbol for their impotence with runners in scoring position. On the eighth pitch of a relatively mundane at-bat in the fifth, on the 38th pitch he saw on a sultry afternoon at the Big A, Belt homered for the fourth consecutive game, the longest streak of his career. Belt had no idea his first at-bat lasted 21 pitches. He thought it was in the teens.

Transcript of SF Giants Press Clips Monday, April 23, 2018 -...

Page 1: SF Giants Press Clips Monday, April 23, 2018 - mlb.mlb.commlb.mlb.com/documents/4/0/4/273524404/4.23.18_Clips.pdf · Baker riffed on Hank Aaron and historic high-fives ... the memorable

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SF Giants Press Clips Monday, April 23, 2018

San Francisco Chronicle Giants take series after Brandon Belt’s record-setting at-bat Henry Schulman ANAHEIM — For 12 minutes, 45 seconds Sunday, Andrew McCutchen stood on deck wondering if he would ever get to play baseball again. Johnny Cueto was in the tunnel keeping his arm loose. Joe Panik spent an eternity at first base. At the plate was Brandon Belt, who has an ill-deserved reputation for not swinging. He swung the bat so many times in this at-bat that fatigue set in. As he lined out to right, he had no idea he and a 21-year-old pitcher in his second big-league game made history. Belt and right-hander Jaime Barria set a major-league record for the most pitches in one plate appearance, 21, in the first inning of a 4-2 victory against the Angels that finally secured the Giants’ first series victory of 2018. “I’d never seen anything like it,” manager Bruce Bochy said. The 21-pitch encounter was the longest since individual pitches were tracked starting in 1988. Belt had a big hand in the victory long after he and his mates saw 49 pitches in the first inning yet failed to score, a fitting symbol for their impotence with runners in scoring position. On the eighth pitch of a relatively mundane at-bat in the fifth, on the 38th pitch he saw on a sultry afternoon at the Big A, Belt homered for the fourth consecutive game, the longest streak of his career. Belt had no idea his first at-bat lasted 21 pitches. He thought it was in the teens.

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“I just remember getting tired and wanting to do something,” Belt said. “I didn’t want to give in. I put too much effort into it.” Barria was just as stubborn. He kept throwing strikes in the face of physical and mental fatigue, but later brushed it off. “I think the batter had a tougher time,” he said. “I executed all my pitches.” Panik singled to start the game before the duel that surpassed the 20 pitches that Bartolo Colon threw to strike out Houston’s Ricky Gutierrez in a 1998 game in Cleveland. Belt hit 16 foul balls in the at-bat, 15 with two strikes and 11 in a row before losing the matchup. The 16th pitch of the at-bat had home run distance but hooked foul. Panik ran on a few pitches. Had there been two outs, he would have run on all 12 full-count pitches. “That’s what I wanted,” Belt joked. “I was hoping he’d have to run on every 3-2 pitch. He didn’t have to. That made it worse for sure.” Belt became the hitter he despises. “When I’m on the field, I hate it when a guy keeps fouling pitches off. I’m like, ‘Dude, just hit the ball.’ I basically had to apologize to everybody about that.” Not surprisingly, McCutchen singled after Belt flied out. He was on deck and got to see everything Barria had multiple times. Twenty-one pitches from a pitcher he had not faced. “You don’t want to be the next guy who goes out on the first pitch,” McCutchen said. Belt’s final two at-bats did last one pitch apiece, ending in a single and flyball. Barria escaped the marathon jam in the first on pop-ups by Evan Longoria and Pablo Sandoval. The Giants did not score but ensured a short afternoon for Barria. He was done after the Giants loaded the bases again in the third, with nobody out. Noe Ramirez got Buster Posey to hit into a run-scoring double play. Longoria then gave the Giants a 3-0 lead with his third home run of a fine trip in which he batted .361. The Belt-Barria skirmish overshadowed six more shutout innings by Cueto, who took a no-hitter into the sixth and lowered his majors-best ERA to 0.35. He turned his ankle again on a third-inning pitch but ran like a thoroughbred to first base to catch a Brandon Crawford relay and to

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finish a 3-6-1 double play that ended the sixth after the Angels loaded the bases. Cueto pumped his fist and screamed as he ran back to the dugout, one of his more emotional moments with the Giants. The Giants could not celebrate the series victory until Hunter Strickland survived a harrowing ninth after Mike Trout hit a two-run homer off Cory Gearrin in the eighth to halve the Giants’ lead. Trout homered in all three games of the series. With two outs and two on — and Trout on deck — Strickland got Ian Kinsler to fly out. That ended a 4-6 trip for the Giants ahead of three at home against the Nationals, in their first visit to AT&T since the Strickland-Bryce Harper brawl in May. Strickland did not want to add kindling to that fire when asked before the game how he viewed the next three games. “Win a series,” he said with a smile. San Francisco Chronicle Giants outfield prospects Austin Slater, Steven Duggar thriving in Triple-A Henry Schulman ANAHEIM — Don’t look now, but center fielder Steven Duggar‘s batting average at Triple-A Sacramento is up to .298 after his typical slow start. Fellow outfielder Austin Slater’s start has been anything but slow. His .349 batting average is among the best in the Pacific Coast League. The front office and manager Bruce Bochy monitor their Triple-A players. As they showed with Mac Williamson, they are not shy about dipping into the minors for offensive help, which they have needed. Williamson was an easy call. He has big-league experience and his power numbers and spring-training performance were hard to ignore, and Hunter Pence was lost at the plate and has a thumb injury. The next opening might be tougher to create. None of their outfielders beside Williamson has minor-league options. The Giants would risk losing Gorkys Hernandez or Gregor Blanco through waivers, and they hate to let go of player “inventory” unless they have no choice. Though Slater’s numbers are gaudier — in addition to the batting average, he has nine extra-base hits in 43 at-bats — Duggar’s road to the big leagues might be easier. The Giants view him as their future center fielder and Austin Jackson (.208, one extra-base hit) has struggled. The Giants signed Jackson for two years to move around the outfield and platoon with Duggar if the rookie won a job.

