Martinez Tribune The website of the Martinez Tribune.
BY DANIEL GLUSKOTER
The Giants rolled into the All-Star break on a high note Sunday afternoon, defeating the Washington Nationals 3-1 at Oracle Park to complete a dominating three game sweep.
Curt Casali prepares to exchange fist bumps with Kevin Gausman following his three-run second inning home run Sunday afternoon. It provided all the runs the Giants needed as they completed a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals with a 3-1 win at Oracle Park.
San Francisco never trailed in the series and heads into the break with a record of 57-32. The team that wasn’t expected to be within shouting distance of Los Angeles or San Diego owns top record in the majors and is two games ahead of the Dodgers in the NL West. It’s their best record entering the break since the 1993 season when the team won 103 games, and their third best since moving to San Francisco.
Kevin Gausman (9-3, 1.73) only allowed one run while striking out nine in six-plus innings to earn the win. His ERA is the second best in baseball, trailing only the Mets Jacob deGrom.
“When we took Gaus out of the game, I mentioned to him that I thought it was one of the better first halves I’ve been around,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “This is as a player and as a manager, from any angle in baseball. It was that good. I thought today’s performance was excellent.”
Kevin Gausman delivers a pitch during San Francisco’s 3-1 win over the Nationals Sunday afternoon. The Giants ace enters the break headed to the All-Star Game in Denver with a 9-3 record and 1.73 ERA.
The Giants jumped on Washington starter Eric Fedde (4-6, 4.59) for a three-run home run by Curt Casali in the second inning and made it hold up. Dominic Leone, Tyler Rogers and Jake McGee each pitched scoreless innings in relief with McGee earning his 19th save. The win improved the teams home record to 30-13 (.698), the best in the majors.
“It’s kind of incredible,” Casali said of Gausman. ““To back up what he started last year is even more impressive. I’m really proud of him. I’m happy he gets to go to the All-Star Game in Colorado where he’s from. I’m really excited for him to enjoy that opportunity.”
Mike Yastrzemski dives back into first base too late to avoid getting doubled off during the first inning of the Giants 3-1 win over the Nationals Sunday.
While Gausman and Brandon Crawford prepare to depart for the All-Star game in Denver, the rest of the team will get to enjoy a well-deserved four-day break. San Francisco will start the second half of the season Friday night in St. Louis with a three game weekend series against the Cardinals before heading to Los Angeles for four games against the resurgent Dodgers.
“I think it’s worth noting that on this homestand we won games and did it without our All-Star catcher,” Kapler said. “We had four different catchers start games on this homestand. I think that’s just a good example of how we’ve stepped up for each other as a team.”
GAME NOTES:
The Giants has the best record in baseball at the All-Star break for the seventh time in franchise history and the first time since 2016.
Gausman is just the sixth starter in team history with a minimum 10 starts to have an ERA under 2.00 entering the break. San Francisco’s starting rotation has the third-best ERA in all of baseball (3.18).
San Francisco has hit 132 home runs, which is two more than the Toronto Blue Jays as the most in the majors.
Casali is batting 17-for-42 (.405) with four homers since returning from the injured list on June 12th.
The Giants optioned right-hander Tyler Beede back to Triple-A Sacramento.
