SAN FRANCISCO — Padres starter Jordan Lyles was a late scratch Saturday because he felt the dreaded forearm tightness while warming up. The change happened so late that nobody even knew about the injury until lefty reliever Matt Sarah started warming up in the top of the first inning.
The Giants faced a steady stream of relievers, but that didn’t mess with Brandon Crawford. In his third game back from paternity leave, Crawford drove in the first three Giants runs in a 5-3 win over the Padres. The Giants have taken two of three in this series and four of six on the homestand.
--- Crawford sat in the high .330s with his batting average on the last road trip, but he was hitless in 18 at-bats when he strolled to the plate in the fourth. He smoked a triple off the wall, scoring Andrew McCutchen. The triple was Crawford’s second of the season. He was stranded on third. Crawford’s two-run double in the sixth put the Giants on top for good.
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--- Andrew Suarez did a nice job before being lifted with two on and two outs in the sixth. He scattered eight hits, getting out of trouble by inducing three double plays in the first four innings. Suarez was at just 76 pitches when Bruce Bochy came out and called for Reyes Moronta, who immediately gave up a rocket to center field. Gorkys Hernandez was there, making a running catch to end the inning.
--- Reyes Moronta threw a 99 mph fastball to A.J. Ellis in the seventh inning that was the fastest pitch by a Giant this season. Moronta, of course, held the previous high, at 98.9 mph.
--- In his return to the big leagues, Austin Slater got robbed of a double, but still got a sacrifice fly. He became the first Giants outfielder to drive in a run as a pinch-hitter this season. Really.
--- File this one away for Sunday: Phil Maton came up-and-in on Andrew McCutchen and then hit him with the next pitch. McCutchen popped up with his arms outstretched, but then calmly took his base.