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Williamson provided scouting reports on both outfielders. On Slater: “Every game when I was down there, he put together great at-bats. He was swinging at good pitches and working the whole field. He really looked locked in.” On Duggar: “I felt like the numbers didn’t speak the whole truth of him. He was having long at-bats — eight, nine pitches — but he just wasn’t finding the barrel at the end of his at-bats. If you look at the percentage of quality at-bats, it’s only a matter of time.” Briefly: Johnny Cueto’s 0.35 is the lowest ERA for a Giants pitcher after four starts since Ray Sadecki’s 0.25 in 1968, the Year of the Pitcher. ... Brandon Crawford singled in the eighth inning to snap his hitless streak at 19 at-bats. Joe Panik was 1-for-19 before his three-hit day. San Jose Mercury News Giants’ Dusty Baker spins his greatest hits Dan Brown DUSTY BAKER barely touched his spinach salad. The chicken and mashed potatoes sat ignored. Baker came here to talk, and on that front it was an all-you-can-eat buffet. The former Giants manager, back in the fold for the team as a special adviser to the front office, was telling tales as soon as he rolled into the parking lot for this fundraiser in support of UC Merced athletics. Baker riffed on Hank Aaron and historic high-fives and a little bat boy who grew up to become a ballplayer. Baker can tell a ripping good yarn — talk about spin rate — and even managed to conduct a one-way conversation with Rufus, the school mascot, about how mascots aren’t allowed to talk. The thing about Dusty’s stories, though, is that the best ones have the narrative arc of a fable. There’s a moral in the story somewhere, a lesson about sportsmanship or childhood or parenthood or even life and death. Baker’s words can have a lingering impact, like ripples drifting toward the shore. And he got a reminder of that again on this night, where he was stunned to encounter a child he had given a pep talk to more than 35 years earlier. More on that later. Dusty Baker, back as special advisor to the Giants front office, got a warm welcome at the team's home opener, on April 3 at AT&T Park, where he made his first appearance in a Giants uniform since Game 7 of the 2002 World Series. The three-time manager of the year was here at the “Building Future Champions” dinner, a cause close to Baker’s heart now that his own son is student-athlete in the UC system. Darren

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Baker, the memorable bat boy saved from catastrophe by J.T. Snow in the 2002 World Series, is now a freshman second baseman at Cal. Dad is such a Bears fan that when the Giants called to offer Baker a job, he had one stipulation: To be able to attend all of Cal’s baseball games so he could watch Darren play ball. “Because I’ve missed so much of his life, all the way up,” he says now. I was here, too, at the Turlock Golf and Country Club on April 12, to moderate the on-stage discussion. This was the easiest gig in sports, something akin to batting practice pitcher at the Home Run Derby. Baker, at 68, is like the greatest jukebox in baseball. He plays nothing but the hits. Press A7 for that golden oldie about being on deck when teammate Hank Aaron hit home run No. 715 to surpass Babe Ruth for the all-time home run record on April 8, 1974 Minutes before Hank Aaron launched this pitch from Al Downing for his 715th career home run, he told Dusty Baker — the on-deck hitter — that he was about to break Babe Ruth's all-time record. 'He wasn’t bragging,' Baker recalled. 'He just said, ‘Hey, I’m going to get it over with right now.' RUTH purportedly called his shot, pointing to the bleachers before hitting the ball there in the 1932 World Series. Lesser known is that Aaron called his shot, too, with No. 715, but he did it in his typically understated style. Before heading to the plate to face Al Downing with one out in the fourth inning, he casually mentioned something to the on-deck hitter. “He told me he was going to break the record. He wasn’t bragging. He just said, ‘Hey, I’m going to get it over with right now,’ “ Baker said. The prediction was not unusual. Aaron used to say stuff like this to Baker all the time. It took a while for Dusty, who was in his early 20s while with Atlanta, to realize that Aaron wasn’t showing off. “This guy wasn’t being like Muhammad Ali and telling you what round he was going to knock somebody out,” Baker said. “He was actually teaching me and I didn’t know he was teaching me. He’d say, ‘Dusty, this guy is going to throw me a slider low-and-away and I’m going to hit it over the right-field fence.’ Or, ‘This is how I’m going to set this guy up and get a fastball.’ “ Aaron would always, always conclude those conversations by asking the kid, “Do you

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understand?” “And I said, ‘Yeah,’ “ Baker said. “But I really didn’t.” After Aaron hit No. 715 that night, there was an on-field ceremony with the slugger’s family that Baker recalls taking about 30 minutes. By the time he finally got to the plate, he had resolved to hit a home run, too, in Aaron’s honor. The only problem? He was distracted by clattering throughout Fulton County Stadium. It was the sound of clanking metal seats snapping back into place as fans headed for the exits. “I turn around and everybody’s gone,” Baker said. “I’m like, ‘Wait a minute. I’m about to hit!’ I hit a double and nobody saw it.” Press B17 for the disco-era classic about taking part in what is sometimes hailed as the first documented high-five, on Oct. 2, 1977 To get his milestone 30th home run on the last day of the 1977 season, Dusty Baker had to overcome J.R. Richard of the Houston Astros, one of the hardest-throwing pitchers of his day. “My nemesis,” Baker called him. Dodgers outfielder Glenn Burke, an Oakland native, celebrated a Dusty Baker home run on Oct. 2, 1977, by raising his hand above his head and waiting for Dusty Baker to smack it back. Some sports historians now point to that act as the first documented “high five.” FEARSOME FIREBALLER J.R. Richard was on the mound for the Houston Astros, an unwelcome sight for Baker who was looking to become the fourth Dodgers hitter with 30 home runs that season. Steve Garvey, Ron Cey and Reggie Smith were already there; Baker was on 29 heading into the regular-season finale. Richard was 6-foot-8. “He was my nemesis,” Baker said. “I’m serious. I hated facing J.R.” To make matters worse, Smith had brazenly told Richard a few days earlier Baker was going to tag him for No. 30. “I’m like, man, he didn’t need any more motivation, Reggie,” Baker said. When Dusty struck out in the fourth inning, he mentally surrendered any chance of making the Dodgers the first team in major league history with four 30-homer sluggers. It didn’t help that on his way back to the dugout, he saw a fan forking over a wad of cash to his friend — they had clearly just bet on Baker striking out. He was still muttering his disgust in the dugout when manager Tommy Lasorda overheard him. Lasorda exploded. DUSTY BAKER’S “HIGH FIVE”

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“Dusty! I don’t want to hear that! Did you think the children of Israel were going to die before the parting of the Red Sea. If they didn’t believe, they would have perished!” “Tommy, Tommy, please,” Baker begged. “You have to believe! You have to!” Lasorda persisted. When Baker came up in the seventh, he believed. And the darndest thing happened. “This is no lie. The ball, like, stopped,” he said, mimicking placing a ball on a batting tee. “It was going 100 miles per hour and it just stopped. I hit it over the center-field fence.” As he headed back to the dugout, on-deck hitter Glenn Burke raised his hand high and waited for Baker to respond. Baker reached up and smacked away, and the rest is history. By 1980, the Dodgers were selling “High-Five” T-shirts with a trademarked logo. Burke, an Oakland native, died in 1995. “But I’ll tell the world that Glenn Burke created the high-five, not me,” Baker said. “I just gave it back to him.” Press D22 for the grungy ballad about the little batboy who wandered into harm’s way during Game 5 of the 2002 World Series JEFF VENDSEL/MARIN IJ J.T. Snow scoops Darren Baker out of the way of David Bell who was on his way to the plate as both Snow and Bell score in the 7th inning. Before the game, Dusty Baker's mom told him she had a bad feeling and urged the manager to give his 3-year-old son a night off from bat boy duties. TALK ABOUT CALLED SHOTS. Christine Baker saw this one coming. “My mom told me before the game, ‘I have a bad feeling about this game. He shouldn’t be bat boy today,’ “ Dusty recalled. Baker, not for the first time, ignored his momma. “I’m like, ‘Mom, come on. He knows what he’s doing.’ ” In this case, Baker’s stubborn streak was premeditated. Less than a year earlier, in December of 2001, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The reason he insisted on Darren being the bat boy that night, even at age 3, is that he was thinking about his own mortality.

