‘Can’t be more thankful’: McCray follows up squeeze with 1st career HR’Can’t be more thankful’: McCray follows up squeeze with 1st career HR

'Can't be more thankful': McCray follows up squeeze with 1st career HR 12:01 AM UTC Maria Guardado @mi_guardado Share share-square-693402 SAN FRANCISCO — It didn’t take long for Grant McCray to show off his blend of power and speed for the Giants. One day after making his Major League debut, McCray put the Giants on
‘Can’t be more thankful’: McCray follows up squeeze with 1st career HR’Can’t be more thankful’: McCray follows up squeeze with 1st career HR

‘Can’t be more thankful’: McCray follows up squeeze with 1st career HR

12:01 AM UTC

SAN FRANCISCO — It didn’t take long for Grant McCray to show off his blend of power and speed for the Giants.

One day after making his Major League debut, McCray put the Giants on the board with a bases-loaded bunt and then launched his first career home run, helping back a stellar start from Logan Webb, who struck out seven over 7 2/3 scoreless innings to lead San Francisco to a 6-0 win over the Braves in Thursday afternoon’s series finale at Oracle Park.

The much-needed victory snapped the Giants’ four-game skid and prevented a disastrous four-game sweep by the Braves, who still won the season series by a 4-3 margin and departed with a 3 1/2-game lead over San Francisco in the National League Wild Card standings.

McCray, the Giants’ No. 11 prospect per MLB Pipeline, went 0-for-4 after being recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday, but he made his second straight start in center field on Thursday. The 23-year-old rookie found himself in a big spot early on, stepping up to the plate against All-Star left-hander Max Fried with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the second.

McCray got the bunt sign from the dugout and saw two pitches before laying down the squeeze, though he ended up bouncing the ball directly in front of home plate, allowing Fried to charge in and make a shovel pass to catcher Travis d’Arnaud. Still, the Giants caught a break when d’Arnaud couldn’t hang onto the ball, allowing Jerar Encarnacion to score from third and giving the speedy McCray his first career hit and RBI.

It was a reversal in fortune for the Giants, whose small-ball tactics didn’t pay off earlier in the series after Tyler Fitzgerald couldn’t execute a bunt in the 10th inning of a 4-3 loss Tuesday night. Manager Bob Melvin said he couldn’t remember the last time he had a player bunt with the bases loaded, but he felt it was the Giants’ best opportunity to win the tough left-on-left matchup and get an early 1-0 lead for Webb.

“It doesn’t happen very often,” Melvin said. “We’ve been in that situation a bunch and haven’t scored, so we had to try something different.”

McCray became the first player to record his first Major League hit on an RBI bunt since Ezequiel Carrera on May 20, 2011, though he admitted that he was a little surprised by the scoring decision.

“Honestly, I was like, ‘It might be a fielder’s choice,’ but I’ll take a free hit,” McCray said. “It doesn’t hurt my feelings.

“First big league hit, first RBI. I did a job for my team and got the scoring going. I can’t be more thankful for that.”

The rookie center fielder drew a walk in his second plate appearance in the fourth and then did some damage when he got a chance to swing away in the sixth, hammering a first-pitch cutter from Jesse Chavez out to right-center field for a solo shot that extended the Giants’ lead to 5-0.

“Honestly, just excitement,” McCray said when asked to describe his emotions on the play. “But really I just blacked out. I rounded second and I was like, ‘This is for real.’ I got it out of the way, finally, but I was just overwhelmed with excitement.”

“That’s a special day for him,” Melvin said. “This is the type of game where he can settle in and know, ‘I can play here,’ and kind of do his thing now.”

It took McCray only two games to secure bragging rights over his father, Rodney, who never went deep in his 67 career games with the White Sox and Mets.

“I already told him,” McCray said, laughing. “When I went outside, I was like, ‘You don’t have a home run in the big leagues. I do.’”

Casey Schmitt also homered to help support Webb, who improved to 4-0 with a 0.61 ERA over his last four starts. Webb has displayed an uptick in velocity over that span, with his sinker topping out at 95.6 mph on Thursday, up from his season average of 92.3 mph.

“It really was kind of a must-win for us,” Melvin said. “Those are the guys you want on the mound in those types of games, and he came as advertised.”

Total
0
Shares
Leave a Reply
Related Posts
Palestinian Flags Raised in US Capital as American Flags Burned
Read More

Palestinian Flags Raised in US Capital as American Flags Burned

Protesters enraged by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress burned U.S. flags and raised Palestinian flags outside Union Station in Washington, D.C. Netanyahu's visit to Washington on Wednesday has provoked a series of dramatic demonstrations from protesters opposed to Israel's ongoing military assault in Gaza. Earlier in the day, maggots were dumped on
The extraordinary number of Aussies with less than $1,000 in the bank – with more boomers than millennials in trouble
Read More

The extraordinary number of Aussies with less than $1,000 in the bank – with more boomers than millennials in trouble

Baby boomers are more likely than millennials to have less than $1,000 in savings as the cost-of-living-crisis hits the older generation too, new figures show. Australian consumers in their 60s and 70s are often accusing of prolonging the inflation crisis, based on the theory those who own their own home without a mortgage have more money
Stewart out for season, Ryan out indefinitely in blow to TwinsStewart out for season, Ryan out indefinitely in blow to Twins
Read More

Stewart out for season, Ryan out indefinitely in blow to TwinsStewart out for season, Ryan out indefinitely in blow to Twins

Stewart out for season, Ryan out indefinitely in blow to Twins August 9th, 2024 Do-Hyoung Park @dohyoungpark Share share-square-456464 MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins were slated to play not one, but two division race-defining games on Friday. And ahead of arguably their most important games of the regular season to this point, they took not one