Bochy on the doorstep of milestone win thanks to blowout led by Giants veterans
BALTIMORE — The bad days have outnumbered the good for both Jeff Samardzija and Evan Longoria since they joined the Giants, but on Sunday in Baltimore, the veterans shared the spotlight in a game the duo can consider one of its best.
Longoria tied his season-highs with three hits and three RBIs while Samardzija recorded his fourth quality start in the last two years in a 8-1 series-clinching win over the worst team in baseball.
Shortstop Brandon Crawford added a pair of RBIs in the win with solo homers in the sixth and eighth innings as he finished with his third career multi-home run game and his first since August 3, 2015 in Atlanta.
The victory inched Bruce Bochy closer to a milestone as his 999th win with the Giants (24-34) leaves him one shy of joining John McGraw as the only other manager in franchise history to win 1,000 games with the team. If the Giants win one of their three games in New York this week, Bochy will join an exclusive club in the same city he made his big league debut in as a player in 1978.
Samardzija threw a gem in Sunday’s series finale, tossing six innings of one-run ball to record his third quality start in 12 games this year. The Orioles continually forced Samardzija to work deep into counts, but the Giants starter showed impressive resiliency and didn’t allow any of the five hitters who saw at least six pitches in a plate appearance to reach base.
The right-hander was particularly impressive against Orioles leadoff hitter and shortstop Jonathan Villar, who saw 11 pitches in his second plate appearance and 12 in his third. Both at-bats ended with routine flyouts including their battle to open the bottom of the sixth inning, which allowed Samardzija to enjoy a 1-2-3 final frame.
Longoria’s fourth inning homer tied the game at 1-1 and helped him move into a tie for third-place with Johnny Damon for the most home runs hit by a visiting player at Camden Yards. Longoria’s 284th career home run was also his 40th against the Orioles, which is the most any active player has hit against Baltimore.
With two outs and no one on, Giants first baseman Brandon Belt started a rally by taking a 3-2 pitch from Gabriel Ynoa off the outside corner to draw a walk. With Kevin Pillar at the plate, Belt took off on a steal attempt and induced a balk from Ynoa, who moved his front foot before stepping off the rubber.
On the next pitch, Pillar poked a 58-mile per hour squibber past first baseman Trey Mancini that rolled far enough for the Giants right fielder to reach second base on a go-ahead RBI double.
Longoria’s home run snapped an 0-for-12 stretch to begin his road trip and preceded another impressive at-bat in the fifth inning. After Ynoa induced two swings and misses on sliders, the Giants third baseman adjusted and yanked a slider on the outside corner into the left center field gap to give the Giants a 4-1 edge.
Two-strike, two-out hits have eluded the Giants in many of their games this season, but Longoria was able to pick up teammate Mike Yastrzemski who popped out in the infield with one out and a pair of runners in scoring position.
The 16,991 fans in attendance at Camden Yards vastly outnumbered the few dozen folks who took in Samardzija’s only other career start in Baltimore. In 2015, Samardzija’s White Sox faced the Orioles in the first MLB game ever closed to fans.
The controversial April 29, 2015 matchup took place during a period of civil unrest in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray, an African-American man who died in police custody 10 days earlier.