Vogt makes immediate impact in improbable win
CINCINNATI >> Stephen Vogt spent his whole childhood dreaming of the chance to wear a Giants uniform.
After making his 2019 debut with the club on Friday, Vogt will never want to take the jersey off.
With two outs in the top of the ninth, Vogt launched a 97mile per hour fastball from Raisel Iglesias into the right field seats at Great American Ball Park to tie the game and help the Giants complete a miraculous eight-run comeback against the Cincinnati Reds.
The Giants finished the job in the 11th as Evan Longoria yanked a home run off Jared Hughes that curled just inside the left field foul pole before closer Will Smith earned his eighth save of the year in a stunning 12-11 win.
With a victory on Friday, the Giants snapped an eight-game losing streak in Cincinnati and recorded their first win in the Queen City in exactly three
years.
The eight-run comefrom-behind win matched the largest in franchise history and marked the team’s first eight-run comeback in a victory since they achieved the feat September 4, 1989 against the Reds at Riverfront Stadium.
Vogt missed the entire 2018 season after undergoing shoulder surgery and the seventh-year veteran signed a minor league deal with the Giants this spring hoping to eventually return to the majors. In many ways, the Visalia, California native’s comeback story is even better than the one the Giants enjoyed on Friday.
Vogt wasn’t expected to play in the series opener, but with the Giants trailing by six in the fifth inning, manager Bruce Bochy inserted him into the game so Buster Posey could rest up for the remainder of the weekend. That’s when Vogt’s hit parade began.
He lined an RBI double high off the right field wall in the sixth, blooped a single as part of a threerun rally in the eighth and helped the Giants climb all the way back with the solo blast off the closer, Iglesias, in the ninth.
Vogt received his longawaited call to the big leagues on Wednesday, but he wasn’t even the newest member of the 25-man roster Friday. That distinction was shared by former Triple-A teammates Mike Gerber and Tyler Beede, who made their 2019 debuts in the series-opener against the Reds.
Gerber went 1 for 3 with a walk in a promising showing. Beede dug the Giants into a devastating hole in a disastrous start.
After two months in which nothing went wrong for Beede, the starter could do no right in 2 1/3 innings of work against the Reds. Beede gave up a pair of
three-run homers to Reds second baseman Derek Dietrich and couldn’t make it out of the third inning against one of the least productive offenses in baseball.
Beede was sent to the bullpen after losing his spot in the Triple-A rotation last summer, but the right-hander arrived in spring training with newfound confidence and improved fastball command. He earned rave reviews for his Cactus League performances and forced his way to the big league level with a 1.99 ERA in his first five starts in the Pacific Coast League.
His outing did not go as planned, but the Giants offense turned in its best performance of the year as the club set season-highs with 12 runs and 17 hits in a remarkable comeback effort.
Joe Panik launched a two-run home run in the sixth, Steven Duggar tied career-highs with three hits and three RBIs, and Brandon Belt delivered a clutch two-run, two-out single to extend an eighth inning rally.
The Giants were down to their final out when Vogt came to the plate in the ninth, but the reserve catcher wouldn’t be denied in a debut he waited for his whole life.
• The Giants signed Gerardo Parra to a minor league deal this spring to improve their outfield defense and provide quality at-bats from the left side against right-handed pitchers.
After just one month with the Giants, a weak offensive output has left Parra without a roster spot.
The Giants designated the National League leader in outfield assists Friday to clear space for Gerber.
Gerber is the latest inexperienced outfielder to receive a big league opportunity with the Giants as he follows in the footsteps of Connor Joe and Michael Reed, who started in the corners on Opening Day. The Giants picked up Joe and Reed late in the spring, but the duo combined to go 1 for 23 before Zaidi cut both to make room for early-season acquisitions Kevin Pillar and Tyler Austin.
Parra ranked fourth among all major league outfielders with six defensive runs saved, according to FanGraphs. Parra had the strongest arm of any Giants outfielder in years and recorded four outfield assists in his first month with the club, but he hit just .198 with a .267 slugging percentage in 30 games.
With Parra struggling and the team sitting six games out of first place, the Giants decided the time was right to see if Gerber can provide the lineup with a jolt.
Gerber impressed the Giants in the spring with his plate discipline.