What We Learned From Snell’s Deal That Helped Giants Win Game Against Royals originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Blake Snell continued his run as the Giants’ top pitcher over the past two months with another dominant outing, and San Francisco stayed hot on its final road trip of the 2024 MLB season with a 2-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday at Kauffman Stadium.
Snell (5-3) allowed two hits and struck out nine with one walk in six scoreless innings, outpitching Royals starting pitcher Seth Lugo in a matchup of staff aces.
Rodney McCray and Brett Wisely drove in San Francisco’s two runs on a day when Lugo pitched well but didn’t get much support.
That’s because Snell once again pitched like the dominant starter he has been for most of his career, and certainly the Giants’ best pitcher since midsummer. In 14 starts since July 9, Snell is 5-0 with a 1.23 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 80 1/3 innings.
Sean Hjelle retired all three batters he faced before Tyler Rogers came on and got out of a tight situation, forcing Royals slugger Salvador Perez to hit an infield fly to end a bases-loaded threat in the eighth. Ryan Walker hit the first batter he faced in the ninth and then retired the next three for his ninth save of the season.
It’s San Francisco’s second straight shutout, third in six games and 11th overall this season.
The Giants have won five of their last six road games heading into Monday’s series in Arizona against the Diamondbacks before returning to Oracle Park for a season-ending series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Here’s what you need to know from Sunday’s game:
Snell’s curve sculpts royals
Snell has been effective and consistent on virtually all of his pitches, but he’s been especially effective on curveballs. That’s certainly no surprise as Snell has been very good on his slow pitches most of the season.
The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner complemented his fastball with a wicked curve that generated nine swing-and-misses and left Royals hitters muttering to themselves as they headed back to the dugout.
Passing by
Wisely had struggled at the plate since being recalled from the minor leagues in late August, so seeing the young infielder hit a two-out single in the second inning was an encouraging sign. It was just Wisely’s fourth hit in 35 at-bats since his return, and it proved to be a key hit.
It also confirmed Wisely’s tendency to come up big in crucial moments. The Giants have been very poor at batting with runners in scoring position for most of the 2024 season, but Wisely’s numbers (.309, 22 RBI) in those situations have been solid all year.
Taken away
Even though the MLB playoffs are no longer in playThe Giants can still pick up some steam heading into the offseason. At this point in the season, sweeping any team is promising, especially against a team that’s in contention for one of the AL’s wild-card spots.
This is just the Orange and Black’s third sweep of the season, and their first on the road. The Giants’ other two sweeps have come at Oracle Park, both times coming against the Colorado Rockies.
It is the Giants’ first three-game sweep of an American League team since 2022.