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“I was in a bad way,” Baker said. “You’re always fearful that the cancer is going to go back on you. So I just said, ‘Hey, man. I don’t care. I’m going to give my son everything that I can give him in case I’m not here anymore.’ “ The problem is that the bat boy system unraveled that night. In general, kids got their father’s bats. J.T. Snow, Shawon Dunston and Barry Bonds all had kids working that night, too. “So Kenny Lofton was my son’s designated father,” Baker said. “Because my son had asked me: ‘Dad, what do you do? All you do is sit around. Everybody else’s dad is playing, right?’ “ But when Lofton tripled in the bottom of the seventh, another kid — one representing executive Larry Baer — ran out to grab Lofton’s bat. “And my son says, ‘No, you’re not!’ and he ran out there before the other kid did,” Baker said. “I went to grab him and it was too late.” Darren Baker toddled dangerously close to the action as David Bell was coming into score before Snow grabbed the kid by the jacket and rescued him from a wipeout at home plate. The Giants beat the Angels 16-4 that night, but Darren’s grandmother was in no mood to celebrate. “So the game is over and the phone rings. I mean, I didn’t sit down for 30 seconds,” Dusty said. He had been hoping she didn’t watch the game. Instead, Christine Baker let loose. “You’re going to get that boy killed. I told you he shouldn’t be out there. You don’t ever listen to me.” “Mom, I have to go,” Baker replied, staring at an office full of reporters. “Ohhhh, no,” Christine said. “You tell the press to wait. Because you’re going to hear this.” Press G11 for a tale of inspiration — the kind of thing Giants fans used to call “Dustiny.” BECAUSE THE AUDIENCE included plenty of college students, Baker repeatedly touched on education. “Teachers are so very, very, important in your life,” he said. Growing up in Riverside, he had Mrs. Shapiro in the seventh grade. She asked students to do an oral report on what they wanted to be when they grew up. “And in my book report was: ‘I’m going to be a pro,’” Baker said. “And I didn’t know what sport. I just knew I was going to be a pro.” As he delivered his report, though, his classmates snickered. And they did so loudly. Until Mrs. Shapiro did something he never forgot.

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“She stopped them from laughing,” he said. “She said, ‘Dusty, if you think you’re going to be a pro, you will be a pro.’ “ Baker smiled. This Sept. 7 will mark 50 years since his major league debut. At this point, a UC Merced official signaled for me to wrap things up. Dusty, meanwhile, wanted to take on a few questions from the audience. DUSTY BAKER’S “DUSTINY” Neither of those things happened. Instead, the ripples were reaching the shore. With the story about Mrs. Shapiro’s words of encouragement still fresh in the air, I told Dusty about the 12-year-old boy who had written him a fan letter back in 1982. The kid addressed the letter to Dodger Stadium to say that, even as a Giants fan, he could admire Baker because he played the game hard and with respect and with class. Baker wrote back to the kid right away, scribbling an extra note on the envelope: “Danny, that was a great letter! Work hard in school and good luck!” To his surprise, that kid was at the UC Merced fundraiser. Because that kid was me. I wasn’t here for the salad, either. I finally told him how, as an 8th-grader who hoped to become a sports scribe, hearing writing encouragement from an All-Star ballplayer only fueled my dreams. I’ve known Dusty for 18 years and been in his office hundreds of times and never managed to spit that story out. For reasons unclear to me now, I feared the awkwardness of sounding like a fan instead of a properly hardened and cynical scribe. For a spell, I kept that envelope in my computer bag — until it inexplicably vanished one day, probably swept up with the popcorn kernels and half-eaten garlic fries. So when the show was over, and the audience gave us a Hallmark-style cheer, Baker embraced me on stage. “How come you never told me that before?” he whispered. “It was never the right time,” I replied, lamely. Sometimes, the waves have to cross an ocean.

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MLB.com Belt has longest at-bat that we've ever seen Doug Padilla ANAHEIM -- Brandon Belt sent out an apology after the Giants' victory over the Angels on Sunday. He will no longer grow irritated when an opponent or teammate fouls off one pitch after another. Belt owned the stage, as much for his historic 21-pitch at-bat during a 4-2 win over the Angels, as for hitting a home run in his fourth consecutive game played. Belt hit 16 foul balls in the first-inning plate appearance against Angels starter Jaime Barria that ended with a fly ball to right field. The 21 pitches in the at-bat, which lasted about 13 minutes, were the most on record (since 1988) for a single trip to the plate. Longest at-bats (since 1998) 1. Giants' Brandon Belt vs. Angels' Jaime Barria, 21 pitches, April 22, 2018 2. Astros' Ricky Gutierrez vs. Indians' Bartolo Colon, 20 pitches, June 26, 1998 3. Astros' Kevin Bass vs. Phillies' Steve Bedrosian, 19 pitches, July 23, 1988 4. (tie) A's Marcus Semien vs. Astros' Doug Fister, 18 pitches, June 3, 2016 4. (tie) Angels' Adam Kennedy vs. Brewers' Luis Vizcaino, 18 pitches, June 10, 2004 4. (tie) Dodgers' Alex Cora vs. Cubs' Matt Clement, 18 pitches, May 12, 2004 4. (tie) Royals' Bip Roberts vs. Tigers' Felipe Lira, 18 pitches, May 18, 1997 4. (tie) Angels' Brian Downing vs. White Sox Ken Patterson, 18 pitches, Sept. 1, 1990 "When I'm in the field I hate it when a batter keeps fouling pitches off," Belt said, sheepishly. "I'm like 'Dude, just put it in play. It's not that hard. Let's go.' So I basically had to apologize to everybody after that." Belt had an eight-pitch at-bat in the third inning when he singled to right field and then crushed a deep home run to right in a nine-pitch at-bat in the fifth. Giants starter Johnny Cueto said he went into the Giants' batting cage beneath the stands and threw a baseball against the netting during Belt's first-inning opus just to stay warm. The Giants saw 49 pitches in the first inning against Barria. "It was a very good at-bat for him and it was good for him," Cueto said. "I was in the batting cage watching it. I tried to keep myself loose because I knew I had to go in and pitch." Belt hit a home run at Arizona on Wednesday and another on Thursday against the D-backs. He did not play in Friday's game at Anaheim, which was his 30th birthday. Belt then hit a home run Saturday against the Angels and added another Sunday, his fifth of the season. The last Giants player to hit a home run in four consecutive games played was Hunter Pence in

