Pederson, Davis power Giants to 6-4 win over Brewers
SAN FRANCISCO -- Joc Pederson hit a go-ahead, two-run single against Corbin Burnes in the fifth inning that propelled the San Francisco Giants to a 6-4 victory over the scuffling Milwaukee Brewers in the opener of a three-game series Friday night.
J.D. Davis and pinch-hitter Wilmer Flores homered for the Giants, who twice came back from two-run deficits and won their third consecutive game following a five-game losing streak.
The Brewers fell to 0-4 on their trip to Colorado and San Francisco and dropped their fifth in a row 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) permitted five runs over six innings but only two were earned. A two-base throwing error by shortstop Willy Adames keyed a three-run fifth that gave the Giants a 5-4 lead.
Flores, batting for Pederson to start the eighth, homered against Hoby Milner.
Brewers manager Craig Counsell altered a lineup that had totaled nine runs during the four-game losing streak, and has struggled all season against left-handed pitching, by giving designated hitter William Contreras his first career start in the leadoff spot. Contreras entered with a hefty .953 OPS against lefties.
The move paid immediate dividends when Contreras opened the game with a double and scored on Milwaukee's third straight hit, Adames' single. Manaea got Christian Yelich to hit into a double play, but the Brewers added a run when Brian Anderson drew a two-out walk and lasted long enough in a rundown after being picked off to allow Owen Miller to score from third.
The Giants needed three hitters to tie the game. Burnes walked LaMonte Wade Jr., and Davis hit a rare homer by a right-handed batter over the Willie Mays wall in right field, which rises 24 feet above the warning track. Davis' seventh homer gave him the team lead.
Manaea got 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 Brewers lead. Taylor came home when catcher Joey Bart's attempt to pick him off third sailed into left field, and Wiemer scored on Miller's sacrifice fly.
Burnes retired 12 of 13 Giants after Davis' first-inning homer but gave up the two-run lead he just acquired when he allowed three unearned runs in the fifth.
Brett Wisely scored on Thairo Estrada's infield single. With two outs and the bases loaded, Pederson grounded 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 of Manaea. Doval earned his sixth save.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Brewers: RHP Adrian Houser is expected to come off the injured list and make his 2023 debut in Sunday's series finale. Houser strained his right groin during his final spring training start and has spent the past three weeks on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Nashville, where he had a 3.07 ERA in 14 2/3 innings over four starts.
Giants: SS Brandon Crawford (right calf strain) and OF Mike Yastrzemski (left hamstring strain), both hurt April 30 in Mexico City, are boosting their work on this homestand. Crawford is ahead of Yastrzemski and will begin running this weekend. Yastrzemski will start playing catch. Neither is eligible to come off the IL before the Giants start a series in Arizona on Thursday night. ... OF Bryce Johnson was cleared to return after recovering from a concussion he sustained running into an outfield wall April 12. ... LHP Alex Wood (left hamstring strain) threw a second bullpen and has not been ruled out for the homestand.
UP NEXT
Giants RHP Alex Cobb (1-1, 2.43 ERA) faces RHP Colin Rea (0-2, 4.79) in the middle game of the series Saturday afternoon.