It had been a while—six days, to be precise—since the San Francisco Giants had last tasted victory. That last win came the previous Wednesday. Coincidentally, Blake Snell was on the mound then too, in a game against Milwaukee where the Giants erupted for 13 runs. Snell took the ball again in Tuesday’s series opener against the Baltimore Orioles, and once more, the Giants’ bats delivered, this time racking up double-digit runs.
Snell’s dominant performance made the 10 runs feel almost unnecessary. Baltimore’s offense, already struggling, didn’t fare much better against the reigning NL Cy Young winner. Snell allowed just one hit over six scoreless innings, striking out 10+ batters for the fifth time this season. His 12 strikeouts were the most he’d had in a game since his 15-K performance against Colorado in July.
Snell's stuff 🤢 pic.twitter.com/SzA7ZT79Mt
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) September 18, 2024
Issues like pitch efficiency and high counts that have plagued Snell in the past were less of a concern in this game. He threw first-pitch strikes to 14 of the 17 batters he faced through the fifth inning, finishing that frame with about 75 pitches—a number that would impress Mike Krukow. Seventy percent of his four-seam fastballs hit the zone, generating 17 called strikes. Despite using his curveball only 6% of the time, he still managed to miss bats, with 50% of his 22 swings-and-misses coming from his offspeed pitches.
Snell’s changeup blended perfectly with his other pitches throughout the game. His slider broke sharply, and his fastball both rose and dropped effectively. In the first inning, he froze AL MVP contender Gunnar Henderson with three consecutive four-seamers, and later struck him out on low, inside offspeed pitches in the fourth. For his final strikeout in the sixth inning, Snell put an exclamation point on a masterful outing.
MLB Next Game – San Francisco Giants
With a runner on second and two outs in the 5th inning—Baltimore’s first chance with a man in scoring position—Coby Mayo hoped for a fastball before every pitch, kept thinking he had one, only to swing and miss at a changeup. Five consecutive offspeed pitches and three strikeouts later, the runner was stranded, closing out the 5th inning and securing Blake Snell’s 10th strikeout.
Sean Hjelle, Erik Miller, Tyler Rogers, and Tristan Beck combined to allow just four hits over the final three innings, preserving San Francisco’s first shutout since August 15th. The team had been held scoreless five times since then, three of which came in the past week, so I can’t really fault the offense for piling on the runs in this one.
Yaz goes deep to lead off the game 💥 pic.twitter.com/MQMzcE9EuM
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) September 17, 2024
Just two pitches into the game, Mike Yastrzemski launched his 16th home run of the season against his former team and added another RBI with a two-out single in the 2nd inning.
Yaz knocks in another run against his former organization 😏 pic.twitter.com/4bgT4AMKiL
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) September 17, 2024
Yes, you read that right: a two-out RBI and early scoring. But here’s something even better: in the previous at-bat, Brett Wisely hit a sacrifice fly to right with the bases loaded! No wild swings, no stranded runners, no wasted outs—just taking care of business on a 1-0 pitch in a crucial situation.
Even more remarkably in the 4th inning, Grant McCray, who went 2-for-2 with 3 runs and 2 walks, scored on a Donovan Walton single… after stealing second base. Aggressive base-running? Manufacturing a run? More clutch hitting with runners in scoring position? You better believe it.
Poured it on in the 9th pic.twitter.com/aDyTvKQpeQ
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) September 18, 2024
After lighting up Craig Kimbrel for six runs in the 9th, San Francisco finished the game 5-for-9 with runners in scoring position, including two RBI sacrifice hits (both from Wisely) and two stolen bases (both from McCray).
A truly remarkable performance… if only the Giants had started doing this a little earlier…
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