
SAN FRANCISCO — Johnny Cueto is coming off a World Series run with the Royals, and he said he’s excited about the six weeks ahead of the Giants, even with all that has gone on recently.
“This is where we’re going to see what kind of team we have,” Cueto said, smiling.
Are they the team from the first half or the one from the second half? Are they finding that groove again, or just taking advantage of a Mets team that thinks the Giants’ skid over the past month looks like quality baseball?
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As Cueto said, we’ll see. But given what the Giants have been through since the All-Star break, they don’t really care about optics. This win was a good win, and came on the heels of a good win. The Giants have back-to-back victories, this one an 8-1 late-inning thrashing, and are back in first place in the National League West.
“These two wins are so important for us with the way things have been going,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “Hopefully you get on a roll.”
There have been plenty of signs that the tide is turning. The Giants have scored 18 runs in two games against a pitching staff that is the Mets’ strength. They have pulled away late twice, after hardly doing it at all in July and early August. They scored seven runs in their final two at-bats Friday, but this was a tense one into the seventh.
[RECAP: Instant Replay: Giants beat Mets, take back first in NL West]
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Cueto and Seth Lugo both gave up an early run but took a tie into the seventh. That’s when Bochy went to work. With runners on first and second, Bochy sent Gregor Blanco to the on-deck circle. Jerry Blevins, a left-hander, was warming up for the Mets. Once both players entered, Blanco gave way to young switch-hitter Ehire Adrianza.
“I like the way Adrianza is swinging from the right side,” Bochy said.
Adrianza won a job with a solid spring and looked to be a different player early on. A fractured foot cost him most of the season, but he showed a power stroke during his rehab assignment. He has had an up-and-down return. He doubled earlier on the homestand but the Giants couldn’t complete the rally. Later that game, he popped up with the tying run on third. Still, Bochy liked this matchup.
“I’ll tell you what, this kid has got a lot of confidence,” Bochy said. “He wants to be up there. He has no fear.”
The Giants have seen that in Adrianza all year, and that’s part of the reason they’ve stuck with him through lean times. Adrianza said he started locking in as he saw Blevins take the bullpen mound. He was ready for his big moment.
“Everybody knows that I had this problem last year, I wasn’t able to deliver in the clutch,” he said through interpreter Erwin Higueros. “But that’s in the past. I came to spring training ready to deliver in those situations. I did not deliver two days ago, but I had to put that aside and be ready.”
Adrianza lined a single to right and Eduardo Nuñez raced home ahead of the throw. One of Denard Span’s four hits would make it 3-1 and the Mets did all the rest. Asdrubal Cabrera’s error opened the gates for a five-run eighth, which in turn allowed Bochy to rest his closer. For the second straight night, cameras caught Bochy beaming on the dugout rail.
“Wins certainly help your personality,” he said.
--- Hunter Pence hasn’t used that black eye as an excuse, but he admitted Friday that things were “a little weird after I got hit in the eye for a minute.” So, his vision might have been a bit off on that trip, and he certainly slumped through Miami. But Pence’s swing has returned in recent days, and he contributed Friday with a diving catch in Triples Alley.
Pence said he enjoyed the moment, noting that there was a lot of space between him and Span so he got to just bust it and then lay out. “I was free to go chase it, so that was fun,” he said.
--- Angel Pagan extended his hitting streak to 17 games.
--- In case you missed it, here is my podcast with Ryan Vogelsong. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.