Giants remain on historic home run pace after win vs. D-backs

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Brandon Crawford grew up going to games at Oracle Park, and as the starting shortstop for his hometown Giants, he has played more than 700 games there. He is a left-handed hitter who has watched dozens of his deep fly balls die in the chilly wind, and he has seen it happen even more often to longtime teammate and friend Brandon Belt.

There are few people on this planet who have a better idea of what a pitcher's park it can be, and thus there are few people who can more easily appreciate a night like Wednesday. 

Crawford's blast to left-center was one of four homers as the Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-2. That has somehow become commonplace for the Giants at home this season, but Crawford smiled as it was pointed out late Wednesday that he did not play in a lot of games like that over most of his first decade in orange and black.

"Rarely," he said. 

"But I think the mindset has changed a little bit from an offensive standpoint," Crawford continued. "A few extra balls are probably getting out because of the fence changes, my one included probably tonight. I guess, yeah, we're starting to get used to it. We've hit a lot this year but it's always fun to watch."

The latest outburst provided nearly all of the offense in the 14th win this year over the Diamondbacks, the most the Giants have had against a single opponent since they went 14-4 against the Rockies in 2012. It was varied, too. 

Buster Posey started it with a rare right-handed shot into the arcade, continuing a season that's veering into MVP territory. LaMonte Wade Jr. has been the surprise of the year, and he picked up his 14th when Ketel Marte couldn't close his glove on a deep fly ball to center. 

Crawford's 19th homer did just tuck itself over one of the newer sections of the wall, but it was no cheapie. The line drive left the bat at 106 mph and traveled 410 feet. Alex Dickerson capped the scoring with the 90th Splash Hit in Oracle Park's history. 

The four-homer night was the sixth this season at Oracle Park, the Giants' most in any one season. The Giants had just five four-homer games at home over the previous 13 seasons combined. 

This is a team that also crushes on the road, of course. The Giants have 100 homers away from home, 15 more than any other team in baseball. Add in their stunning Oracle Park success and they're at 174 home runs, two ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays -- who have a DH -- for the MLB lead. 

RELATED: What we learned as Giants complete two-game sweep of D-backs

The Giants also remain on pace to shatter the franchise record for a season, set when Barry Bonds was their centerpiece. Bonds hit 73 in 2001 and the entire roster accounted for 235, but a much more balanced 2021 group is on pace for 247. 

With more than six weeks to go in the season, this roster already ranks 16th in franchise history in home runs, having hit more than any team since 2004. It has become a nightly strategy, and it has the Giants comfortably atop the NL West. 

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