With the offensive struggles the San Francisco Giants have had of late, it's easy to see why they would want a guy like Brandon Belt to be in the lineup. Called up Saturday when Andres Torres hit the DL, Belt made the most of his first start of his fourth stint in the Show, blasting two home runs and flashing some leather at first as the Giants homered their way to a 5-2 victory over the Florida Marlins at Sun Life Stadium.
Belt launched his third and fourth carrer homers in the sixth and eighth innings in back-to-back at bats, but was only a part of the Giants' long-ball attitude this afternoon. Cody Ross started the launch party in the third after hitting a two run bomb to give the Giants an early lead. His ninth jack of the year, Ross effectively broke the G-Men's streak of 22 straight solo home runs in a row, an MLB record. Nate Schierholtz narrowly missed home runs in yesterday's game and in his first at bat today, but got a hold of one in the fourth to left-center field for his eighth of the season.
As for Ryan Vogelsong (W 10-2), he was lights out in his seven and 2/3 innings of work, keeping the Fish to only four hits and two earned runs; a Mike Stanton homer in the first and a RBI double from Emilio Bonafacio in the eighth. Vogey's command was on point, fanning eight while walking only two, and even scored a run after being hit by a pitch in the third, scoring on Ross' home run. He finished with 108 pitches on the day and an ERA of 2.47, still one of the lowest in all of baseball.
Chris Volstad (L 5-9) was a bit shaky in his return from the Minors, allowing three of the Giants four homers on seven hits, along with two walks and seven strikeouts. Brandon Belt's homer off of reliever Mike Dunn was the first he had allowed to a lefty all year long, just more proof that Belt is a professional hitter, ready to play in the big leagues.
Brian Wilson and Sergio Romo were both unavailable on Sunday with minor injuries; Wilson with some lower back pain and Romo with a tweaked right elbow. Ramon Ramirez earned his second save of the season.
Carlos Beltran also missed his sixth straight game with pain in his wrist, which he feels still when batting from the left side. The DL is looking like an unavoidable situation for him unless his pain dissipates and in a hurry.
With the win the Giants take their first series in their last four, and move to 66-55 on the year. Full box score can be found here.