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2013. Belt's marathon first-inning at-bat bested the previous record of a 20-pitch duel between the Astros' Ricky Gutierrez and the Indians' Bartolo Colon on June 26, 1998. That at-bat ended with a swinging strikeout for Colon. "I've never seen anything like it," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "That was really amazing what happened there, on both sides, Belt and the pitcher to keep throwing strikes too and end up winning [the battle]. No question that played a part in his early exit because he had good stuff." Barria ended up throwing 77 pitches in two-plus innings. Barria was making his second appearance in the Majors, having been called up earlier in the day by the Angels to make the start against the Giants. His only other start came April 11 against the Texas Rangers, when he gave up one run over five innings and picked up the victory. "I tried some changeups and used all my pitches, then finally with a fastball in I got him out," Barria said. "Yeah, there were some good pitches that I threw to him, especially with the curveball. But in the end, he kept making contact and fouling them off." Andrew McCutchen had a good view of the first-inning battle from the on-deck circle. "I'm not sure [Belt] was locked in, but he was fighting; he was battling," McCutchen said. "I'm sure he felt he didn't have anything [Barria] could actually throw by him." It didn't take McCutchen long to realize the challenge he had next. "You don't want to be the next guy to just ground out on the first pitch after that," said McCutchen, who singled to left field on the sixth pitch of the at-bat following Belt. Belt's stalemate helped to set a no-quit tone for the Giants, but in reality he was just trying to stay afloat up there in the first inning. "I wasn't seeing his slider very well, at first," Belt said. "I was just trying to see the pitch as well as I could. Honestly, this is the brightest place we've played at and it was kind of tough to see a little bit, so I was just trying to do the best I could to see the ball and put the bat on it." Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who homered on the 18th pitch of an at-bat when he played for the Dodgers in May 2004, tweeted his appreciation for Belt's resilient approach. Belt saw 40 pitches in five trips to the plate, but put the ball in play on the first pitch in each of his last two plate appearances. He had a first-pitch single in the seventh and a first-pitch flyout to left in the eighth.

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"Maybe it was seeing pitches and tracking pitches that might get you locked in later on," Belt said. "My goal was to just have good at-bats out there and I was able to do that." MLB.com Cueto lowers ERA to 0.35 as Giants top Halos Doug Padilla ANAHEIM -- It took three-plus weeks, a determined outing from Johnny Cueto and an epic day from Brandon Belt, but the Giants finally won their first series this season. Belt's historic 21-pitch at-bat in the first inning Sunday was the conversation piece, but his fifth-inning home run helped fuel a 4-2 victory over the Angels. Cueto contributed his fair share as well, holding the Angels to no runs on two hits after carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He lowered his ERA to 0.35 after four starts. "It's great to get a series," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "You hate to wait this long to get one, but on the road against a club that has really been playing well this year, Johnny came through for us. What a great effort he gave us and we hung on." The Giants won two of the three games at Anaheim, in a rematch of the thrilling 2002 World Series won by the Angels. Cueto, who missed a recent start with an ankle sprain, pitched through some discomfort, even getting a visit from the trainer at one point. He did not give up a base hit until Ian Kinsler singled to lead off the sixth inning. He closed the sixth by loading the bases but getting Luis Valbuena to hit into a 3-6-1 double play to end the threat. Cueto did a spin and made a fist pump after recording the out at first base, which ended up being the final out of his outing. "Based on the situation I had to celebrate it," Cueto said. A day after striking out 17 times against the Angels, the Giants tagged 77 pitches on Angels starter Jaime Barria in two-plus innings, with 49 of those pitches coming in the first inning alone. Barria gave up two runs on five hits with a walk in his second career appearance. Belt's 21-pitch at-bat, as the second batter of the game, took about 13 minutes and included 16 foul balls. It ended with him hitting a fly ball to right field. He saw 17 combined pitches in his next two at-bats, and he finished those with a single and his home run, respectively Belt ended the day with three hits and saw 40 pitches in his five plate appearances.

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"I don't really remember [specifics], I just knew I was getting tired and I wanted to do something right there," Belt said. "I didn't want to give in. I put too much effort into that at-bat already. I wanted to get something to handle and he just kept making good pitches." Buster Posey, who returned to the lineup after missing Saturday's game with back tightness, brought home the first Giants run in the third inning when he grounded into a double play. Evan Longoria added a two-run home run in the third, his fourth of the season. Belt's towering home run in the fifth easily cleared the wall in right field and gave him four home runs in the past four games he has played. He did not play in Friday's game at Anaheim, which was also his 30th birthday. The Angels closed the gap to 4-2 in the eighth inning on Mike Trout's third home in three games. Trout took over sole possession of the Major League lead in homers with nine. Hunter Strickland gave up two hits, but pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his third save. "It was a hard-fought game, but no question it's good to head home with a series under our belt," Bochy said. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Cueto spun around like a top in celebration after working his way out of a bases-loaded situation in the sixth inning. After loading the bases with one out, Cueto got Valbuena to hit a ground ball to Belt at first base. Belt started a nifty 3-6-1 double play, with Cueto combining a spin with a pump of his fist following the last out of his outing. SOUND SMART Cueto's 0.35 ERA is the lowest for a Giants pitcher after four starts since Ray Sadecki had a 0.25 mark in 1968. Cueto has given up one run over 26 innings so far this season, firing scoreless outings at the Dodgers, Diamondbacks and now the Angels. HE SAID IT "You have to give it to him. He kept on throwing strikes and didn't really hang anything except maybe a couple of pitches, but it was enough to throw me off and not get the barrel to the ball. It was a tough at-bat, but I was just trying to have a good at-bat up there, honestly." -- Belt, on facing Barria in their 21-pitch duel in the first inning Brandon Belt and Giants high five line in Anaheim UP NEXT

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The Giants will try to carry some momentum into the upcoming homestand, facing the Nationals on Monday. Chris Stratton (1-1, 2.22 ERA) will take the mound with some momentum of his own as the Giants have gone 3-1 in his starts this season. The Nationals will counter with left-hander Gio Gonzalez (2-1, 2.49) in the 7:15 p.m. PT start. MLB.com Posey back in lineup after sitting with stiff back Doug Padilla ANAHEIM -- Buster Posey's back stiffness did not keep him out for long as he returned to the Giants' lineup against the Angels on Sunday one day after he was a late scratch. Posey even returned to catching after he was scheduled to be the designated hitter in an American League park Saturday. Pablo Sandoval, who replaced Posey at DH on Saturday, was again the Giants' DH on Sunday. Posey has dealt with a couple of nagging injuries on the current road trip, missing a game April 15 at San Diego because of a sore thumb. But the veteran refuses to be down for long, a trait that manager Bruce Bochy applauds for the leadership aspects it brings. Bochy knows, though, that there is a delicate balance that comes with playing through injuries. "We were confident that he would be OK to go today," Bochy said. "If this was September, he could have pushed it [Saturday] night. But if he aggravates it, he's out for a few days." Now in his 10th season, Posey knows the value of bouncing back as quickly as possible. "It does send, I think, a great message any time a guy can bounce right back and get back in the lineup, even though he may not be 100 percent," Bochy said. Now Posey will look to bounce back at the plate. He is just 3-for-29 (.111) on the trip through San Diego, Arizona and now Anaheim. The downturn began after he concluded the last homestand with six hits over three games against the Diamondbacks. He was 14-for-35 (.400) to start the season. But his value to the club extends beyond what he can do at the plate. Giants pitchers have a collective 2.76 ERA in the 111 innings he has been behind the plate so far this year. The Athletic Down on the farm: Giants continue to mine River Cats' roster; Richmond racking up the wins Melissa Lockard The biggest news out of the Giants’ farm system this week was who left the farm, with

