7 homers later, Giants walk away with massive win

CHICAGO -- After being shut out twice over Opening Weekend in the Bronx, the Giants broke out their bats on the South Side of Chicago.

San Francisco launched seven home runs -- including four in the fifth inning -- en route to Monday afternoon’s 12-3 victory at Guaranteed Rate Field. After scoring just seven runs combined in their first three games, the Giants were pleased to see their bats come alive in the series opener.

“To see our guys swing the bats the way they did was a nice job by our offense,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “Also staying with it. We went up 7-0, and they clawed back in and made it a 7-3 game. We didn’t stop fighting and put a good [ninth] inning together.”

The seven home runs were the most by the franchise since the seven hit against the Rockies on July 2, 2002, at Coors Field. Four of those seven homers against the White Sox came on solo shots in the fifth inning.

Michael Conforto and Thairo Estrada started the party with a homer each. Then two batters later, Mike Yastrzemski and David Villar went deep on ensuing at-bats.

“I got to give credit to the other guys in front of me,” Villar said. “They were the ones that continued to work really good at-bats. They provided rallies, I was just able to jump in on the fly.”

It’s the first time since the Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958 that they had separate instances of back-to-back homers in the same inning, per Elias. The four home runs in the fifth are also the most long balls in an inning for the franchise since it hit four on Sept. 18, 2011, against the Rockies.

Joc Pederson started the scoring when he went deep in the second inning. Villar hit his first career grand slam in the ninth -- his second dinger of the game -- and Bryce Johnson went yard for his first career home run.

White Sox starter Michael Kopech is the first pitcher to give up five home runs in a game to the Giants since Reds starter Bill Gullickson did so on June 25, 1987 (a 7-6 loss for San Francisco).

“That Sunday loss [6-0 to the Yankees] really left a bad taste in our mouths, so I know we wanted to come out and get things rolling,” Villar said. “This was a really good start.”

Strikeouts were a major problem against the Yankees in New York, as the Giants whiffed 43 times through three games. They set an opening series record that dates to the pre-San Francisco era.

But despite the rough offensive series, the Giants didn’t make any major adjustments. They relied on their potential to get out of that rut.

“I think it was continuing to get our ‘A’ swings off,” Villar said. “That’s just the important thing for us, just continuing to get those really good swings off and not being hesitant. I think that really showed today, 1 to 9.”

The long balls helped starter Anthony DeSclafani pick up his first win since October 1, 2021, after missing most of last season with an ankle injury. He tossed six scoreless innings and allowed just three hits to go with zero walks and four strikeouts.

“It’s been a while,” DeSclafani said. “It feels good to throw a good game, especially after last year. It was good for game one.”

Seeing balls fly out of Guaranteed Rate Field was no surprise. The Giants placed a focus this offseason on bolstering their power. Having players like Pederson, Conforto and Mitch Haniger -- who is currently on the IL -- will certainly help with the lineup’s power potential.

“It was really encouraging,” Kapler said. “Sometimes you need to see the good things happen,” Kapler said. “It’s encouraging to see that all happen at once in one game, for Conforto, Yastrzemski, Pederson to continue to get the production and to see Villar come up big for us today.”

If players like Villar, who hit 27 homers for Triple-A Sacramento last year, and Estrada continue to deliver their home runs, too, it could help make this lineup that much more dangerous.

“One guy exudes it and the next guy gets it,” Villar said. “It’s just a big confidence booster for the whole lineup. We all know at the end of the day, it’s a team effort and it starts with one guy and it just carries over into the next. That’s what really good teams do, pass it to the next guy.”