What we learned when Chapman and Birdsong powered the Giants’ win over the D-backs

What we learned as Chapman and Birdsong fueled the Giants’ win over the D-backs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

RESULT

PHOENIX – The post-elimination Giants have become a team that no one wants to play against.

After winning five of six games against two American League rivals, the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals, the Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-3 at Chase Field on Monday night to move closer to a .500 record. They are 78-79 with five games to go and will enter Tuesday behind ace Logan Webb while looking for their first five-game winning streak.

The highlight of a line-drive-filled night in Phoenix was Matt Chapman’s inside-the-park home run that gave the Giants the lead in the third inning. Chapman later added a triple, becoming the first Giant since Monte Irvin in 1953 to do both in a game. That hasn’t happened in MLB since 2017, when Washington’s Michael A. Taylor hit both against the Phillies.

Chapman’s home run was one of three on the night for the Giants, who continue to be the spoiler. The Diamondbacks fell to the third wild-card spot but still have a 1 1/2 game lead over the Braves.

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Chapman’s inside-the-parker flew 407 feet into left-center field and landed halfway up the wall in the deepest part of the yard. It would have been a home run in 26 MLB ballparks, according to Statcast, but poor Chapman, who probably hasn’t slept much in the last week, had to travel 360 feet to reach No. 27.

Chapman’s sprint speed was 29 feet per second; anything over 30 feet per second is considered elite. He completed the finish-to-finish sprint in 15.7 seconds.

Since Barry Bonds hit 30 home runs in 2004, only four Giants have ever hit 27 in a season. Chapman joined Brandon Belt (29 in 2021), Bonds (28 in 2007) and Hunter Pence (27 in 2013).

Bird is the word

If that was all for Hayden Birdsong, he certainly left on a good note. In his 15th major league start, Birdsong allowed two runs on four hits in five innings to earn his fifth win. He struck out six hitters and got his fastball up to 98 mph while throwing a nasty changeup.

Birdsong has now thrown 125 innings across three levels, an increase of about 25 percent over his 2023 minor league total. He could potentially throw the final 2024 MLB season finale on Sunday, but the Giants could also give that task to Webb.

Strong finish

Michael Conforto will be a free agent at the end of the season, and the Giants are unlikely to bring him back given their looming outfield shortage. They have Jung Hoo Lee and Heliot Ramos locked in their spots, Mike Yastrzemski could return, and Luis Matos, Grant McCray and Marco Luciano are also in the running. And that’s before they even become free agents.

The Giants could use Conforto as a DH, but when Jorge Soler was here, they weren’t happy about having a player at that position, so Conforto will likely find his best chance elsewhere.

Bob Melvin keeps running him down the field and takes advantage. Conforto hit a 430-footer against left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez and later added a double.

He’s just one home run away from reaching 20 for the first time since 2019, but if he wants to do that, he should probably hurry. The Giants have two road games left, in which Conforto has hit 16 of his 19 home runs.

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