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Playing at American Family Field, the San Francisco Giants got six insurance runs in the 7th inning that included an Eric Haase grand slam. Their nine-run cushion, plus a home run robbery by Drew Gilbert in the bottom of the inning, proved to be just enough as the Giants held on for a 12-9 win and a series split.

On a day where the wind was blowing out hard to left field, Casey Schmitt hit a leadoff home run, Jung Hoo Lee had another four-hit game, and the Giants piled up 20 hits in a game that unexpectedly turned into a save situation for Caleb Killian (S 4). Adrian Houser hit the wall with one out in the 5th, so Sam Hentges picked up his first win of the season by escaping the inning.

Not only did Schmitt establish a new career high with his 13th dinger, he made a very nice catch in left in the bottom of the inning, as well snagging a tough grounder with the bases loaded while playing first base in the 9th. At this rate, Schmitt will be taking over center field after the All-Star break and become the team’s emergency catcher around Labor Day.

The 5-6-7 hitters did the majority of the damage Thursday afternoon, combing for six runs, 10 hits, and four RBI. It started in the first inning, where the Giants got an RBI single from Bryce Eldridge (3-for-4, BB) and an RBI double from Matt Chapman (3-for-5) that knocked in Lee (4-for-5).

Lee has a 12-game hitting streak, during which he’s raised his batting average by 55 points. He has 19 hits in his last seven games, which no Giant has done since Bill Terry in 1932, a year where he was also managing the team. Watch your back, Vitello! Eldridge has a seven-game hitting streak where he’s raised his average 116 points and his OPS by 300 points, which is probably comparable do something Mel Ott did in 1932, right?

The trio struck again in the 3rd inning. Lee doubled in Willy Adames, who just missed a home run, Eldridge walked, and Chapman hit an RBI single. Schmitt made the game 6-1 with a sac fly.

Jackson Chourio hit the first in his pair of two-run homers in the 5th, during a six-pitch stretch where Houser gave aup a double, home run, and another double. Still, the Giants kept hitting and kept knocking out Brewers pitchers. Literally and figuratively.

The third-inning rally chased Crow. His replacement, DL Hall, might be heading to the IL after injuring his pectoral muscle. He had to leave the game in the middle of an at-bat. Grant Anderson entered the game for him, only to leave when Eldridge lined a ball off his forearm in the 7th.

Jake Woodford came in and gave up a single to Chapman and Haase’s bomb to center field.

Woodford gave up four more singles, including Lee’s second hit of the inning, and a sacrifice fly to make the game 12-3.

Everything nearly fell apart when the Giants’ Choose Your Own Adventure bullpen tried to protect their six-run lead. Chourios went deep again off Brubaker, one of two home runs that bounced off the top of the fence Thursday. David Hamilton hit his second home run off the season off Tristan Beck in the 8th. Still, Wilkin Ramos entered the 9th with a seemingly-safe six-run lead.

Then, as Shawn Estes so poetically said, the Giants and their fans “puckered” a little. Chourio reached on an infield single. Even though the Brewers had cleared their bench in the 8th to rest their 3-4-5 hitters, the replacements delivered in the 9th. Gary Sanchez singled. Joey Ortiz and Blake Perkins walked. That was it for Ramos, and Killian entered with the bases loaded and an improbable save situation.

Killian got a strikeout and an RBI groundout before Luis Rengfio took a break from robbing Giants of hits at third to deliver an RBI single. Then Hamilton delivered a scare, but his potentially game-tying home run died on the warning track.

The wind-aided game should prepare the Giants for a weekend at Wrigley Field, delighting the hitters and terrifying the bullpen. The lineup is looking great — Rafael Devers finally got his first hit of the series in his final at-bat — while the ‘pen remains a work in regress.

Ultimately, the series felt like knocking down the widest pins in a bowling alley

As the Braves go for a sweep of Toronto Thursday night, it doesn’t seem like a very fair pitching matchup on paper.

Atlanta is starting its ace, Chris Sale. Toronto is using an opener, Mason Fluherty, and then likely giving Chad Dallas his major league debut after he was promoted to the major league roster on Thursday.

Follow along once things get underway at 7:15 EDT at Truist Park to see if Atlanta can complete its first sweep since early May with what sure looks like a favorable setup.

