SAN DIEGO — San Francisco rookie Grant McCray hit two home runs and scored five runs as the Giants beat the San Diego Padres 6-3 on Saturday.
McCray, who made his major league debut on Aug. 14, gave the Giants a 3-2 lead with his three-run drive deep into the right-field seats against Dylan Cease (12-11) with two outs in the second inning. Patrick Bailey and Brett Wisely were on board with singles.
Bailey had a walk in the eighth inning when McCray hit another deep hit to right against left-hander Yuki Matsui for his fifth home run.
McCray, a left-hander and son of former major leaguer Rodney McCray, said the home run against Cease probably says more about his development.
“He’s a tougher pitcher,” McCray said. “I don’t mind hitting against lefties. I actually enjoy hitting against lefties. Frankly, I hit better against them in the minor leagues. Cease is a tougher pitcher who’s been nominated for the Cy Young almost every year, so it’s great to do some damage against him.”
San Francisco manager Bob Melvin said the Giants didn’t expect to have to play the center fielder this year, but they have had several injuries, including coveted free agent Jung Hoo Lee, who had to undergo season-ending surgery in May after crashing into the wall while trying to catch a ball.
Melvin, who had coached the Padres the previous two seasons, enjoyed watching McCray’s two home runs.
“One was a breaking ball, one was a heater. He’s hit left-handed a lot in the minor leagues,” Melvin said. “It’s all about getting the bat on the ball and finding a good pitch to hit. When he does that, you see him go the opposite way to the left. There’s a lot of power there, we saw that.”
McCray said: “I feel like I did my best as a young guy who was up here for the first time. You can’t ask for more than that.”
“I was never really a power hitter until a few years ago. It’s all in the hips, man. All in the hips, I guess. The ball just bounces, man.”
The Padres took a quick 2-0 lead against Logan Webb (12-9). They had all the bases loaded, no outs and Manny Machado hit an RBI single. They seemed poised for a big inning, but Xander Bogaerts hit a double play that scored another run before David Peralta was thrown out on a flyout.
After McCray hit a home run in the second inning, the Giants increased their lead to 4-2 in the fourth inning when Bailey worked a leadoff walk and scored on a double play.
San Diego pulled within 4-3 in the fifth when Tyler Wade hit a leadoff double and scored on Luis Arraez’s third consecutive single.
Webb played six innings, allowing three runs and ten hits while allowing three strikeouts and two walks.
Ryan Walker made his ninth save.
Cease also threw six innings, allowing four runs and six hits, with four strikeouts and two walks.
TRAINING ROOM
Padres: Rookie CF Merrill Jackson was out of the starting lineup a day after fouling out his left knee. But he came in as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning and hit a groundout to third base. San Diego manager Mike Shildt said Jackson will try to start Sunday. … RF Fernando Tatis Jr. got scheduled rest but delivered a pinch-hitter double to start the ninth inning. He was activated Monday after being on the injured list since June 22 because of a stress reaction in his right femur.
Next
Giants RHP Spencer Bivens (3-1, 2.86 ERA) and Padres RHP Joe Musgrove (5-4, 4.09) are scheduled to start in the series finale on Sunday.
——
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
