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 The Giants likely won't be seeking out newspapers as souvenirs of
Wednesday's victory, even if it was as fulfilling in its own way as
Tuesday's dramatic contest.
First baseman Brandon Belt hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer during a
five-run sixth inning against New York Mets ace Matt Harvey, and the
Giants pounded out 14 hits overall in a come-from-behind, 8-5 win.
The Giants had six extra-base hits, including three homers, a night
after delivering 10 singles among their 13 hits in support of
Heston, who struck out 11 and walked none in the 17th no-hitter in
franchise history.
"Whatever it takes -- that's kind of an unofficial motto we have
sometimes," Belt said. "It's kind of the way we play baseball."
The Giants (34-26) won for the fourth time in their past five games,
a stretch in which they have outscored the opposition 29-20. San
Francisco scored just 28 runs in eight games from May 27-June 3.
"It's a lot of fun to go to the park every night knowing those guys
are playing with some confidence and having some really nice
at-bats, regardless of who is on the mound," said right-hander Tim
Hudson, who earned his 218th career win, most among active players,
despite allowing four runs in five-plus innings. "They really did
pick me up tonight, for sure."
The Giants staked Hudson to a 2-0 lead before he even took the mound
thanks to a two-run homer by second baseman Joe Panik, but the Mets
tied the score in the bottom of the first on a two-run single by
shortstop Wilmer Flores.
New York got RBI singles by third baseman Eric Campbell in the
fourth and first baseman Lucas Duda in the fifth to take a 4-2 lead
into the sixth.
That normally would be enough for the fireballing Harvey, whose
sliders and changeups were clocked in the 89-91 mph range -- the
same speed as Heston's fastballs on Tuesday.
However, the Giants went down in order just once in the first five
innings against Harvey before busting out in the sixth. Panik
singled leading off the inning, and center fielder Angel Pagan
walked before catcher Buster Posey laced a game-tying, two-run
double to right.
Belt followed four pitches later with his eighth homer of the
season. Right fielder Justin Maxwell hit a solo homer later in the
inning for the Giants, who scored in the ninth via another RBI
double by Posey.
"It was a great win," Bochy said. "I mean, to get down off one of
the better pitchers in the game, with the stuff that Harvey was
throwing -- he made a couple mistakes we took advantage of, but it's
pretty electric stuff they had to go against. They found a way to
get it done."
Left fielder Nori Aoki tied a career-high with four hits while Panik
had three hits for the Giants.
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"I think it helps knowing that there's not one single person in this
lineup that thinks they have to carry the load," Belt said. "You
know if you don't get the job done, somebody behind you will."
Hudson (4-5) allowed eight hits and two walks while striking out
one. Right-hander Santiago Casilla, the Giants' sixth pitcher,
earned his 18th save with a perfect ninth.
Center fielder Juan Lagares had two hits, including an RBI triple in
the eighth inning, but the Mets (31-29) still lost for the sixth
time in eight games. New York fell a half-game behind the
first-place Washington Nationals in the NL East.
Flores and right fielder Curtis Granderson also had two hits as New
York dropped to 20-3 when scoring at least five runs.
Harvey (6-4) allowed a career-high-tying seven runs on nine hits and
two walks while striking out two. The three homers he allowed were a
career high, and the two whiffs were his fewest as a big-leaguer. He
is 1-3 with a 7.20 ERA in his past four starts.
"Just a terrible performance the last couple of starts," Harvey
said. "Extremely bad. Just not getting it done, not helping the team
in any way. Something needs to change. We need to go to square one,
and we're going to start tomorrow."
NOTES: The Giants placed OF Gregor Blanco on the seven-day
concussion disabled list and recalled OF Jarrett Parker from
Triple-A Sacramento. Another injured Giants outfielder, Hunter Pence
(left wrist tendinitis), is likely to head to the disabled list
Thursday after he was shut down from baseball activities Wednesday.
... Giants manager Bruce Bochy lives in the same town in Florida --
Melbourne -- as RHP Chris Heston, who threw a no-hitter Tuesday. A
grinning Bochy said he fielded a lot of phone calls Wednesday
morning from reporters who couldn't reach Heston. ... To make room
for C Travis d'Arnaud, who came off the disabled list, the Mets
optioned INF Danny Muno to Triple-A Las Vegas. D'Arnaud started and
went 1-for-4 with two runs. ... RHP Bobby Parnell, who hasn't
pitched in the bigs since undergoing Tommy John surgery in April
2014, is with the Mets and will be activated this week.
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