MIAMI — Donovan Walton. Jakob Junis. Had you heard of them before they became Giants this season?
Two more once-obscure acquisitions have become households names in San Francisco, cementing themselves amongst the lore of Farhan Zaidi-era players such as LaMonte Wade Jr., Mike Yastrzemski and Darin Ruf. A grand slam from Walton and another stellar start by Junis delivered a 5-1 win over the Marlins on Sunday to secure a .500 record on the 10-game road trip.
With a fourth-inning grand slam, Walton shed the nickname Donnie Doubles in favor of a Walton Wallop. His first home run with the Giants — and the first grand slam of his career — traveled 421 feet to right field and was all the offense the Giants needed behind yet another impressive performance from Junis.
With every passing start, Junis, who signed a $1.75 million free-agent contract this offseason after toiling for five years in Kansas City, is becoming less of a revelation and more of a permanent and valuable asset in the Giants rotation.
On Sunday, he limited the Marlins to a single hit before Garrett Cooper spoiled the shutout with a home run in the sixth inning. He finished six innings while allowing just the lone run and striking out a season-high eight batters, lowering his ERA to a rotation-best 2.51.
Walton, whom the Giants picked up from Seattle last month amid their flurry of moves with Mariners, had eight hits — but only one single — in 36 at-bats since coming over in exchange for pitching prospect Prelander Berroa. Now, eight of his nine hits have gone for extra bases: seven doubles, plus one grand slam.
Thairo Estrada, another player plucked from the waiver wire before last season, reached base three times and swiped the first bases — two of them — the Giants have stolen in 15 games, the longest active streak without a stolen base in the majors entering Sunday. He scored on Walton’s grand slam.
Jason Vosler, a former Padre signed in Zaidi’s second offseason, also singled and scored on Walton’s grand slam, after homering the previous two nights. In 51 at-bats this season, he’s batting .294/.362/.569, a .931 OPS.
The Giants have needed every contribution they can get as they navigate a season that, so far, has been marred by injuries and other absences. On Saturday, they got Austin Slater back after missing 11 games — he delivered an RBI single in the eighth on Sunday for their fifth and final run — but they’re still without Wade, Ruf, Brandon Belt, Steven Duggar and Anthony DeSclafani, while Evan Longoria and Tommy La Stella have also missed significant chunks of time.
“I don’t think it’s any secret that we’ve been a little bit challenged by not having many of those players,” manager Gabe Kapler said before Sunday’s game.
Joc Pederson, who received his first day off of the road trip on Sunday, echoed Kapler’s comments after the Giants exploded for 15 runs on Friday night.
“Those guys are huge, key pieces to this team that make us go,” he said. “I feel like we’ve played down kind of the whole year. … We really haven’t had our whole lineup, which is able to put people in the best position to succeed. I think that’s when we’re really firing on all cylinders. Right now, we’re just doing a good job of getting by, but we’re still not even playing to where our standard is.”
The good news is that many of those players are due back in the near future, possibly as soon as the upcoming home stand.
There’s a chance Alex Cobb makes his next start after being scratched with back/hamstring tightness Friday; he threw from about 75 feet on Saturday. Belt (right knee inflammation) has begun running and already resumed hitting while staying back in San Francisco on this trip. Wade (left knee inflammation) is running, hitting and throwing, too. Duggar (oblique strain) embarked on a rehab assignment this week. Ruf’s time on the bereavement list, following the surprise death of his father, expires Thursday.
“We’ve got some reinforcements coming,” Kapler said, naming DeSclafani (right ankle inflammation) and Matthew Boyd (flexor tendon surgery) as potential additions to the rotation over the next month. Both pitchers have been throwing bullpens while the team is on the road.
Even with the contributions from Vosler, Walton and Luis González (who returned to the lineup Sunday after exiting Friday’s game with a bruised shin he suffered on a hit-by-pitch), the Giants return home likely wishing they capitalized on a stretch of the schedule that featured three teams with records below .500, one of which (the Phillies) fired their manager shortly after the Giants left town. Twice this trip the bullpen blew leads handed over by San Francisco’s starters.
At 29-24, San Francisco is still in third place in the NL West, 6.0 games behind the Dodgers and as close to second-place San Diego as it is to fourth-place Arizona.
