Mike Yastrzemski, Mauricio Dubon and Dominic Smith hope to continue a happy homecoming when the Atlanta Braves seek a second straight road win over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night.
All three ex-Giants were in the starting lineup when the Braves opened the set with a 3-1 victory Friday night. They combined for three hits, two runs and an RBI.
Dubon, who played the 2019 through 2022 seasons for the Giants, did the most damage, singling twice and scoring two of Atlanta’s three runs.
Making his first return to San Francisco after a crowd-pleasing 63-game stint with the Giants last season, Smith wasted no time singling in a run in his first at-bat on Friday.
Yastrzemski got the loudest welcome among the alumni but then went 0-for-4.
A seven-year Giant before getting traded to Kansas City last July, Yastrzemski enjoyed more than just the final score.
“That city and team will always have a place in my heart,” he told reporters when the Giants were in Atlanta last week. “First place I ever played in the big leagues. I’m always keeping tabs, checking in on how guys are doing and staff is doing, whether it’s text, calls, reading up on it. It’s something I’m never going to lose, no matter what.”
If they get an encore performance Saturday, it will start against former teammate Logan Webb (4-5, 3.35 ERA). Smith has dominated his career matchups with the two-time All-Star, going 6-for-9, while Dubon is 2-for-7. Webb and Yastrzemski have never dueled.
Webb, a right-hander, has pitched brilliantly in June, going 2-1 with an 0.87 ERA. He has allowed just three earned runs and 18 hits in 31 innings over four starts.
Webb is 4-0 with a 2.59 ERA in nine career starts against Atlanta.
While fans got a chance to show their appreciation to former Giants in the series opener, they also got a first glimpse of the future when catcher Drew Cavanaugh made his major league debut for San Francisco.
He singled to right field off Hurston Waldrep in his second big-league at-bat during a 1-for-3 night that included a strikeout and a walk.
Afterward, Giants manager Tony Vitello couldn’t figure out which was more praise-worthy — the 24-year-old Cavanaugh’s offense or his defense.
“At the plate, he looked comfortable. He took confident swings. You didn’t see anything out of place,” Vitello told reporters. “Defensively … you didn’t notice him. You didn’t realize that he just got here this morning. I think it speaks to how good he was out there.”
Having seen six Braves pitchers on Friday, the Giants will take their cracks at right-hander Bryce Elder (5-5, 3.71 ERA) to open the rematch.
Elder has been shelled in each of his last two starts, allowing a total of 14 runs and 22 hits in 10 innings against the New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers.
Elder has pitched just once at Oracle Park and threw a beauty without getting a decision, striking out 12 in eight innings in a 3-2 loss last June. Overall for his career, he’s 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA in two starts against the Giants.
– Field Level Media
