Texas has won three in a row since a 21-5 loss Tuesday night against the New York Yankees after leading 5-0 in the first inning.
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Using nearly equal parts sinking fastball (24 pitches), changeups (23) and four-seam fastballs (16), Perez did not allow a baserunner until Brandon Belt reached on a high throw by Rougned Odor with two outs in the fifth inning. By the end of the inning, Hamels had allowed three more hits and two more runs as the Giants overcame a 2-0 deficit to take the lead. He also struck out six.
The San Francisco Giants had to come from behind on Saturday but they got the game to extra innings and got the win at Texas.
“My sinker was there, my changeup was fantastic and my heartbeat was resting”, Perez said.
Hamels also stuck with Australia’s AC/DC as his warm-up band, but he changed the tune from “Hells Bells” to “For Those About to Rock”.
“I’m excited to start the next chapter in my baseball life”, Hamels told reporters Friday.
As good as Perez was, he didn’t have any run support until the sixth inning.
Hamels emerged from the home dugout along the first-base line at 6:20 p.m. local time and made his way out to the right-field bullpen.
The Rangers turned an inning-ending double play on his next pitch, but even after putting up some insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh, Hamels’ new teammates could not get him a victory.
That was all the support Perez needed.
“He was a little different than what he’s been throwing”, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Perez.
Perez wanted a chance to finish the game, but simply handed the ball to Banister and left to a loud ovation. “He pounded the strike zone”.
But Pence’s mood shifted slightly when asked about Leake, who raced to the mound between innings, worked at a rapid pace and pitched with more energy than a photovoltaic panel in Tucson.
The first 15 hitters went down in order against Perez, a 24-year-old left-hander who was making his fourth start of the season and hadn t faced the Giants before. He is been a dominant pitcher and we got here out trying to have actually good at-bats and search for a ball up.
Did the Phillies get enough in return for pitcher Cole Hamels? He had an ace’s combination of stuff and command.
Leake didn’t pitch badly either.
Brandon Belt hit a pair of solo home runs, including an insurance shot in the 11th, as the Giants received quite the Texas two-step from their Lone Star natives.
Leake was almost off the hook in the ninth. Dyson allowed back-to-back singles to third baseman Matt Duffy and catcher Buster Posey before getting Pence to hit a grounder to Texas shortstop Elvis Andrus.
Giants: Atlanta will be the middle stop of a three-city, 10-game road trip.
Mike Leake will make his debut for the visitors, and he’s been unhittable over the last month. “It definitely humbles you, because they appreciate what you did, even though I wanted to go out and put up more zeroes than I did”.
Giants: RHP Tim Hudson was put on the 15-day disabled list with a shoulder strain. The set-up man has a 5.66 ERA in 38 appearances for the Rangers…. The transfer created a roster spot for newly acquired RHP, who will make his debut for the Giants on Sunday when he begins towards the Rangers.
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Despite his home run being the eventual game victor for the Rangers, Hamilton said that he sometimes feels like he is still searching at the plate. The Rangers now find themselves eight games behind the Houston Astros in the American League West, and just four games back in the wildcard.
