Add The California Post on Google SAN FRANCISCO — Before and after the stunning early-season trade of Patrick Bailey, the Giants’ catching position has been an offensive black hole.
When they arrived at the ballpark Wednesday, it had been nearly two months since the last home run from one of their catchers. The lack of offense from a defense-driven position is low on the list of reasons why the Giants are where they are in the standings.
Giants catcher Daniel Susac hit his first two MLB home runs Wednesday against the Brewers. Getty Images But when the player they traded for a lack of hitting is launching more balls over the wall than his replacements who represented a defensive downgrade, it stands out.
Finally, Daniel Susac provided some salvation in the second inning.
The former Rule 5 draft pick got ahold of a low changeup from Brewers starter Thomas Pannone in the second inning and left little doubt about its final destination. The ball ended up 411 feet away for Susac’s long-awaited first career home run — and the first by any Giants catcher since June 4.
“It was about time,” joked starting pitcher Logan Webb.
The blast to straightaway center followed an error and a walk and gave the Giants a three-run lead that held up behind Webb’s six innings of two-run ball that eventually turned into a 16-3 romp.
Susac added a second home run in his final at-bat, with position player Andrew Vaughn on the mound, taking his career total from zero through his first 44 games to two after his 45th.
“I’d be lying if I said [it wasn’t on my mind], but I knew it was going to come eventually,” Susac said. “Just trying to get back to the swing I began this year with. It’s been a grind. … Lost a little bit of weight in spring training, so I’ve been trying to put that back on while keeping it healthy weight.”
Susac hit the first home run by a Giants catcher since June 4. AP Photo/Jeff Chiu The Giants, fresh off being swept by the lowly Royals, took two of three from a team tied with the Dodgers for the majors’ best record and have won consecutive series for the first time since the last week of June.
Webb pitched with a lead for most of his six innings, limiting the damage to two runs after allowing the leadoff man to reach three times, and had no reason to come out for the seventh after the Giants batted around and exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the sixth.
They added three more in the seventh and another three against the position player in the eighth.
“It’s a really, really good group when it gets going downhill,” manager Tony Vitello said. “They stacked at-bat on at-bat today, and I guess you’ve got to trust the process that if you’ve got at-bats like we had in that [sixth] inning, eventually the floodgates will open.”
