SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - After languishing in the minors for seven years, Mike Yastrzemski is making up for lost time.
The grandson of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski made a diving catch for the final out and catcher Steven Vogt hit two triples as the San Francisco Giants beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-7 on Saturday.
The Giants rallied from a 5-1 deficit for their fourth straight win.
Christian Yelich hit his major league-leading 26th homer for the Brewers, who have lost three of four after a four-game winning streak.
Yelich connected for a solo drive with two outs in the ninth and Ryan Braun followed with a single for his third hit. Yasmani Grandal then hit a drive to left-center field, but Yastrzemski rushed over and in for a diving grab to end it.
“You’re kind of in the heat of the moment where you just want to get the out somehow,” Yastrzemski said. “It’s a moment of relief because those last three outs are the hardest outs to get, especially the last one.”
“So when it finally ends and we solidify the W, then you just take that deep breath and say ’all right, we’re good,’” he said.
Will Smith wound up with his 18th save in 18 tries. Smith pitched for the fourth time in five days.
“Amazing,” Smith said of Yastrzemski’s catch. “He gets the save today, for sure. Just a great play, playing the game the right way, playing hard, laying out and making a catch for us is nice.”
The Giants acquired Yastrzemski in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles in March. The 28-year-old was 2 for 4.
On Friday, Yastrzemski hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning of a 5-3 Giants victory over the Brewers.
Vogt became the first Giants catcher to triple twice in a game since Steve Nicosia did it in July 18, 1984. Vogt hadn’t hit a triple since May 4, 2017.
Vogt also beat out beat out an infield hit to drive in an insurance run in the eighth.
“Obviously, playing in this ballpark, there’s a chance for some triples,” Vogt said.
“It’s just kind of funny, I’ve had some triples in the past, but never two in one game, so it’s just kind of a weird feeling right when I hit the second one. it kind of went through my head like ’wow, could be the second one,’” he said.
Vogt and Brandon Crawford, who doubled twice, each had three hits. Kevin Pillar had two hits and drove in two runs.
The Giants scored twice in the seventh off Junior Guerra (2-1) for a 7-6 lead. Vogt tripled with one out, Pillar hit an RBI single and Crawford doubled home the go-ahead run.
Giants reliever Trevor Gott (3-0) pitched an inning in which he gave up one run for the win.
Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson gave up four runs on five hits in four-plus innings of five-hit ball. The 30-year-old right-hander was making his second start after missing all of last season recovering from shoulder surgery.
Nelson retired 11 straight after yielding two hits to start the game, but lost command pitching into the fifth, when he walked three straight to start the inning before manager Craig Counsell summoned reliever Adrian Houser.
Giants starter Madison Bumgarner gave up three earned in six innings.
Yelich extended his hitting streak to 12 games and Manny Piña also homered for the Brewers.
“They found grass on just a lot of balls and in the end we didn’t (get) any on the last ball,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “They just kept finding spots where we weren’t standing.
SHORT HOPS
Yelich stole his 16th base to move ahead of Jarrod Dyson for the league lead. . Giants first baseman Brandon Belt was 1 for 4, extending his on-base streak to 18 games. . The Giants are a major league-best 16-6 in one-run games.
LEFTY MARK
Bumgarner passed Carl Hubbell for the all-time franchise strikeout record for left-handers with 1,678. He is sixth all-time on the franchise list. Christy Mathewson (2,504) holds the all-time franchise record.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Brewers: LHP Gio Gonzalez (left arm) was scheduled to throw long toss on Saturday.
Giants: C Buster Posey had the day off after a night game on Friday.
UP NEXT
Brewers: RHP Chase Anderson (3-1, 3.80) pitched a season-high six innings of four-hit ball in his last start on June 9 in a 5-2 win against Pittsburgh in which he wasn’t involved in the decision.
Giants: RHP Jeff Samardzija (3-5, 3.72) takes the mound for the first time since June 8. The 34-year-old is 8-9 with a 4.71 ERA on six or more days or rest.
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