Chris Shaw's first big-league hit is longest Giants homer since 2015

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DENVER — Chris Shaw came to the majors with a reputation for piling up strikeouts, so you would think whiffing in five of his first six at-bats would be the worst thing to happen to the young left fielder. Shaw, however, managed to keep it all in perspective. 

The left fielder’s first two starts came against Zack Wheeler, one of the National League's hottest pitchers, and Noah Syndergaard, who can be as tough as any pitcher in the game. 

“It was a double-edged sword,” Shaw said Monday afternoon after the Giants' loss to the Rockies. “You want to go up and have a terrific start. But it’s also like, what are you expecting facing the best pitchers in baseball your first time up? It’s hard to have five strikeouts in six at-bats but it’s a great learning opportunity.”

The rookie apparently is a quick learner.

Shaw’s next opportunity came Monday in the eighth inning, and when Seunghwan Oh hung an 0-2 slider, Shaw was ready. He blasted it 468 feet, giving the Giants their second-longest homer of the Statcast era and, temporarily, a lead over the Rockies. 

The Giants blew that lead. That’s the way this season has gone. But September is now about development, and in that respect, the loss wasn't all bad. Shaw is the kind of player the Giants haven’t developed in recent years. He will strike out a lot, but he also has the power to hit 30 homers one day. He has back-to-back 24-homer seasons in the minors. In essence, Shaw is the modern slugger. 

“That’s what he’s got, power,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s going to swing and miss but he’s going to run into balls. That’s kind of his game and something that’s needed here.”

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Shaw hopes it’s not always his game. He’s well-aware of his flaws, and said he hopes that many of those strikeouts are replaced by walks. But for now, he can show flashes of what’s been missing from this lineup. The Giants do not need him to hit third or fourth. They just need him to occasionally change games with his pop. 

Shaw came up after Alen Hanson hit a two-run homer to tie it, wiping out the last of what had been a 7-2 deficit. He thought he had a pretty good plan against Oh. Then he fell behind in the count. 

“As you can tell by the 0-2 start, I went up with the wrong idea there,” Shaw said, smiling. 

Oh made a mistake, though. He left a slider across the bottom third of the zone and Shaw blasted off. The ball shot out towards the bullpens at 108 mph as so many do here. But instead of landing in the trees, it cleared everything and clanked off some steps a dozen rows up in the second deck. The homer was the longest by a Giant since Brandon Belt pulled one an estimated 475 feet here three years ago. 

The dugout exploded. Madison Bumgarner, who gave up seven runs but didn’t get a decision, said he had heard of Shaw’s power as he traveled up the minor-league chain. 

“I’m looking forward to watching him the rest of the year,” Bumgarner said. 

Shaw should get two more shots at Coors this week. Bochy plans to start him just about every day against righties and the Rockies are throwing German Marquez and Antonio Senzatela the next two days. Shaw knows he will sit against lefties, and for now he’s fine with it. This is part of the development process, and Bochy met with him the other day and told him not to get discouraged by any of it. 

The days off may present other opportunities, too. Bochy likes a game-changer off the bench, and you can bet Shaw will get other pinch-hit opportunities. On Monday, he became the first Giant to record his first hit on a pinch-hit homer since Damon Minor, Shaw’s Triple-A hitting coach, did it 18 years ago. He became the second Giants rookie in four days to homer for his first big league hit, joining Aramis Garcia. 

“It’s incredible,” Shaw said. “It’s the thing you dream about, your first knock being a homer. That was surreal.”

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