The San Francisco Giants opened their post-trade deadline era with a 5-1 victory over the Texas Rangers.
The San Francisco Giants opened the next chapter of their season on a positive note Monday, defeating the Texas Rangers 5-1 at Globe Life Field behind a dominant performance from Jung Hoo Lee and another strong outing from ace Logan Webb.
Playing their first game since reshaping the roster at the trade deadline, the Giants snapped a three-game losing streak by combining timely hitting with excellent pitching and opportunistic baseball.
Lee supplied most of the offense, launching a pair of solo home runs while also driving in a third run with a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning. The two-homer performance marked the second multi-home run game of his major-league career and provided the spark San Francisco needed throughout the evening.
Giants capitalize on Rangers' mistakes
San Francisco grabbed control early despite managing only one earned run against Texas starter Cal Quantrill.
The Giants scored twice in the second inning after the Rangers' defense unraveled. Texas committed a pair of costly two-base throwing errors that helped set the table for Drew Gilbert's RBI single before Osleivis Basabe added a sacrifice fly to extend the advantage.
Texas finished with five errors, its highest total in more than three years, allowing San Francisco to take advantage of extra opportunities throughout the contest.
Lee added insurance in the third inning with a solo blast before connecting again in the eighth to put the game further out of reach. His sacrifice fly in the ninth capped a three-RBI night.
Webb dominates in milestone appearance
While Lee handled the offense, Webb controlled the game from the mound.
Making the 200th appearance of his major-league career, the right-hander tossed six scoreless innings, allowing five singles while striking out a season-high eight batters. Webb improved to 7-7 on the season and continued his success against Texas, keeping the Rangers' lineup off balance with his trademark command.
The Rangers did not score until the ninth inning when Ezequiel Duran connected for a solo home run. Duran accounted for more than half of Texas' offense, collecting four of the club's seven hits.
New-look Giants move forward
Monday's victory came just days after San Francisco dramatically altered its roster at the trade deadline, moving several veteran contributors in a series of deals that signaled a shift toward the future.
Among those departing were Luis Arraez, Heliot Ramos, Robbie Ray and Tyler Mahle. The roster turnover prompted the Giants to recall several players from Triple-A Sacramento before opening their series in Texas.
San Francisco will continue the series Tuesday as right-hander Blade Tidwell is scheduled to make his first major league start of the season against Rangers left-hander MacKenzie Gore.
