Wisely, Giants youth fuel offensive surge in win vs. Brewers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
The influx of youth helped jumpstart a mediocre Giants team that is now firing on all cylinders.
Before infielder Casey Schmitt debuted with the club on May 9, the Giants were 15-19 and searching for a spark. Since then, San Francisco (26-25) is 11-6 and climbed above .500 for the first time all season after a 15-1 thumping of the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday at American Family Field.
The Giants tallied 19 total hits, nine of which came from rookies Schmitt (2), Patrick Bailey (4), Brett Wisely (2) and Bryce Johnson (1).
Bailey delivered the most impressive performance Friday night, going 4-for-5 at the plate with three RBI, but perhaps the most important performance came from Wisely, who broke through with a 2-for-5 night while blasting his second major-league home run and collecting three RBI.
The 24-year-old infielder has shone defensively this season but has struggled with the bat. His big night was the culmination of a lot of hard work behind the scenes.
“I got the heater. I had a pretty long at-bat, spit on a good curveball there with two strikes,” Wisely said, breaking down his third-inning homer with Laura Britt, Carlos Ramirez and Rich Aurilia on “Giants Postgame Live .” “Just looking for something up and put a good swing on it and the ball kind of flew on me.”
“I feel good, I worked a lot in the cage with [Giants hitting coach Justin Viele] getting my swing feeling pretty good. Just kind of put some good at-bats together.”
In speaking with reporters postgame, Giants manager Gabe Kapler praised Wisely for his performance and explained why he profiles to be a good hitter in the majors.
“I was especially pleased by a couple big Wisely at-bats there,” Kapler said. “Obviously, the three-run home run, line drive double the opposite way, there’s plenty to be excited about.
“The bat speed is fully intact, even when he’s swinging and missing you can see the bat whistling through the zone. Watching him in batting practice, it’s a good, clean, short swing and he can drive the ball to the opposite field. As we saw tonight he can elevate it to the pull side. There’s a lot of tools to dream on, he’s kind of only a few at-bats above Double-A including his major-league at-bats and so there’s a ton of ceiling in there for Brett Wisely and we want to see as much of him as possible.”
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Despite continued success from two of the Giants’ top prospects Friday night, Wisely, in the eyes of the Giants, stole the show.
And if he continues to have success at the plate, there could be a permanent role for him throughout the remainder of the season.
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