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outfielder Mac Williamson earning a promotion to San Francisco after a scalding hot start with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. Although no longer technically a prospect since he has already exhausted his MLB rookie eligibility, Williamson could still carve out a long-term role with the Giants in left field. If Williamson struggles, the Giants don’t necessarily have to go back to Hunter Pence in left field. Prospects Steven Duggar and Austin Slater are heating up in Sacramento and Chris Shaw still profiles as the Giants’ best long-term option as the everyday left fielder. The Giants have already had to borrow liberally from the Sacramento roster, with top pitching prospects Andrew Suarez and Tyler Beede making their major league debuts earlier this month. If the Giants fall out of contention by July, they could begin a rebuilding process that would include a decent portion of the current River Cats’ starting lineup taking over in San Francisco. All stats good through Sunday, April 22. Sacramento River Cats (Triple-A, Pacific Coast League) Current Record: 7-10 A pitching staff already stretched thin by promotions to the big leagues didn’t need a trip to the light air of Salt Lake City, but that’s what the River Cats got to start the week after their Monday game vs. Tacoma was rained out. The River Cats dropped three of four in Salt Lake and then split the first two of a road series in Tacoma on Saturday and Sunday. Sacramento bid adieu to their offensive leader Mac Williamson late in the week, although they still have plenty of firepower in their lineup. The River Cats are also dealing with a rash injuries, although they have received some experienced reinforcements from extended spring training. Transactions OF Mac Williamson: Recalled to San Francisco on 4/20. With the Giants in need of an offensive spark, they turned to Williamson, who replaces Hunter Pence in left field while Pence recovers from a thumb injury. Williamson destroyed all comers in his 11 games with Sacramento, homering six times and posting numbers that would have even been inflated in “Tecmo Baseball” (.487/.600/1.026). Williamson homered in his first game with the Giants on Friday and had three hits in 11 at-bats against the Angels. RHP Derek Law: Optioned to Sacramento on 4/20. Law spent nearly two weeks with the Giants but was sent down when the team went back to a five-man rotation on Friday. Law was roughed up in his return to Sacramento, allowing four runs in an inning of work on Sunday in Tacoma. RHP Dillon McNamara: Assigned to extended spring training on 4/20. McNamara returns to extended spring after two appearances with the River Cats. He allowed only one hit in 2 1/3 innings but gave up two runs and walked four while striking out three. McNamara joined the

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Giants in a midseason trade with the Yankees last season and pitched for Double-A Richmond the second half of last season. LHP Andrew Suarez: Assigned to Sacramento from San Jose on 4/20; Assigned to San Jose on 4/16. Weather has twice forced the Giants to move a starter from Sacramento to San Jose already this season. Tyler Beede was the first to have to make that move when weather threatened his first start of the season. Then Suarez made the trek down to San Jose when rain washed out Sacramento’s game on Monday. He returned to the River Cats on Friday and allowed a run in 5 2/3 innings in a win at Tacoma. RHP Joan Gregorio: Placed on the 7-day disabled list on 4/20. Gregorio was lit up in an appearance in Salt Lake on Thursday – allowing five runs without recording an out – and he landed on the DL the next day. Gregorio had allowed two runs in six innings before that Thursday appearance. OF Eury Pérez: Assigned to Sacramento on 4/18. Pérez joined the Giants’ organization as a minor league free agent in late February and he brings more than 900 minor league games and 73 big league games worth of experience to the River Cats’ roster. The speedy outfielder stole 31 bases in 77 games for two Triple-A clubs last season. He had three hits in 12 at-bats in his first weekend with the River Cats. LHP Will Smith: Rehab assignment continued in Sacramento on 4/17. Smith’s journey back to the big leagues is in what the Giants hope is the final stage, as the left-hander joins the River Cats after two games with San Jose. He’s already made three appearances for Sacramento, working three perfect innings. In each outing, he’s struck out two of the three batters he’s faced. RHP Will LaMarche: Assigned to Sacramento on 4/17; returned to extended spring training on 4/18. LaMarche joined the River Cats for just one day, and his one appearance was forgettable, as he allowed three runs in one inning of work at Salt Lake. LaMarche is in his second year as a member of the Giants’ organization after he signed as a minor league free agent last May. The former Tigers prospect spent most of last season with San Jose. C Trevor Brown: Placed on the 7-day disabled list on 4/17. Brown, who missed time in 2017 with a concussion, was placed on the DL two days after leaving a game with a head injury. LHP Manny Parra: Activated from the 7-day disabled list on 4/17. The veteran Parra began the season on the disabled list, but he officially joined the River Cats’ bullpen this week. In two appearances thus far, Parra has allowed a run in three innings of work. He has 628 innings of major league experience on his resume and, at age 35, is the oldest player on the Sacramento roster. RHP Tyler Beede: Optioned to Sacramento on 4/16. Beede returned to the River Cats after making two starts with the Giants in Jeff Samardzija’s spot in the rotation. Beede got the start

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for Sacramento on Friday in Salt Lake and he allowed four runs on five hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out seven. 3B Josh Rutledge: Placed on the 7-day disabled list on 4/16. Rutledge left last Sunday’s game early and he was placed on the disabled list on Monday with an undisclosed injury. He had a strong spring with the Giants but was off to a slow start at the plate, collecting one hit in his first 17 at-bats. LHP Steven Okert: Placed on the 7-day disabled list on 4/16. Okert made two appearances with the River Cats after a one-day stint on the Giants’ roster. He threw two scoreless innings on April 12, but then allowed five runs in one inning against Tacoma on April 15. He was placed on the disabled list the next day, the third player to land on the DL after playing in that April 15th game. C Jeff Arnold: Assigned to Sacramento from San Jose on 4/16. The veteran Arnold joined the River Cats on the same day that Brown was placed on the DL. Arnold has appeared in two games for Sacramento. He’s still looking for his first hit in five at-bats, but he’s walked three times. Arnold has been in the Giants’ system since 2010. Notable Performances OF Austin Slater: With Williamson in San Francisco, Slater takes over as one of the top offensive threats in the River Cats’ current lineup. He appeared in four games this week and had multi-hit games in two of them. Slater has a .349/.420/.605 line in 11 games this season. He has yet to homer, but he has seven doubles and two triples. OF Steven Duggar: Duggar has put his slow start to the season in the rearview mirror. He has a seven-game hitting streak and is batting .341 over his last 10 games. On Saturday and Sunday, Duggar went 5 for 9 with a walk and two RBIs. His batting line is up to .298/.385/.386 in 14 games this season. 2B Alen Hanson: Hanson has an eight-game hitting streak and he had three multi-hit games this week. He’s now batting a ridiculous .449/.509/.653 with six stolen bases in 14 games. OF Chris Shaw: Shaw had a quiet week at the plate, collecting only three hits in 21 at-bats. The slow week dropped his season average from .310 to .256. He still has a solid .444 SLG, but the Giants undoubtedly would like to see him improve his 26:4 K:BB. C Héctor Sánchez: The veteran backstop hit safely in all four games he played in this week and is batting .286/.405/.457 in 35 at-bats this season. He’s homered once and has three doubles. UT Chase d’Arnaud: d’Arnaud connected on his third home run of the season on Friday and he drove in three runs in five games played this week. d’Arnaud is batting .275/.383/.588 in 51 at-bats this year. He’s logged time defensively at every infield position except catcher and pitcher

