When Antonio Senzatela's back tightened up as he was warming up for the third inning Monday night, the pitcher who took over for the Colorado Rockies was one who is very familiar to Giants fans. Ty Blach made 87 appearances for the Giants over four years and even once started on Opening Day after Madison Bumgarner got hurt at the end of camp.
The Giants know Blach well, but the same can't fully be said of this current roster. Blach was DFA'd in 2019, Farhan Zaidi's first season in charge, and Zaidi and Scott Harris have spent the three years since turning over just about the entire roster.
Curt Casali is one of the newcomers, and while he never had the chance to catch Blach, he certainly looked Monday like someone who knows the lefty's repertoire inside and out. Casali hit two homers and drove in four runs, all against Blach, as the Giants edged the Rockies 7-6 on their first night at Coors Field. He did all of the early damage and fellow Vandy alum Mike Yastrzemski came up big late, hitting the game-winning homer in the top of the ninth.
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Casali's big game continued a hot streak that started last Tuesday, when he had three hits in a win over the Rockies at Oracle Park. One of those hits came off of Blach, and Casali used that knowledge to better prepare for Monday's matchups, which came far earlier than anyone could have expected.
"I was fortunate enough to have an at-bat against him the last time we faced him in SF. I think I had, like, a bleeding hit over the shortstop off of a changeup," Casali said. "But he started me off with a sinker down and in and he did the same thing again today. He threw a really good curveball and I swung through it, and then the first one that I hit out was not a good curveball. That felt good. I figured he was going to try and jam me in, in, in and I just tried to stay inside the ball and stick the finish, and it worked out."
Casali crushed a hanging curveball 438 feet in his first at-bat, tying the game at 1-1. The blast was his longest in the big leagues, and two innings later he locked up his third career multi-homer game. With the game still tied, Casali got the pitch he expected -- a sinker down and in -- and lined it to left for a three-run shot.
The Giants, of course, have had a few multi-homer games from their catcher in the last decade, but Casali became the first one not named Buster Posey to do it since Trevor Brown had a two-homer night on April 12, 2016. Casali now has three homers in his last two starts and seven hits in his last 10 at-bats.
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"I'm getting a (few) more at-bats, so I think that's helping," he said. "I made a couple of tweaks with my stance and I'm staying consistent with my routine in the cage."
There's one more tweak, this one much easier to notice. When the Giants busted out their Mustache May looks at the beginning of the month, Stache Leaders Austin Slater and Yastrzemski noted that Casali had a shot at having one of the best on the team if he fully committed and shaved the accompanying beard down. He has in recent days, but this hot streak won't bring out a superstitious streak.
"I'm shaving it as soon as June comes," Casali said. "There's no way. I'm sticking with it right now for a cause -- Slater is going to kill me if I shave it. But as soon as June 1 comes, it's off."