SF Giants sweep Athletics, win 8-3 in Marco Luciano debut

The Giants take both games in their two-game series against the Oakland A's, win on home runs

The SF Giants swept the Oakland Athletics, winning their second game of the series 8-3 on Wednesday night. The Giants gained ground on the Dodgers, and sit firmly in second place of the National League West at three games back. All four other NL West teams lost their games Wednesday. Marco Luciano, our #3 ranked prospect, made his major league debut.

The Giants got their offense lit up early, with leadoff batter LaMonte Wade Jr. hitting two balls into McCovey Cove, foul, before drawing a walk. The A's starting pitcher Freddy Tarnok managed to fool Wilmer Flores, getting him out swinging, but two pitches later, he met trouble again. J.D. Davis, clearly wanting in on the fun Wade Jr. had been having, hit a ball straight into the cove, putting the Giants up 2-0.

JDeuces ✌️ pic.twitter.com/QtFVvFX9ah

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) July 27, 2023

In the second, the Giants came out to add on to their lead. In their recent six-game losing streak, scoring more than one run or scoring more than in one inning per game felt like a rare commodity. But tonight, that wasn't the case. Mike Yastrzemski hit a single to right, and after Marco Luciano just missed getting the barrel all the way on the ball for a home run, Casey Schmitt hit a ball to deep center. Yastrzemski was able to score from first, and the Giants went up 3-0.

But the A's didn't allow the Giants to run away with the lead. Ryan Walker, who gave the Giants a solid 2.2 innings, only allowed one hit and striking out three. Manager Gabe Kapler turned to Scott Alexander to close out the third inning for the Giants, and then Jakob Junis for the fourth. Junis got two outs, but allowed a double and a walk before disaster struck. Jace Peterson came in to pinch hit for Aledmys Díaz, hitting a single that scored a run, putting the score at 3-1.

On the play for the single, center fielder Luis Matos overthrew the ball to third attempting to hold the runners in place, and it flew past the base. The error allowed another run to score and put a runner on third. With two outs, the A's had brought the score to 3-2. In the next at-bat, Shea Langeliers hit a single to score Jace Peterson from third. In short order, the A's tied it up, and they had a brand new ballgame. 

Not willing to be defeated when their offense was clearly hot, the Giants came with a foolproof plan of attack in the sixth; pinch hitting extraordinaire Austin Slater. After Flores hit a ground-rule double, Slater came in for Michael Conforto and hit a home run to left center to bring the Giants ahead 5-3. That's Slater's eighth pinch-hit home run, second only behind Willie McCovey in SF Giants franchise history with 13. 

Slater (go-ahead) tater 🥔 pic.twitter.com/NP1sOViMY9

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) July 27, 2023

Alex Wood came in to pitch the bulk of the Giants' innings, getting through three, only allowing one hit and no runs. Tyler Rogers came in for the eighth, and struck out two, also allowing just one hit and no runs. 

In the bottom of the eighth the Giants decided to get some insurance. With two outs, Matos doubled, knocking the A's Ángel Felipe out of the game. Former Giant Sam Long came in to get the final out, and instead allowed two doubles and a single to make the score 8-3 Giants. After his single, Brett Wisely was out stretching at second to end the inning.

With the lead at five runs, Camilo Doval remained in the dugout, warmed up in case of any trouble in the ninth. Kapler sent out Luke Jackson to get the final three outs, and despite a leadoff infield single, he got the next three batters out in order.

The SF Giants will get a much needed rest day on Thursday and pick up against the Boston Red Sox on Friday night. Logan Webb is expected to face righty Kutter Crawford to begin the weekend. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 PM Pacific.