Carlos Rodón provided six one-run innings and Camilo Doval stranded the bases loaded to earn a gutsy four-out save, but the star of the Giants’ 4-3 win over Detroit at Oracle Park on Tuesday was outfielder Mike Yastrzemski.
Yastrzemski drove in two of San Francisco’s four runs and also saved potentially more with stellar defense in right field.
The first came with no outs in the fourth inning. Rodón was pitching a gem, but also with a slower velocity than normal. He typically gets stronger as the game progresses, but the lower-90s fastball yielded more contact. He needed his defense to pick him up.
Yastrzemski did. Javier Báez lined a drive over Yastrzemski’s head and into the right field bricks. Yastrzemski assumed Báez, one of the fastest and most aggressive runners in the game, would try for second. He took a risk, guessed right and cut him down for an outfield assist.
“I mean, can never really be exact on that wall,” Yastrzemski said. “But it was one of those things where I felt like it was going to hit one area and if it did, I was going to make a decision for it. If it didn’t, we’re just going to try to recoup it and hopefully he doesn’t get to third. Luckily, it took that bounce and made it a lot easier play.”
Manager Gabe Kapler said Yastrzemski understands the angles of right field at Oracle Park — a difficult feat to accomplish. Both Kapler and Yastrzemski said the throw was their favorite of his two plays on the night, but the second one came in a higher leverage spot.
In the eighth inning, with the Giants clinging to a 4-2 lead, Miguel Cabrera smacked a ball 104.5 mph off his bat into the right-center gap. Yastrzemski broke toward it but didn’t take the perfect route. To compensate for that, he had to leap through the air.
The play was even harder to make than it looked. Allow Yastrzemski to explain.
“It was hit hard, but it went right into the lights right away,” Yastrzemski said. “I caught a glimpse of it for like a half second to have an idea — like ‘alright, the ball’s over my head, I probably need to jump a little bit.’ I think I jumped, closed my eyes, put my head down. I don’t know. Kind of just hoping it went in my glove, and glad it did.”
With the catch, Yastrzemski robbed Cabrera of his third hit of the game. Leone ended up walking the next two batters, then allowing a run on another single. Had Cabrera’s ball found grass instead of Yastrzemski’s glove, the result could have been much different.
Before Tuesday’s game, Kapler said the Giants needed to play “crisper” baseball. Fielding lapses and mental errors have plagued San Francisco during its mediocre June. Yastrzemski’s plays, plus web gems from Evan Longoria and Thairo Estrada, helped the club put together one of its more complete defensive efforts of the year.
“The boys were making plays tonight,” Rodón said.