SAN FRANCISCO -AP- Hunter Pence's enthusiasm for the game was missed during a recent offensive drought. It seems to be contagious now.Pence hit a grand slam as part of an eight-run fourth inning against former All-Star Cole Hamels, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 15-2 on Friday night."I've played with him long enough to know not to be surprised," All-Star pitcher Madison Bumgarner said. "He's that good and he's fun to watch."Pence is hitting .400 (8-for-20) since returning to the lineup and has seven RBI over his past five games. He has 20 RBI in 21 games overall. 
Joe Panik, Justin Maxwell and Matt Duffy each recorded four hits, the first time a trio of Giants have accomplished the feat since Tom Haller, Jesus Alou and Hal Lanier did it on May 22, 1965."We have been looking for this for a while," said Giants outfielder Angel Pagan, who had three hits and drove in two. "It was a fun night. We got the pitches we wanted and there was no chasing. Hamels is a really good pitcher. We just had good at-bats."Panik, Maxwell and Duffy combined to hit .750 (12-for-16), and drive in seven runs on a homer, triple and two doubles. Maxwell was a home run shy of the cycle. Duffy set a career high as the Giants accumulated 22 hits, their most in AT&T Park history."It was time for us to break out at some point," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "You don't ever expect to score this many runs, especially going against Cole Hamels. We had guys struggling who had great big at-bats."Bumgarner (9-5) went 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on eight hits. He failed to finish six innings in back-to-back starts for the first time this season.Bumgarner, who received more run support than his last five starts combined, had a pair of hits and drove in a run. He leads all pitchers with 10 hits."We swung the bats today as good as we can swing the bats," Bumgarner said. "It was fun watching my guys play good baseball."Bumgarner and Hamels were the first former World Series MVPs to meet in four years.Hamels (5-7) got the first out of the fourth and then surrendered seven hits and walked a batter before Jake Diekman came in to finish the inning.Brandon Belt doubled, Maxwell walked and Bumgarner singled to load the bases ahead of a two-run single from Pagan. Panik singled to re-load the bases before Duffy singled home two more runs. Buster Posey singled ahead of Pence's slam."The moment it left my hand I knew it wasn't going to be good," Hamels said. "I was hoping he'd miss it or foul it back. But with the strength he has, you know the writing on the wall."It was Hamel's shortest outing since going three innings on Sept. 8, 2011. The nine earned runs were a career high and the 12 hits allowed matched his career worst.Carlos Ruiz homered and Domonic Brown drove in a run for the Phillies, who have lost 13 of 16 on the heels of a three-game winning streak June 21-23.
Joe Panik, Justin Maxwell and Matt Duffy each recorded four hits, the first time a trio of Giants have accomplished the feat since Tom Haller, Jesus Alou and Hal Lanier did it on May 22, 1965."We have been looking for this for a while," said Giants outfielder Angel Pagan, who had three hits and drove in two. "It was a fun night. We got the pitches we wanted and there was no chasing. Hamels is a really good pitcher. We just had good at-bats."Panik, Maxwell and Duffy combined to hit .750 (12-for-16), and drive in seven runs on a homer, triple and two doubles. Maxwell was a home run shy of the cycle. Duffy set a career high as the Giants accumulated 22 hits, their most in AT&T Park history."It was time for us to break out at some point," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "You don't ever expect to score this many runs, especially going against Cole Hamels. We had guys struggling who had great big at-bats."Bumgarner (9-5) went 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on eight hits. He failed to finish six innings in back-to-back starts for the first time this season.Bumgarner, who received more run support than his last five starts combined, had a pair of hits and drove in a run. He leads all pitchers with 10 hits."We swung the bats today as good as we can swing the bats," Bumgarner said. "It was fun watching my guys play good baseball."Bumgarner and Hamels were the first former World Series MVPs to meet in four years.Hamels (5-7) got the first out of the fourth and then surrendered seven hits and walked a batter before Jake Diekman came in to finish the inning.Brandon Belt doubled, Maxwell walked and Bumgarner singled to load the bases ahead of a two-run single from Pagan. Panik singled to re-load the bases before Duffy singled home two more runs. Buster Posey singled ahead of Pence's slam."The moment it left my hand I knew it wasn't going to be good," Hamels said. "I was hoping he'd miss it or foul it back. But with the strength he has, you know the writing on the wall."It was Hamel's shortest outing since going three innings on Sept. 8, 2011. The nine earned runs were a career high and the 12 hits allowed matched his career worst.Carlos Ruiz homered and Domonic Brown drove in a run for the Phillies, who have lost 13 of 16 on the heels of a three-game winning streak June 21-23.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
