SF Giants slug their way out of losing streak with 9-0 win

Landon Roupp threw five shutout innings, two Giants went deep, and Rafael Devers didn’t make a single error at first against the Atlanta Braves Tuesday

After six straight losses, countless practice ground balls at first base, and the dumbest controversy of the season, Rafael Devers made his first-ever start at first base. And the San Francisco Giants routed the Atlanta Braves, 9-0.

One day after starter Hayden Birdsong failed to record an out in a 9-5 loss where our game story was titled “Embarrassing,” the Giants grabbed an early lead by batting around in a four-run 2nd inning and never looked back.

Landon Roupp earned his 7th win of the season by striking out six Braves in five shutout innings. Wilmer Flores hit his 12th homer run and collected four RBIs. Casey Schmitt hit his first home run in exactly one month. And Devers survived nine innings at first base, in part thanks to Giants pitchers only giving up four ground balls and three chances for their newfound first sacker.

The scoring started in the second when Matt Chapman tripled in Willy Adames on a ball that missed being a home run by mere inches. Because this is the Giants, a fan in the outfield did reach out with a glove and try to catch the ball, but his reactions were too slow to interfere. It didn’t end up mattering, as Flores drove him home with sacrifice fly on an 0-2 pitch.

Five pitches later, Schmitt left no doubt about his own blast, drilling a ball 416 feet to left for his 5th home run.

Things didn’t get easier for starter Davis Daniel (0-1), whose name is backwards. Patrick Bailey doubled, then Luis Matos and Jung Hoo Lee walked to load the bases for Heliot Ramos, who delivered his own sac fly for a 4-0 lead.

Meanwhile Roupp was getting himself out of trouble with timely strikeouts. With two on and no one out in the first, Roupp struck out Ronald Acuña and Drake Baldwin. After a leadoff double from Jurickson Profar in the third, Roupp struck out Acuña again, then got Ozzie Albies to fly out with two on. When Roupp got Acuña to pop to right in the 5th, the former MVP didn’t even bother to run, instead breaking his bat, taking four steps, then tossing the pieces of wood down the dugout steps.

He got help from some nice outfield defense, something that’s been in short supply for the Giants in recent games. With two out in the 4th, Matos chased down a 380-foot drive by Michael Harris where he ran over 100 feet to get it. With two on and two out in the 5th, Matos snared a Bladwin line drive to end the inning, and Roupp’s night.

Roupp finished with 5IP, 4H, 1 BB, 1 HBP and 6Ks. He lowered his ERA to 3.11, which means that amber is the color of his energy on the mound. Roupp has a 1.62 ERA at Oracle Park this year, with a WHIP of 1.22 and 42 strikeouts in 50 innings. He hasn’t given up a home run at home all year. Pretty good!

In the 5th, the Giants added to the lead when new Gold Glove favorite Devers led off with a double (he went 2-for-5 with an RBI) and scored when the red-hot Adames singled him home, just barely avoiding a heart attack as Matt Williams wisely waved him home and the throw went to second.

Adames has now reached base in eight of his last 10 plate appearances, with six runs, five RBIs, and three homers in his last four games.

Sean Hjelle, back in the majors, was rudely welcomed with a Michael Harris line drive off his right hamstring. He walked it off, rubbed some dirt on the bruise, and struck out Nick Allen to end the inning.

Perhaps fired up by the violent assault on their tallest pitcher, the Giants hitters went to work again in the 7th. A walk and a block got Heliot Ramos to second base, ready for Devers to knock him in with a solid single to right.

Ramos ignored the third base coach but scored anyway, learning nothing from Acuña gunning down Bailey trying to stretch a single two innings earlier.

Base running wasn’t an issue the rest of the inning. Adames drew his third walk of the game and then Wilmer Flores hit his 12th home run of the season and his first since June 7.

That ended the scoring, but new call-up Carson Seymour impressed cleaning things up in the 8th and 9th. The 6-foot-6, 255-pound reliever struck out four Braves in his two innings, throwing a bowling-ball sinker at 95 MPH and getting three strikeouts on sliders. He also got some interest from the Golden State Warriors, still looking for a small-ball center. Can Seymour hit an 18-footer?

All in all, the Devers-at-first experiment is undefeated so far. It also lets Flores back into the lineup as a DH. or whoever they’d want, maybe even a left fielder who needs a break from the business of not shagging flies. If Devers can play the infield for ²⁄₃ of the remaining games, our math says the team would go no worse than 40-21.

The Giants have one final game in Atlanta with Logan Webb pitching, so expect the Giants to give Devers a little break, considering there’s going to be a whole lot more ground-outs. Or it’s time to throw him in the fire and see just how unbeatable the team is with Devers at first.