Game Info

Preview

Lineups

FIRST PITCH: 6:40p Central

TELEVISION: Twins.TV, “presented by Progressive”

RADIO: ‘CCO 830 AM, KMNB 102.9 FM “The Wolf”, Treasure Island Baseball Network, Audacy Application

KNOW THE FOE: Royals Review

Your Minnesota Twins continue their stretch of games against American League Central enemies, hosting the Kansas City Royals for a four-game set tonight through Sunday before a much-needed day off on Monday. The last time these two teams met was in K. C. for the Twins’ second series of the season in late March/early April when the Royals took the series 2-1. They’ve fallen on hard times since then, limping to a 23-38 record, good for the cellar of the Central. The offense has been off to a slow start, but is starting to pick up steam. Their pitching, like the Twins, have been hit hard with injuries and has an ERA of 4.62, good for 25th in MLB.

The Royals will send veteran righty Seth Lugo to the mound. He’s got a lot of pitches, but throws his slider the most and will mix in his sinker, four-seam fastball, curve, and cutter as well. He’s also known to throw a change from time to time and – very rarely – a splitter. He had a rough-ish month of May but his overall numbers this season so far shows a dip in homers and walks allowed while giving up more hits compared to past campaigns.

With Minnesota’s injury woes to their starting rotation, Derek Shelton has opted for a bullpen game. Multiple beat writers have noted last night that not-veteran Andrew Morris will take the mound first for the Twins. However, the Twins submitted a lineup with newly-called-up right-hander Mike Paredes as the starting pitcher, so maybe everyone’s lying. Either way, someone will be pitching for the local nine tonight and it will be a bullpen effort.

Morris started the season as a long-reliver but he’s only gone more than one inning once in his last 11 outings. He’s started the lone bullpen game for the Twins this season back on May 10 in a 5-4 win against the Spiders in Cleveland, throwing a clean first frame before passing the baton. (Kendrys Rojas started a game for the Twins and maybe that was bullpen game too, but he went four innings. Does that really count as a bullpen game then? I don’t know.)

Paredes has been part of the new-age starting pitching method that Minnesota has been using in the minors. Starting pitchers will go only four innings and pitch every fourth day instead of every fifth day, usually with another starting pitcher piggy-backing or piecing it together with multiple “classic” relievers. Paredes has done a bit of both the starting and the piggy-backing in St Paul, leading to a 3.38 ERA in 34.2 innings of work. He also owns a 1.125 WHIP across his nine appearances.

As a side note, it’s been a while since I’ve written and I forgot that our real-deal names are in the bylines now, so I am Imakesandwichesforaliving and will be taking care of you on Thursdays. Please sit back, crack open a cold one, and GO TWIMS GO. Also, Happy Prince Night!

The Texas Rangers have activated shortstop Corey Seager from the 10 day injured list, per MLB.com. In addition, the Rangers have optioned outfielder Alejandro Osuna and infielder Cody Freeman to AAA Round Rock.

Seager last played on May 13. On May 16, he reported back spasms, and while it was initially hoped he would be day-to-day, he ended up on the injured list. He has played for Frisco on a rehab assignment the previous two days, and is apparently ready to go when the Rangers host the Guardians on Friday. Seager had been in a 6 for 61 slump when he went on the injured list, and the hope was that the i.l. stint would also provide him a mental break and a re-set once he returned.

The other roster spot that is now open will presumably go to either Wyatt Langford, who last played on April 21, and who has been on the injured list with a strained forearm, or Sam Haggerty, who is on bereavement leave. Langford has played a pair of rehab games with Round Rock and a pair with Frisco. It may be that he is going to be making another rehab appearance for Frisco tonight before he is activated tomorrow.

Whether Langford returns Friday or later in the weekend, his returning to the roster meant Alejandro Osuna was going to go back to AAA. Osuna has been playing left field against righthanded pitchers, and has slashed .253/.376/.275 in 110 plate appearances over 37 games. With the non-Langford outfield and DH spots manned by lefthanded hitters, Osuna, who is also a lefty, is not a fit as a fourth outfielder, particularly given that he’s more suited for a corner spot than center field.

Freeman was called up to take Haggerty’s place when Haggerty went on bereavement leave. There was some question as to whether Freeman, who was in the mix for a spot on the Opening Day roster, would stick even once Haggerty returned (along with Seager and Langford), but that appears to not be the case.