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already this season. RHP Casey Kelly: After two outstanding outings to start the year, Kelly was lit up in two starts this week. He allowed nine runs in 3 2/3 innings in a start at Salt Lake on Tuesday and then allowed six earned runs in 2/3 of an inning on Sunday. Kelly’s ERA jumped from 1.00 to 10.80 in a week’s time. Richmond Flying Squirrels (Double-A, Eastern League) Current Record: 12-5 Richmond had a six-game winning streak come to an end on Thursday but still went 5-2 this week. The Flying Squirrels are currently the best team in the Eastern League’s Western Division. They have been especially good at home, winning six of seven games. The pitching staff has a sparkling 2.88 team ERA and a league-best 11 saves. Transactions C John Riley: Assigned to Augusta from Richmond on 4/18. Riley served as a third catcher on the Flying Squirrels roster while Aramis Garcia recovered from a hand injury that left him day-to-day for the early part of the week. Riley appeared in one game with Richmond and went 0 for 3 with a walk. Notable Performances RHP Shaun Anderson: Anderson was solid once again on Sunday, moving to 3-1 on the season with a five-inning performance against Altoona. He allowed three runs and struck out five while walking two in the win. He also hit a double. On Tuesday, Anderson threw six shutout innings in a win over Bowie. On the season, he has a 2.86 ERA and a 22:5 K:BB in 22 innings. SS Ryan Howard: It was another good week for Howard, who is currently riding a five-game hitting streak. He is batting .333/.397/.433 in 60 at-bats this season and he has five stolen bases in six attempts. Howard has only struck out seven times and he’s walked five times. RHP Jordan Johnson: Johnson backed up his six-inning shutout performance on April 13 with seven more shutout innings on Wednesday. He’s allowed only nine hits and one walk over those two starts and he’s struck out 10. RHP Caleb Simpson: Simpson recorded three saves this week, allowing only one hit in 3 2/3 innings in that stretch. He walked three but struck out four. According to Richmond broadcaster Jay Burnham, Simpson’s new hybrid slider has been especially effective. RHP Dusten Knight: Knight threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings in relief this week, including a 3 2/3 inning performance on Friday. He’s allowed just one run all season in 11 innings. Knight has given up five hits and four walks while striking out 10.

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OF Ronnie Jebavy: Jebavy has one of the more unusual stat lines in the early going this season. He is batting only .157 on the year, but he has a .323 OBP thanks to a league-leading 12 walks. He’s used his time on base well, stealing six bases in six chances. Making contact regularly has been Jebavy’s biggest problem this year. As he works deep in counts, he has drawn his walks but he has also struck out 19 times. C Aramis Garcia: Garcia injured his hand on April 13 but returned on April 19 and hit a home run on Friday, his first of the year. He has a .742 OPS in 10 games played this season. San Jose Giants (High-A, California League) Current Record: 11-7 The Giants had a see-saw week, which began with a win followed by a three-game losing streak, followed by a three-game winning streak. They continue to impress in tight games, winning two more one-run games. The Giants have four one-run wins since April 14. San Jose currently shares the lead in the North division with Visalia. Transactions RHP Connor Overton: Assigned to San Jose from extended spring training on 4/20. Overton missed most of 2016 and all of 2017 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He made his first appearance of 2018 on Friday and threw three scoreless innings. He allowed only a walk and he struck out three. LHP Mac Marshall: Placed on the 7-day disabled list on 4/18. Marshall was placed on the disabled list on Wednesday, but he is expected to be activated on Monday after skipping just one turn in the rotation. Marshall had UCL ligament repair surgery last season and the Giants are being careful with his return to the mound this year. C Connor Sabanosh: Assigned to San Jose from extended spring training on 4/16. Sabanosh took Arnold’s spot on the Giants’ roster after Arnold was promoted to Sacramento this week. An undrafted free agent signing out of Ohio State in 2016, Sabanosh appeared in two games for San Jose this week, going 2 for 7. He appeared in 15 games for San Jose last year. Notable Performances OF Heath Quinn: Quinn started the week 0 for 7 and then picked up eight hits in 15 at-bats to finish the week. He also walked twice and drove in four runs. Quinn is looking for a rebound season after a disappointing 2017 campaign, and he’s off to a good start. He’s batting .316/.391/.474 in 57 at-bats thus far. LHP Connor Menez: After a spot start with Sacramento on April 12, Menez returned to the San Jose rotation this week and made two outstanding starts. On Tuesday, he threw five shutout

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innings, allowing only one hit and three walks. He followed that up with a five-inning outing on Sunday night when he allowed a run on three hits and two walks. He struck out seven. All told, Menez has allowed only that run in 15 innings for the Giants this season. Look for him to be on the move to Double-A the next time there is an opening in Richmond. 2B Jalen Miller: There were no cycles or walk-off home runs, but Miller had a solid week at the plate with six hits and two walks in 24 at-bats. He scored five runs and stole a base. Miller has a .306/.346/.500 line in 72 at-bats this season. OF/1B Gio Brusa: Brusa also had a solid week following his cycle/walk-off home run feats the week prior. An 0 for 4 on Sunday broke a four-game hitting streak. He has an .821 OPS in 17 games this season. RHP Logan Webb: The Giants are easing Webb back in slowly after he threw only 28 innings last season. The 2014 fourth-round pick made two three-inning appearances this week. He didn’t allow a run and gave up only two hits and three walks while striking out five. In 10 innings this season, Webb has allowed one earned run. RHP Patrick Ruotolo: Ruotolo worked three scoreless innings this week and he recorded his first save of the season on Sunday. The right-hander has 10 strikeouts in seven innings for San Jose this season. OF Bryce Johnson: Johnson’s streak of three straight multi-hit games culminated in a four-hit game on Saturday. He has a five-game hitting streak and he’s upped his season average from .275 to .306 in a week. Johnson drove in four this week and scored four runs. LHP Carlos Diaz: Diaz allowed one run in 4 2/3 innings over three appearances out of the bullpen this week. He struck out four. Diaz has allowed only eight baserunners in 11 innings this season. OF Sandro Fabian: It’s been a little slow going for the youngest prospect on the San Jose roster, but Fabian showed some positive signs this week. He currently has a four-game hitting streak and he had a sacrifice fly and a sac bunt on Saturday. He’s batting .250/.283/.357 in 56 at-bats this season. RHP Melvin Adon: After two solid starts the week before, Adon’s one outing last week was a struggle. The fireballing right-hander allowed five runs on seven hits and two walks in four innings against Modesto on Friday. He struck out three. Augusta GreenJackets (Low-A, South Atlantic League) Current Record: 10-6 For a second straight week, the GreenJackets had their Sunday game canceled due to rain. Before the cancellation, it was a productive week for the GreenJackets, who won four of six

