Man, that's Ruf. pic.twitter.com/1DOB4kGbNe
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) April 7, 2021
SAN DIEGO — Blake Snell is tough, so the Giants will take any help they can get.
Including from Blake Snell’s outfielders.
Darin Ruf, in the lineup Wednesday at Petco Park because he crushes lefties, drove a long fly to center that Jorge Mateo had a play on. He got to the wall, felt it and leapt — only for the ball to carom off his glove and clear the fence for a Ruf home run.
The second-inning blast put the Giants up 2-0 and must have put Mateo, who came up as an infielder, decidedly down. A batter prior, he did make a nice sliding play on a Wilmer Flores flyout.
The Giants will take it, their 11th homer in just five games-plus. And Ruf’s was just their second to not be solo, although they don’t have a three-run homer or grand slam yet.