SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Joc Pederson hit a two-run single against Corbin Burnes in the fifth inning that propelled the San Francisco Giants to a 6-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in the opener. a three-game series Friday night.
JD Davis and pinch hitter Wilmer Flores homered for the Giants, who came back twice from two-run deficits and won their third straight game after a five-game losing streak.
The Brewers fell 0-4 on their trip to Colorado and San Francisco and lost their fifth straight overall after starting the season 18-9.
Sean Manaea (1-1) allowed four runs — three earned — in five innings for his first win with the Giants.
Burnes (3-2) allowed five runs in six innings, but only two were earned. A two-base throwing error by shortstop Willy Adames scored a fifth three-run that gave the Giants a 5-4 lead.
Flores, at bat for Pederson to start the eighth, homered Hoby Milner.
Brewers manager Craig Counsell changed a roster that had totaled nine runs during the four-game losing streak and struggled all season against the left-handed pitcher, giving designated hitter William Contreras his first career start at the first rank. Contreras came in with a big .953 OPS against southpaws.
The move paid immediate dividends when Contreras opened the game with a brace and scored on Milwaukee’s third hit, Adames’ single. Manaea pushed Christian Yelich to hit in a double play, but the Brewers added a run when Brian Anderson tied with two outs and lasted long enough in a preview after being picked to allow Owen Miller to score from of the third.
The Giants needed three batters to tie the game. Burnes walked LaMonte Wade Jr. and Davis hit a rare home run by a right-handed hitter over Willie Mays’ wall into right field, which stands 24 feet above the warning track. Davis’ seventh homer gave him the team lead.
Manaea had eight straight outs before Tyrone Taylor and Joey Wiemer singled to open the fifth. They combined for a double steal and eventually scored for a 4-2 lead over the Brewers. Taylor headed home when receiver Joey Bart’s attempt to retire him third sailed into left field, and Wiemer scored on Miller’s sacrifice fly.
Burnes struck out 12 of 13 Giants after Davis’ first-inning homer, but gave up the two-run lead he had just gained when he allowed three unearned runs in fifth.
Brett Wisely scored on Thairo Estrada’s single. With two outs and the bases loaded, Pederson hit a two-run single that gave the Giants a 5-4 lead.
John Brebbia, Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval provided four shutout innings in relief for Manaea. Doval made his sixth save.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Brewers: RHP Adrian Houser is set to come off the injured list and make his 2023 debut in Sunday’s series finale. Houser strained his right groin in his last start to spring training and spent the last three weeks in rehab with Triple-A Nashville, where he had a 3.07 ERA in 14 2/3 innings. out of four starts.
Giants: SS Brandon Crawford (right calf strain) and OF Mike Yastrzemski (left hamstring strain), both injured April 30 in Mexico City, are stepping up their work at this homestand. Crawford is ahead of Yastrzemski and will start racing this weekend. Yastrzemski will start playing catch. Neither is eligible to leave IL before the Giants start a series in Arizona on Thursday night. … OF Bryce Johnson has been cleared to return after recovering from a concussion he suffered while running into an outside wall on April 12. … LHP Alex Wood (hamstring left strain) threw a second bullpen and was not ruled out for the homestand.
FOLLOWING
Giants RHP Alex Cobb (1-1, 2.43 ERA) takes on RHP Colin Rea (0-2, 4.79) in the middle of the series game on Saturday afternoon.
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