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games. Augusta’s pitching has been excellent all season and its staff ERA through 16 games is 2.74. The GreenJackets have allowed only 111 hits and seven home runs. The offense has been slower to warm up, with the team batting .232 with eight home runs so far. Transactions 3B Shane Matheny: Placed on the 7-day disabled list on 4/20. Matheny was off to a fast start before landing on the DL. Through nine games, he was batting .370/.500/.481 with six walks. 3B Trevor Abrams: Assigned to Augusta from extended spring training on 4/17. Abrams, a Rocklin native, signed a minor league contract with the Giants this January after going undrafted last season. He spent his first two seasons in college at Saint Mary’s before spending the next two at Sonoma State. Abrams is 2 for 8 to start his pro career. Notable Performances LHP Joey Marciano: Marciano dominated on Friday night, striking out a career-high 11 in six innings of work. He allowed only a run on four hits and he didn’t walk a batter. The Giants’ 2017 36th-round pick has allowed two runs in 17 innings this season and he has a 19:1 K:BB. OF Heliot Ramos: The Giants’ top prospect has hit safely in all but two games this season. His batting average is up to .259 and he hit his first home run of the season on Wednesday. Ramos has 15 strikeouts and has been caught stealing in three of four attempts, but he’s still making an impact, scoring 10 runs in 14 games. RHP John Gavin: The San Jose native allowed his first run of the season on Wednesday, but he still turned in an excellent outing. In five innings, he allowed a run on five hits and two walks against Kannapolis. Gavin struck out seven and has 19 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings this season. RHP Jason Bahr: Bahr continues to impress in a starter’s role. He allowed a run in five innings on Saturday and has allowed two earned runs in 18 2/3 innings this season. He has 24 strikeouts and he’s allowed only 12 hits. OF Jean Anogmas: Angomas hit safely in all but one game this week, and in the game in which he didn’t hit safely, he walked three times. Angomas has six walks against three strikeouts in 37 at-bats this season. He leads the team with 10 RBIs. RHP Peter Lannoo: Cornell alum Lannoo had a scoreless 3 2/3 inning appearance on Thursday. In four relief appearances this season, he has allowed two runs in 11 2/3 innings with 12 strikeouts and one walk. 2B Orlando Garcia: Garcia had a rough week at the plate, with multi-strikeout games in each of his five starts. In total, he struck out nine times in 15 at-bats.

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The Athletic Brandon Belt's 21-pitch at-bat sets a record as Giants finally win a series Andrew Baggarly ANAHEIM — Brandon Belt thought nothing of his critics as he batted in the first inning Sunday afternoon. It never crossed his mind to bristle at the notion that he is too passive at the plate, or that he is too content to look for a walk or that he is too soft to come through when it matters most. Belt wasn’t trying to prove a point as he kept fouling off pitches from round-faced Angels rookie right-hander Jaime Barría in what became a record-breaking filibuster of a plate appearance at Angel Stadium. He just knew he wasn’t going to give in. Not after he fell behind 1-2 when swinging through a slider. Not after he flicked away another fastball and slider. Not after he ran the count full and then kept spoiling pitch after pitch – an unbelievable 15 of them with a two-strike count. Belt and Barría did battle for 21 pitches, breaking the modern major league record of 20 set when Ricky Gutierrez battled a slender young Bartolo Colon for 20 pitches on June 26, 1998. Fastballs on the black. Changeups dropping into the zone. Sliders sweeping off the barrel. Belt flicked them away like mosquitoes. Barría threw over to first base four times while trying to keep Joe Panik honest, too. And after 12 minutes and 45 seconds, a delay that forced Giants right-hander Johnny Cueto to start throwing in the indoor batting cage to keep loose, Belt finally lined out to right field. “There’s records for anything,” Belt said. “I didn’t even know how many pitches were in that at-bat. I had no idea I thought it was in the teens or something. The idea was just to have a good at-bat.” He kept having them. The next time up, Belt singled on a comparatively short nine-pitch at-bat. And after that, he ended an eight-pitch at-bat by hitting a home run for a fourth consecutive game — the first Giant to do that since Hunter Pence in 2013. Belt had two more trips to the plate on the afternoon, and perhaps his bat felt like a broadsword by that point. He put the first pitch in play twice, hitting a single and a fly out to left. All in all, Belt saw an astounding 40 pitches – including 22 fouls with a two-strike count — while going 3 for 5 as the Giants captured their first series victory of the season with a 4-2 win over the Angels.

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And if any of his detractors watched the game, and still find him too passive … well, they might want to switch to the Golf Channel or something. “Yeah, that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” said Belt, about the notion that he goes to the plate not looking to swing. “Like, yeah, I want to go up there and not swing all the time. That’s the name of the game, isn’t it? No, the name of my game is to swing at pitches that I can hit. And if it’s not a pitch I can hit or it’s not in the strike zone, then I’m probably not going to swing. “So, if you don’t like it, too bad.” Belt’s value goes beyond his power and on-base ability. He is one of the game’s best defensive first basemen, too. He started the team’s most important play in the field, when he scooped up Luis Valbuena’s bases-loaded grounder in the sixth inning and threw a zero-hesitation laser to second base where Brandon Crawford turned a 3-6-1 double play. Cueto, who hobbled on his ankle a bit while throwing six shutout innings, raced to cover first base and let out a scream as he escaped the inning. Cueto took a no-hitter into the sixth and burned fumes while escaping the inning to continue a dearly needed resurgence atop a rotation that won’t have Madison Bumgarner till June. Cueto’s 0.35 ERA is the lowest by a Giant through four starts since Ray Sadecki in 1968. Cueto had to bide his time while the top of the first inning took 28 minutes. Barria threw 49 pitches. The most unbelievable part: the Giants did not score. Barria got Evan Longoria and Pablo Sandoval to pop up with the bases loaded. But all those pitches forced Barria from the game in the third inning, and Longoria came through with a two-run home run that gave the Giants a 3-0 lead. At the outset of this three-city trip, which the Giants completed with a 4-6 record, Longoria said he hoped it would be a bonding experience for the team and allow newcomers like himself to relax and settle in. He responded by hitting .361 with three homers, four doubles and seven RBIs in nine games. The Giants should’ve won in a laugher but they once again struggled with runners in scoring position (2 for 13) and Mike Trout insisted on remaining Mike Trout. He launched a two-run home run off Cory Gearrin in the eighth inning that halved the Giants’ lead and required the intercession of left-hander Tony Watson. Watson retired three batters and Hunter Strickland survived two singles in the ninth along with a scorching out from Kole Calhoun to escape with his third save of the season. When he recorded the final out, Trout stood on deck. When the Giants lost their lone game against the first-place Angels on Friday, Belt was the batter stranded as a pinch hitter in the on-deck circle. He didn’t get an at-bat on his 30th

