Four Giants have chance to hit 20 home runs for first time in years

SAN FRANCISCO -- The NL's 40 Home Run Club got crowded last week, with Cody Bellinger hitting the mark first, followed by Christian Yelich and Pete Alonso, who broke the NL record for a rookie. That mark was just two years old and was set by Bellinger. 

Ronald Acuña Jr. (35) and Eugenio Suarez (34) should get to 40 soon, and six other NL sluggers are already at 30 with six weeks left in the season. It's been that kind of year, but the Giants have more modest goals. 

They haven't even had a hitter reach 20 since Brandon Crawford went deep 21 times in 2015, but this should be the year a Giant ends that powerless run. In fact, it should happen easily, and multiple players could get to 20. 

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The Giants haven't had multiple guys hit 20 since 2014, when good friends Buster Posey and Hunter Pence did it, and they haven't had three get there since 2006, when Barry Bonds, Moises Alou, Ray Durham and Pedro Feliz all hit at least 20. 

Here are three with a good shot at ending the organization's drought, and one wild card:

Kevin Pillar

Currently the team leader at 17, Pillar already has set his career-high. He said last week that the lineup has to keep the same approach day in and day out and take advantage of the rewards that ballparks like Chase Field provide, but Pillar has actually done plenty of damage at home. He has 10 homers at Oracle Park, four more than any other Giant. 

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Pillar is streaky, but his pull power works well at home and he plays every day. The odds are high that he becomes the first Giants outfielder since Pence in 2014 to hit 20 homers, and the next guy should join him ...

Mike Yastrzemski

The rookie has become the best story of the season, and with three homers on Friday night he got up to 16, one more than he ever hit in a minor league season. Yastrzemski's power is for real; he has 28 homers across two levels this season, has hit six out of Oracle Park, and distributes his blasts to all fields.

With two more, Yastrzemski will tie Buster Posey's mark as a rookie. The Giants haven't had a rookie hit 20 homers since Dave Kingman in 1972. Their rookie record is 31, set by Jim Ray Hart in 1964. That'll be out of reach for Yastrzemski, but he should easily get to 20. He already has 11 homers in the second half. 

Evan Longoria

The third baseman has 15, but he missed time with a foot strain and remains slightly hampered by the injury. Still, Longoria has two homers since returning and has a shot at his 10th 20-homer season in the big leagues. 

With Pablo Sandoval out, Longoria is no longer in a timeshare, although he'll want to take advantage of road trips like this one. Of Longoria's 15 homers, 12 have come away from Oracle Park, where he's hitting just .215. 

Brandon Belt

A wild card, because he only has 14 but has traditionally gone on runs where he hits four or five in a week. Belt hasn't really gotten hot this season, but he hit a pair of homers over the weekend after a talk with Bruce Bochy and a move down in the lineup.

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It would take a hot streak to get him to 20, but Belt has gotten close before. He has a pair of 18-homer seasons and two with 17. 

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