Chadwick Tromp recorded his first major league hit and Wilmer Flores followed three batters later with a go-ahead, three-run home run in the fifth inning Friday night, sending the San Francisco Giants to a 9-2 victory over the visiting Texas Rangers in the opener of a three-game interleague series.
Tromp also doubled and scored again later in the game, and the San Francisco bullpen was lights out for 5 1/3 scoreless innings, as the Giants followed a loss with a win for the third time already this season.
Shin-Soo Choo bombed right-hander Logan Webb's first pitch of the game for his first home run of the season, and the Rangers led 2-1 before the Giants turned the tables on Rangers starter Mike Minor (0-2) in the fifth.
Tromp, a catcher who began the season at the Giants' minor league camp and had been 0-for-5 since a promotion earlier in the week, ignited the key inning with a two-strike single to right field.
After Mauricio Dubon singled and Austin Slater flied out, Flores also connected with a two-strike pitch, sending it into the empty left field bleachers for his second homer of the season and a 4-2 lead.
The Giants added five runs over the next two innings to break the game open. Tromp's double came after a two-out walk to Darin Ruf in the sixth, increasing the San Francisco lead to 5-2, before Dubon followed with an RBI hit for a four-run edge.
Ruf had a two-run double to highlight a three-run seventh.
Meanwhile, Giants relievers Conner Menez (1-0), Shaun Anderson, Wandy Peralta and Tony Watson combined to retire 11 straight Rangers before an error ended the run in the eighth. Menez was credited with the win after setting down all four batters he faced in the fourth and fifth innings. Sam Selman pitched the ninth to finish the game.
Webb was pulled two outs into the fourth, charged with two runs (one earned) on four hits. He walked four and struck out four.
Minor went 5 2/3 innings, giving up six runs and nine hits. He walked two and struck out three.
Tromp, Dubon and Ruf (San Francisco's 7-8-9 hitters) finished with two hits apiece for the Giants, whose previous three wins had been by a total of four runs. Ruf totaled three RBIs.
Joey Gallo had an RBI double for the Rangers, who were out-hit 11-6.
--Field Level Media
Texas | San Francisco | |
Mike Minor | Player | Logan Webb |
Loss | W/L | No Decision |
5.2 | IP | 3.2 |
3 | Strikeouts | 4 |
9 | Hits | 4 |
9.53 | ERA | 2.45 |
Texas | San Francisco | |
Rob Refsnyder | Player | Mauricio Dubon |
1 | Hits | 2 |
0 | RBI | 1 |
0 | HR | 0 |
1 | TB | 2 |
1.000 | Avg | .667 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
Texas | 6 | 1 | 11 | .176 | 19 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
San Francisco | 11 | 1 | 18 | .333 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 2 |