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birthday. But he had a home run in his two previous starts, and he has a homer in two games since then. The Giants are relieved to be done with Trout and now they get Bryce Harper and the Washington Nationals in a home series at AT&T Park. If Belt can find his power stroke again Monday, he’d become the first Giant to homer in five consecutive since Barry Bonds in 2004. Hey, he’s got a nose for records right now. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “That was really amazing, what happened there, on both sides. It says a lot for that kid that he hung in there, too. It’s not that easy to throw that many strikes.” It’s hard to pin down whether Belt’s 21-pitch at-bat is an ironclad record. Pitch counts were not kept religiously prior to 1980; there is anecdotal evidence that Hall of Famer Luke Appling might have had a 24-pitch at-bat in the 1940s. But this one is documented. “It’s an art, I think, that he’s developed,” Bochy said of Belt’s ability to foul pitches. “But to have that many … he’s one of those guys when he hits a home run, sometimes he can get on a nice little run. I really like his swing. He’s shortened it up and he really looks good up there.” Belt laughed and said he hates when he’s standing at first base and an opponent has a long at-bat with multiple fouls. “So I basically had to apologize to everyone,” he said. “It’s pretty cool. I mean, it’s not the record I’d choose to break, but it’s not the worst either. I’m just happy I went up there and didn’t give the at-bat away. I tried my hardest every single pitch. It’s one of those things, it wasn’t easy, but I kept going. I wasn’t going to give it up. The pitcher wasn’t either. So it made for a good battle.” The Athletic Giants Analytics: Cueto the ace, Longoria's bounce back, Mac's future Owen Poindexter The Giants offense continued to struggle this week, but it wasn’t all bad news: Johnny Cueto is looking like an ace again, Evan Longoria is putting his early-season struggles behind him, and the lineup got a jolt of energy from the promotion of outfielder Mac Williamson. Cueto looks like he’s back He was overshadowed by Patrick Corbin’s one-hitter, but Cueto was excellent on Tuesday, and followed that up with another gem on Sunday, silencing a powerful Angels lineup. It’s easy to

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read too much into two great starts, but it’s hard to fake 18 strikeouts, two walks, and four hits over 13 shutout innings. On Tuesday, Cueto got 12 swinging strikes on non-fastballs, and he has utilized offspeed more and more this year. Changeups and curveballs accounted for over 43 percent of his pitches on Tuesday, and on Sunday, the change was the third strike on all but one of Cueto’s punchouts (all of them swinging). We don’t know what kind of year Cueto is going to have, but in four starts this year, he has shown that the dominant pitcher the Giants signed is still in there. If he can avoid the blister problem that derailed him last year, he can be a major stabilizing force in a rotation that still has a lot of question marks. Longoria has appeased the BABIP gods The season is still too young to make many definitive conclusions, and that’s doubly true when dividing this early part of the season into two halves. Still, Longoria’s first couple weeks as a Giant and his performance since then tell a short story: Longoria through April 10: PA BB% K% AVG OBP SLG ISO BABIP 36 2.8% 33.3% .114 .139 .257 .143 .136 Longoria from April 11-22: PA BB% K% AVG OBP SLG ISO BABIP 40 2.9% 28.6% .350 .375 .718 .324 .440 While BABIP luck certainly has played a factor in his early struggles and recent hot streak, that doesn't account for everything. His power has returned, after being almost non-existent in the early going. The curious part is his strikeout and walk numbers, which have gotten a little better, but still look like those of a struggling hitter. The projections for this year have Longoria's walk rate around 7 percent and his strikeout rate near 19 percent. To be a productive player once his BABIP settles down, he’ll need to see some regression toward those numbers. He’s swinging and missing more, especially at pitches out of the zone, but other than that his contact profile isn’t much different from his career totals, so I still think he eventually settles down into being the above-average hitter the Giants thought they were getting. He’s just taking a weird path to get there. The rest of the offense Longoria is a microcosm for the rest of the offense: the Giants as a whole have looked both dangerous and inept in the early going, but throughout they have struck out too much and not walked enough. On the season, they have been among the worst in both categories, and that’s been all the more true this week, with their collective K% over 30 percent, and their BB% hovering around 6 percent since Monday. That can work if you’re Joey Gallo and you do a ton

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of damage when you do make contact, but the Giants don’t have anyone who makes his living selling out for power. The problem with having too many plate appearances that end in the batter walking to the dugout and not enough with them walking to first base is that the team is very dependent on good things happening when ball meets bat, and that hasn’t been happening either. With only about a quarter of their batted balls going for hits, the Giants needed their 13-hit effort on Sunday to get over the Mendoza line for the week. The good news is that this should improve, just through some positive regression. While the Giants’ offense last year was nothing to write home about, they were better than most at avoiding strikeouts: their collective K-rate was 19.6 percent, sixth-best in the league. For what it’s worth, the Giants have been slightly less terrible on offense according to Base Runs, a stat that estimates a team’s offensive output with neutral luck on sequencing. Heading into Sunday’s action, the Giants had scored 3.10 runs per game, but remove the bad sequencing luck and they improve to 3.63. That’s still not great, but it’s better, and adds some credence to the idea that some of their early struggles will vanish with improved luck. To compete, they will need more than neutral luck, but it’s a start. Will Mac keep the job? Williamson is back in the major leagues after destroying minor league pitching for 11 games with Triple-A Sacramento at the start of the year. Williamson has bounced back and forth between the majors and minors for the last three years, but now he has a shot to earn a more permanent role if he can keep hitting and Pence can’t bounce back quickly from his thumb injury. The question is whether Williamson's recent barrage means he has turned a corner as a hitter or if this is just a well-timed hot streak. If we just look at the numbers, the bulk of the evidence suggests he’s a fourth outfielder type. His minor league hitting lines over the last two years haven’t made a strong case that he should be a starting major league outfielder, and his 242 major league plate appearances have produced an 84 wRC+ (16 percent worse than the average hitter in that time). But perhaps it’s too soon to put hard lines around what we can expect from Williamson: he changed his swing this year, and the results have been tremendous. In 50 Triple-A plate appearances before his promotion, he hit a video game-like .487/.600/1.026. If you want more reason to get excited about that, Williamson reportedly worked on his swing with Doug Latta, who helped Justin Turner go from utility infielder to one of baseball’s best hitters. We still don’t know how this translates against major league pitching, but Williamson is newly intriguing as a potential source of offense on a team that can use all the hits it can get.