Hunter Pence was 24-years-old when he broke into the big leagues on a full-time basis with the Houston Astros in 2007. He was the brightest young star on an Astros team that finished with 73 wins and had several players well past their prime.
Thirteen years later, Pence, in his second stint with the Giants, finds himself back in Houston this week, and is now one of those players whose best days are in the rear-view mirror. But on Tuesday night after grinding through the first two-plus weeks of the season, Pence rediscovered some of that former magic.
Pence’s opposite field three-run home run in the seventh inning gave the Giants some life after they fell behind the Astros by four runs after six innings. He was then part of a ninth inning rally that tied the game, as he singled right before Darin Ruf’s base hit brought home Mike Yastrzemski.
Brandon Crawford’s RBI single in the 10th inning provided the go-ahead run and Tyler Rogers recorded his first career big league save, as the Giants, in their most dramatic victory so far this season, beat the Astros 7-6 at Minute Maid Park.
“When you go through a bit of a rut, if you can push through that,” Pence said, “great things can happen.”
With runners on first and second against the Astros, Pence pinch-hit for Alex Dickerson and on a 1-2 count, took Blake Taylor’s 89 mph slider over the right field wall.
Sign up for Kerry Crowley’s free new newsletter and podcast.
Pence, 37, entered Tuesday with two hits in 32 at-bats this season. He tripled against Texas on Aug. 2 and singled and scored a run against the Dodgers on Aug. 8, the last game in which he had an at-bat before Tuesday.
“There’s going to be times when you hit the ball and it goes well, and times when it doesn’t,” Pence said. “From my experience and my knowledge, if I continue to have a good approach and continue to put in the work, I may hit some slumps, but eventually, I’ll start getting hits, too.”
That mindset and that approach were big reasons why Giants manager Gabe Kapler, over the first two weeks of the season, kept defending Pence.
Pence has a career .279 average in 14 seasons and last year with the Texas Rangers, after struggling in 2017 and 2018 with San Francisco, revitalized his career with 18 homers in 83 games.
“Hunter has a track record of being a productive major league hitter,” Kapler said. “Last year reinforced his track record. And then the work. The work is consistent every single day, the energy is consistent every single day.”
With Houston in 2007, Pence had 17 home runs and 69 RBI, good enough to finish third in National League Rookie of the Year voting behind Ryan Braun and Troy Tulowitzki. Pence hit 103 home runs and made two all-star teams over five seasons with the Astros before he was traded in July 2011 to the Phillies.
A year later, he was dealt to the Giants for their playoff push. He was a part of World Championship teams in 2012 and 2014 and was one of the most popular Giants of that era.
These days, though, Pence back on another struggling team. At 8-11, hope is fading that the Giants can be a part of this year’s expanded playoff format. But Tuesday’s game provided a rare feel-good moment.
“I’m enjoying a lot of the work these hitting guys have done and also the supporting cast,” Pence said. “It’s been really a big lift for me, and they’ve definitely helped me out a lot.”
Rogers, too, was another player that has had Kapler’s backing, even after he had been touched up for 11 earned runs through 8 1/3 innings pitched this season. Rogers took the loss Sunday when he allowed a three-run homer to AJ Pollock in the seventh inning of what became a 6-2 loss to the Dodgers.
“After L.A., he came to me and said, ‘I haven’t lost any confidence in you. You’re still one of my guys,” Rogers said. “That’s big when a manager does that for a player, especially after a couple tough games. Just to be able to validate his decision tonight was rewarding for me.”
Giants starter Tyler Anderson lasted five innings and got better as the game went on, retiring nine of the last 10 batters he faced. In the second and third innings, though, the Astros scored four runs, as Josh Reddick had two doubles and two RBI, and Alex Bregman hit a solo home run in the third inning.
Bregman’s blast marked the 15th straight game the Giants have allowed at least one home run, the longest such streak in franchise history.
The Giants were without Donovan Solano, who missed the game with abdominal soreness. Gabe Kapler said Solano was being held out for precautionary reasons and will be reevaluated before Wednesday’s game.
Solano went 2-for-4 on Monday in the Giants’ 6-4 loss to the Astros, and holds a .458 batting average, second-best in the NL behind Colorado’s Charlie Blackmon.
SF Giants Gameday: Listen to the Bay Area News Group’s daily San Francisco Giants podcast, hosted by our beat reporter Kerry Crowley. We give you an all-access look at the 2020 regular season with soundbites from manager Gabe Kapler and your favorite Giants players plus the latest analysis on every move during an unprecedented season.
We Need Your Support!Several Giants articles will remain free every 30 days – and I’ve launched a free newsletter and podcast that come Monday-Friday – but for access to all of my coverage you’ll need to subscribe to MercuryNews.com or EastBayTimes.com. Click here for our latest Mercury News offer and here for the latest East Bay Times offer. Thank you! — Kerry Crowley
