Yaz, San Francisco Giants extend winning streak to eight games

Jun 20, 2023, 8:22 AM

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 19: Mike Yastrzemski #5 of the San Francisco Giants hits a walk-of...

(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

Sacramento Kings Beat Writer

After dropping a three-game set at home to the Chicago Cubs during the weekend of June 9th, the San Francisco Giants needed a boost to climb over the .500 mark.

Following June 10th’s loss to the Cubs, the Giants held a record of 32-32.

Eight games later, San Francisco is 40-32 after winning eight-straight games, the latest coming on the back of a thrilling comeback victory over the San Diego Padres on Monday night at Oracle Park.

The Giants trailed 4-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning before solo shots from Mike Yastrzemski and David Villar trimmed the deficit to 4-2 entering the ninth inning. Thanks to a run-scoring wild pitch and a sacrifice fly that tied the game at 4-4, San Francisco forced extra innings and put themselves in the driver’s seat.

Camilo Doval worked his way out of trouble in the 10th to give his team a chance at walking things off in the tenth, and once Yastrzemski dug into the box with runners on second and third with one out, the game was all but in the bag–but Yaz had to put the game away in splash-hit style.

YAZ ENDS IT AND WE ARE GOING HOME 🤯 pic.twitter.com/2tyINfyWVa

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) June 20, 2023

Yastrzemski drilled a 3-1 fastball from San Diego reliever Ray Kerr 388 feet into the night sky before the ball splashed down in the San Francisco Bay, giving the Giants a 7-4 win–the team’s eighth in a row.

“That was probably the first time I’ve actually enjoyed it a little bit,” Yastrzemski said of admiring his game-winning blast. “I’m always worried about the ball getting caught. I don’t really hit many where I definitely know.”

The 32-year-old has been locked in over his past six games, hitting .308 with four home runs and 10 RBI, while San Francisco has lifted itself to just 3.5 games behind the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks.

“We’re just having fun,” Yastrzemski said. “We’re not taking anything too seriously. We’re always trying to stay competitive. We’re trying to take it one pitch at a time. When you try and score four runs at one time, that’s usually when it doesn’t work out very well, so we’re just trying to have good at-bats. I think everyone’s really bought into that, and it’s been working out well.”

Splash walkoffs are the best walkoffs 🌊 pic.twitter.com/BbiocQFe0Z

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) June 20, 2023

There is still plenty of season left to go, but the San Francisco Giants have made it clear that this team is here to stay as a postseason threat.

A convincing three-game sweep of the defending National League West champion Los Angeles Dodgers (on the road, nonetheless) and now a thrilling 4-0 comeback have injected excitement back into a fanbase that experienced a disappointing 2022 campaign.

35,376 fans filed into Oracle Park for Monday night’s win, the sixth-largest home crowd of the season for the orange and black.

Could this be a sign of things to come as the wins continue pouring in for San Francisco?