Giants beat Brewers as Matt Chapman sparks rally with high-powered home run

San Francisco Chronicle​

24-04-2025

Willy Adames got a bit of revenge against his former team Thursday afternoon, hitting a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning that Christian Yelich didn't catch as the San Francisco Giants rallied to beat Milwaukee 6-5.
Three innings earlier, Matt Chapman did something no one else in MLB has done this season to pull the Giants within striking distance.
In the fifth inning, Chapman launched Brewers reliever Abner Uribe's 100.4 mph fastball 411 feet into center field for a two-run home run, cutting the Giants' deficit to one run and making a bit of history in the process.
It was the first HR hit off a pitch of at least 100 mph in MLB this season. Even Los Angeles Dodgers' designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, known for his quick hands and even quicker bat speed, hasn't done it yet. Ohtani, though, is one of seven players in total to hit a home run on a pitch between 99 and 99.9 mph.
Furthermore, Chapman is the second Giant in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008) to hit a home run on a 100-plus mph pitch.
Heliot Ramos became the first last September against San Diego Padres reliever Robert Suarez when he scorched a 100.2 mph fastball into McCovey Cove for the first ever Splash Hit by a right-handed hitter.
Even before Ramos' historic water shot, the last Giant to hit a home run off a pitch at least 99 mph was Kevin Pillar on a 99 mph Robert Stock fastball in 2019. After that, the only other Giants since 2008 to hit a home run off a 99 mph fastball are Brandon Crawford and Michael Morse in 2015 and Aubrey Huff in 2011.
To win bunches of games at Oracle Park, the Giants determined air-tight defense and pitching will be the cornerstones of their roster. For a second time this series, a sloppy defensive inning nearly did them in.
The Brewers' big inning against starter Landen Roupp began with a Joey Ortiz single. Milwaukee went into small-ball mode, advancing him to second on a ground out. Then Roupp's wild pitch moved Ortiz to third. Nine-spot hitter Eric Haase put more pressure on the infield defense with a sacrifice bunt to Chapman at third. First baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. – who was still backtracking to the bag – couldn't get a glove on Chapman's throw, allowing two runs to score, making it 4-2.
With Roupp out of the game for reliever Spencer Bivens, catcher Sam Huff managed to catch Brice Turang stealing third base to end the messy inning. Roupp gave up four runs over 3 ⅔ innings with two strikeouts and three walks.
Jung Hoo Lee's MLB-leading 11th double scored Mike Yastrzemski for the Giants' first run in the first inning and Yastrzemski came back with a solo home run in the third inning.