SAN FRANCISCO–On August 2, Giants’ outfielder Jarrett Parker’s stat line read like a Greek tragedy.
In nine games this season, Parker had recorded just three hits in 21 at-bats, good for a .143 batting average.
Three days later, he’s one of the Giants’ hottest hitters, a clear defensive standout and a player who could help his cause significantly if he continues to play well for the remainder of the regular season.
On April 15, the Giants lost Parker for more than three months as he crashed into the outfield wall at AT&T Park and suffered a broken clavicle. While Parker had yet to produce at the plate, the loss of its Opening Day left fielder was a brutal blow to a Giants team that would come to experience a wide variety of setbacks over the course of the 2017 season.
On Thursday, though, Parker returned from the 60-day disabled list and made his first start since his incident on the warning track. All he proceeded to do was match his season hit total with a three-hit night, and a pair of doubles that showed the Giants what kind of pop they’ve been missing this season.
On Saturday, Parker was back in the starting lineup after a night off, and after an 0-for-3 start to the ballgame, the 28-year-old played the role of hero in San Francisco’s best comeback win of the season.
With the Giants trailing 4-0 in the bottom of the seventh, Parker smacked a double off the right field wall to plate Pablo Sandoval and give the Giants their first run of the night. He would score on the very next at-bat, as Hunter Pence hit a two-run home run to cut the Giants’ deficit to 4-3.
“That was a team effort tonight,” Parker said. “Pablo coming up, Walker had done a good job shutting us down for the first part of the game and then Pablo comes up and gets a big knock and gets things going and then Hunter got a big knock too so it was just good to get that ball rolling.”
While Saturday’s game was certainly a team effort for the Giants, Parker was the catalyst who lifted San Francisco to a win.
With two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, the Diamondbacks put a defensive shift on, and Parker beat it by legging out a slow grounder up the middle that allowed Denard Span to come home and score the winning run.
“It was awesome,” Parker said. “It was great to be apart of, it was a good team win.”
Parker’s double and eventual walkoff single came after he started the night 0-for-his-first-3 at the plate. For some players, especially one easing back into a routine due to an injury, that’s a setback that’s tough to recover from. For others, though, it’s a chance to wipe the slate clean, and that’s exactly what Parker did late in the game.
“First couple of at-bats, if they don’t go well, that’s what these young guys have to do, wash them off as we say,” Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy said. “He did a good job of that and the way their defense was set up. He runs pretty good and he just hit that ball in a good place.”
Though Parker didn’t make an impact with his bat over the first half of the game, he made his presence felt with his glove.
In the top half of the second, Diamondbacks’ left fielder David Peralta hit a low, tailing flyball into the left field corner that, if you’ve watched Giants’ outfielders this season, appeared destined to land in foul territory.
But right before the ball hit the dirt, Parker went into a slide and made a highlight-reel snag to end the inning.
Though Parker doesn’t plan on running into the wall too often, he was happy to aid pitcher Chris Stratton’s effort.
“I knew I was close, yeah,” Parker said. “So I was trying to be aware while still making the play so it was tough, but I was able to come out unscathed so that was nice.”
Though the return of Sandoval and the 20-year reunion of the Giants’ 1997 team that won the National League West will steal plenty of headlines on Saturday evening, Parker’s play since his return from the disabled list is a positive sign for San Francisco, and an indication that the situation in the team’s outfield could be improving.