The Giants got swept by the Padres and were on a four game losing streak which stretched to five when they lost game one against the Mets, a blowout. It was an Alex Cobb start that went awry in the third when a home run by Pete Alonso and a double by Francisco Lindor scored five. Because the new system is so weird, we once again had insufficent relievers and Kapler left Cobb out there to go six.

Cobb gave up six earned. Then Kap went to a ‘pen which gave up seven more. Kap used outfielder Luis Gonzalez in relief again, in the top of the ninth of an 11 – 2 blowout loss. I hate that. It isn’t a good look. The Mets were laughing at us. Gonzalez, with his 45mph eephus, gave up two. It was U-G-L-Y, ugly. Giants 2 – Mets 13

That was what made game two all the more awesome. It had a storybook quality.

Enduring a five game losing streak, the Giants were up against the team with the best record in the National League. Before the game, Joc Pederson met with Barry Lamar Bonds. They had a scheduled chat for a half hour, but then Pederson and Bonds met again privately just before game time. “The next thing you know it was like 6:25 p.m. and I was like, `I gotta go,'” Pederson said. First pitch was 6:45.

Joc Pederson then went four-for-six, with three home runs and eight RBIs – including a game-tying single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. The eight RBIs are the most by a Giant in five decades. The Giants had an 8 – 2 lead, lost it and fell behind 11 -8, then tied it 11 – 11, lost it 12 – 11 and finally came back with two outs in the ninth to win it on a Brandon Crawford RBI single! Giants 13, Mets 12

It was the best game of the year so far for Joc Pederson who had been in a 4 for 46 slump in the month of May. AP reported that Giants starter Logan Webb said, of Pederson: “He was joking about it after his first one, about talking to Barry. Then he hit the second, then he hit the third and it was like, man, this guy is something else. You’re not going to cheat him with anything. He’s trying to do that every at-bat.”

Pederson said, “Just getting knowledge from such a good hitter and the way he thinks about baseball and hitting, it just helped to connect some dots to free my mind up at the plate. I’m not ever going to be Barry Bonds. He’s the best hitter to touch a bat. But it definitely helped free my mind up in the box.”

We all arrived at the rubber match day game on Wednesday excited to see Joc Pederson and he did not disappoint. He promptly hit his fourth home run in seven ABs to start game three. The Giants jumped on Mets rookie starter Thomas Szapucki pounding him for nine runs in the first two innings. Evan Longoria hit his first two homers of the year. Young Jake Junis got his fourth start and picked up his second win. He was very good for six, a quality start. Giants 9, Mets 3