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Luis Matos, Wilmer Flores lead SF Giants to 4-3 victory over Atlanta

Luis Matos homered in his first game back with the SF Giants, helping them defeat Atlanta on Sunday and avoid a sweep.

Marc Delucchi

Luis Matos, Wilmer Flores lead SF Giants to 4-3 victory over Atlanta
Luis Matos, Wilmer Flores lead SF Giants to 4-3 victory over Atlanta /
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The SF Giants avoided a sweep on Sunday against Atlanta, defeating the best team in the National League 4-3. The odds seemed stacked against the Giants, who were utilizing a bullpen game against top left-handed starting pitcher Max Fried. However, the Giants lineup managed a couple of home runs against the southpaw, which proved to be enough for a tag team of arms. The Giants improved to 65-59 on the season with the win and remain the second Wild Card team in the league.

SF Giants first baseman Wilmer Flores singles against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Truist Park on August 20, 2023.
SF Giants 1B Wilmer Flores singles against Atlanta at Truist Park on August 20, 2023 / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Giants loaded the bases in the top of the first inning with one out on two hits and a walk. Yet, anyone watching San Francisco's lineup recently would know that far from ensured a run. Indeed, Fried struck out J.D. Davis and induced an inning-ending groundout from Heliot Ramos (Giants Top 30 Prospect).

In the weird game of baseball, an offense always has scoring opportunities. Rookie Luis Matos, who was recalled from Triple-A prior to the game, led off the second inning with his second-career big-league home run. Matos got ahead in the count 2-0 before fouling off a pair of offerings. Fried tried to put Matos away with a fastball on the inside corner, but the 21-year-old right-handed hitter blasted a 425-foot home run.

After catching a redeye flight to get from Sacramento to Atlanta, Matos had an excellent overall performance in his first game back in the majors since he was demoted earlier this week. Matos singled in his second at-bat, recording his highest career MLB exit velocity at 108.4 mph. He finished the day 2-for-5 with two lineouts and zero swings-and-misses.

Jakob Junis got the start for the Giants on Sunday and should have completed two shutout innings. But a fielding error by Casey Schmitt brought Orlando Arcia to the plate. The powerful righty gave Atlanta a 2-1 lead with a two-run homer.

The Giants did not let Atlanta hold onto the lead for long, though. Thairo Estrada led off the top of the third with a line drive double down the left field line. Then, San Francisco's best hitter Wilmer Flores came to the plate and continued to be one of the hottest players in the league. Fried left an 0-1 breaking ball up, and Flores hit his team-leading 17th home run of the season to give the Giants a 3-2 lead.

With minimal margin for error against Atlanta's talented lineup, the pressure was on the Giants' remaining bulk inning options. Lefty Alex Wood replaced Junis following Arcia's homer and lasted 1.1 innings but was replaced by rookie Tristan Beck at the start of the fourth. Beck, as it turned out, would lead the bullpen's charge.

Beck allowed just two singles across three shutout innings, recording three strikeouts in the process. In his first long relief appearance since his worst big-league outing of the season last week, Beck rose to the occasion against arguably the best lineup in MLB.

Reliever Luke Jackson shut out Atlanta, his former team in the seventh inning, and then manager Gabe Kapler turned to Taylor Rogers in the eighth. Normally Rogers' twin brother Tyler would be the go-to option in the eighth, but not a day after Tyler threw more than 20 pitches and allowed a game-losing home run to Eddie Rosario.

Rogers struck out pinch-hitter Vaughn Grissom (who the Giants were reportedly interested in at the deadline) to start the inning but then walked Ronald Acuña Jr. and Eddie Rosario to put the potential winning run aboard. With closer Camilo Doval well rested and Atlanta's 3-4-5 hitters due up, Kapler decided to call on him for a potential five-out save.

Doval fell behind Austin Riley 3-0 but bounced back to record a nine-pitch strikeout. One out away from ending the inning, Doval just needed to retire National League home run leader Matt Olson. With the Giants shifted against the left-handed hitting Olson, Acuña attempted to steal third base, and rookie catcher Patrick Bailey airmailed a throw into left field. Acuña easily jogged around the bases to score the tying run. It was Atlanta's third unearned run of the game.

With a base open, the Giants opted to intentionally walk Olson and have Doval go up against Marcell Ozuna, who he struck out. So, the game was tied at three heading into the ninth.

Michael Conforto, who had pinch-hit for Austin Slater earlier in the game, led off the top of the ninth against Kirby Yates and worked a walk. Then Yates hit Estrada and Flores to load the bases with nobody out. Estrada was in pain after he was hit on the wrist but did remain in the game.

The bases were loaded with nobody out for Bailey, but a borderline check-swing call rang him up. Davis got his second opportunity of the day with the bases loaded and one out. But just like the first inning, he struck out swinging on a fastball. So, it all came down to Joc Pederson, who Kapler deployed as a pinch-hitter.

Yates fell behind Pederson 3-0, putting the Giants just one ball away from a go-ahead run. Pederson, clearly taking all the way, watched a fastball go below the zone for a run-scoring walk. The Giants did not score another run, but it gave them an opportunity to secure the win.

Despite throwing 18 pitches in the eighth inning, Doval returned to the mound in the ninth and retired the side in order. Doval could not record a save, although he definitely deserved one. Instead, he had to settle for his fourth win of the season.

After dropping a series in Atlanta, the SF Giants will head to Philadelphia to begin a three-game set against the reigning National League champion Phillies. Top pitching prospect Kyle Harrison is expected to make his MLB debut on Tuesday. The first game of the series at Citizens Bank Park is scheduled to begin at 3:40 PM Pacific on Monday.

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Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

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