The San Francisco Giants outfielder Luis Matos had an excellent three-game weekend series against the Colorado Rockies. San Francisco swept the Rockies, and Matos went 6-14 in the series while driving 11 runs.
“The approach is, I just try to look for a good pitch to hit. I’m not the one in the distress situation,” Matos said. “It’s the pitcher, the one that’s trying to get me out. So I have the upper hand in trying to get a good pitch to hit.”
On Friday night, in the Giants’ 14-4 win over Colorado, Matos had three hits, including a home run and six RBIs.
Saturday, Matos was at it again with three hits and five RBIs, giving him 11 RBIs in two games.
His 11 RBIs over a two-game span matched the Giants’ modern franchise record, which also was accomplished by Jack Clark in 1982 and Hall of Famer Bill Terry in 1932. Matos became the first major leaguer 22 or younger to drive in 11 over consecutive games since Bench in 1970.
“Man, that’s a lot of RBIs,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “It just seems like he’s tracking the ball every time up. He’s aggressive. He’s wearing that left-center gap out. Some of the numbers from some of our (prospects) weren’t good on the way here. But it’s ‘player of the week’ stuff that he’s doing right now.”
The Giants called up Matos before the May 12th game against the Cincinnati Reds. He was hitting .333 with 11 RBIS and had .571 in Triple-A Sacramento before getting called up. The Giants needed an outfielder after losing Jung Hoo Lee to season-ending shoulder surgery.
“I feel very fortunate and grateful to get their vote of confidence and know I’m going to play center field, and they trust me,” Matos said through Spanish interpreter Erwin Higueros on the NBC Sports Bay Area postgame show. “I’ll give it my all every time I play center field.”
Matos also made also has been good in center field.
He robbed Dodgers slugger Teoscar Hernandez of a home run on Wednesday, then made another spectacular catch Saturday to take potential extra bases away from Alan Trejo in the fifth inning.
“[The] guy’s a gamer,” said pitcher Kyle Harrison, who benefited from Matos’ play and got the win Saturday. “He’s been a spark, and I think all of the older guys are feeding off the younger guys coming up. It’s been great vibes here.”
So far this season, Matos is hitting .385, with two home runs and 17 RBIs. His 17 RBIs are the most by a Giant in seven games to begin a season since ol’ High Pockets in 1921.
“Right now, I’m locked in, and I’m seeing the ball very well,” Matos said. “I think what’s happening right now is that I trust myself a little bit more, not only on defense but in hitting. I feel that trusting myself a little bit more is helping my game.”
It will be interesting to see if Matos can keep this up. If he can produce at this level, it will help the Giants team going forward.
