The Giants ended their 10-game road trip on a high note Sunday afternoon thanks to continued dominance from Jakob Junis on the mound and one monster swing of the bat from Donovan Walton.
Walton’s first career grand slam in the fourth inning helped power San Francisco past the Miami Marlins to a 5-1 win at loanDepot park. After a devastating walk-off win by the Marlins on Saturday, the Giants were able to bounce back and split the four-game series for a happy flight back to the Bay.
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It took a few innings for the Giants to get to Miami starter Braxton Garrett, and they left four runners on base across the game’s first three innings. But the lineup sent him packing in the fourth, starting with a Thairo Estrada one-out single.
After another single from Jason Vosler and a walk by Curt Casali, the bases were loaded for Walton’s big moment that gave San Francisco a 4-0 lead.
On the hill, Junis continued to prove why he might have been the Giants’ best offseason signing with yet another quality start, allowing just two hits and one earned run across six frames on Sunday.
He struck out eight Marlins and walked only two, and his lone mistake came on a slider to Garett Cooper in the sixth inning that the Miami designated hitter promptly sent back over the center field wall to make it 4-1.
In true Junis fashion, however, the righty struck out the next two batters to retire the side and make way for reliever Dominic Leone in the seventh.
Giants outfielder Austin Slater returned to the starting lineup on Sunday after getting a pinch-hit appearance during Saturday’s loss, and his first start since missing 11 games on the injured list was promising as he knocked in Casali for an insurance run in the eighth that put San Francisco ahead 5-1.
Tyler Rogers replaced Leone in the bottom half of the eighth and got into some trouble, but a flash of the leather by Estrada kept the Giants' significant lead intact.
The Giants finished their cross-country road trip an even 5-5 and will hope to bring that momentum back to San Francisco, where they’ll face off against a couple of familiar NL West foes at Oracle Park.
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San Francisco Giants
After the win, the Giants will return to the Bay for a nine-game homestand against the Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers and Kansas City Royals starting on Tuesday.