Damn, Daniel
Daniel Susac (SFG): 2-4, 2 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, BB.
I wouldn’t necessarily say he’s back at it again, but Daniel Susac had the first two homers of his major league career yesterday. He had the three longest batted balls of the Giants’ 16-3 victory over the Brewers, although he didn’t reach the top 5 in exit velocity in the game. Susac’s first at-bat came with two runners on in the bottom of the second inning against Aaron Ashby. He crushed a well-placed changeup at the bottom of the zone 411 feet to straightaway center for his first career homer. He nearly did it again in the fourth inning, this time coming up 10 feet short of the center field wall. His second homer emphasized the importance of spray angle: it was practically identical to his 4th-inning flyout but landed in the front row in left field. It may have come off Andrew Vaughn pitching in relief, but it still counts. Susac finished the day with a 2-4, 2 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, BB line.
Susac has benefited from the Giants’ trade of Patrick Bailey, though he hadn’t made the most of his opportunity until last night. Coming into the night, Susac was hitting just .248/.295/.316, for a 71 wRC+. Catcher is a tough position to play while producing at the plate, but the average MLB catcher has an 85 wRC+ this season. Susac has had success in the high minors, hitting 30 homers in 777 PAs between 2024 and 2025, plus a torrid 8-game stretch in Triple-A this year. That hasn’t shown up in the majors before yesterday, though, and with a slower swing and a tough home park to hit in, Susac doesn’t look like an option for fantasy rosters.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Wednesday…
Heliot Ramos (SFG): 4-5, R, 3 RBI, BB, SB.
Ramos was the other main source of offense for the Giants. He reached base five times in six plate appearances, including a two-RBI single in the sixth inning as part of a seven-run inning that broke the game wide open. Ramos didn’t have any extra-base hits last night, although no Giant did other than Susac’s two homers and a double by Jung Hoo Lee. Ramos is still hitting the ball remarkably hard, with a 91st percentile barrel rate, but it hasn’t translated to much power.
Yainer Diaz (HOU): 4-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
Diaz provided the offense that earned Hayden Wesneski his first win in over a year. Diaz got things started in the second inning for the Astros, putting a Grayson Rodriguez changeup into the Angels’ bullpen for a solo homer. He never stopped hitting, either. After a hard-hit fly out in the third inning, Diaz added three straight singles. One of them was a ground ball smoked at 107.5 mph, after which Cam Smith brought him home with a double. Diaz’s last two singles were less directly due to his hitting, as one was a pop-up that Nolan Schanuel really should have been able to grab behind first, and the other was a fairly routine grounder to third where the throw couldn’t be scooped.
Tyler Tolbert (KCR): 2-3, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB, SB.
This game was full of Jac Caglianone and Royce Lewis crushing 105+ mph grounders, but it was Tolbert who provided the production at the plate. In the third inning, Tolbert turned on a middle-in four-seamer from Joe Ryan and crushed it to left-center for a solo homer. That was all the offense the Royals would need to win this one, but Tolbert scored again in the fifth inning after reaching on a failed sacrifice bunt.
Spencer Jones (NYY): 2-4, HR, R, 3 RBI, SB.
Jones swings the bat 78 mph on average, so you know when he makes contact, you’re probably going to see something exciting. Jones’s first-inning at-bat definitely fit the bill, with Jones demolishing a 90 mph changeup for an opposite-field three-run homer. He added an 111 mph line drive single up the middle in the sixth inning, then caused some havoc on the bases by stealing second and advancing to third on a throwing error before being stranded.
Coby Mayo (BAL): 2-3, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB.
Mayo is under some pressure, as the reemergence of Christian Encarnacion-Strand as a major league third baseman initially came at his expense. They were both in the lineup yesterday, though, and Mayo performed. Facing Tarik Skubal in what could be his last start as a Tiger, Mayo had a line drive single, a long fly out to center, and drew a walk from the Tigers’ ace before he left the game. Against the bullpen, Mayo fared even better, with another walk and a triple off the wall in center field to tie the game after the Orioles had trailed 7-0 entering the 7th inning.
Jackson Holliday (BAL): 2-3, R, 3 RBI, SB.
Holliday had an excellent line in this one despite coming off the bench to pinch-hit with the bases loaded in the 7th inning. It worked out, as he reached on a seeing-eye single that scored two. Holliday then crucially stole second and scored on a soft grounder down the line; he would have been stranded without the steal. He added a third RBI by dumping a soft liner into left field in the 11th inning.
Andy Pages (LAD): 3-4, HR, R, 2 RBI.
Pages got a hanging sweeper in his first at-bat that ended up high and over the middle of the plate. He didn’t get all of it, but he did hook it down the line and out for his 18th homer of the season. Pages added two ground ball singles, one of which came with the bases loaded and two outs. Weston Wilson nearly gloved it, but it just squirted through and was ruled an infield single. Pages ended the night with a .267/.334/.461 line, right on track for another 4-win season when combined with his excellent defense.
Lawrence Butler (ATH): 2-3, 2B, HR, R, RBI, BB.
Butler reminded A’s fans of the good days of fall 2024, drawing a walk and adding two extra-base hits without striking out last night. Butler turned on an inside breaker from Patrick Sandoval in the fifth inning, hitting his first homer in over a month. He doubled leading off the bottom of the 9th against Aroldis Chapman, but was stranded on third following a sacrifice bunt and two strikeouts. It’s been a season to forget for Butler, as his production has fallen off a cliff on both sides of the ball, but last night provided a glimpse of what’s possible.
A.J. Ewing (NYM): 1-2, R, RBI, BB, 2 SB.
Ewing only played in one of the two Mets-Braves games yesterday. He took advantage of the matchup on the bases against Joey Bart, who has allowed baserunners to steal successfully at an 81.4% clip. Ewing reached on an error leading off the game for the Mets, then stole second and was stranded. He added a 106 mph ground ball single up the middle in the third inning, stole second, and was stranded. The Mets and Ewing finally broke through in the 5th inning, with Ewing bringing Brett Baty home on a sac fly to center. Ewing walked in his last plate appearance, then came around to score the winning run on a Carson Benge double.
Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire | Featured image by Ethan Kaplan (@djfreddie10.bsky.social on Blue Sky and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)
