Brandon Belt’s grand slam, HR not enough to boost Giants over Padres

Brandon Belt hits a home run as a follow-up to his first career grand slam as the San Francisco Giants take on the San Diego Padres.

The San Francisco Giants traveled to sunny San Diego to take on the Padres in their home opener, and Brandon Belt went deep twice as the Giants battled the Padres for the lead.

Belt’s night got off to a great start when he came up to bat in the 6th inning with the bases loaded. Belt had an 0-1 count when he connected on an 84.7 MPH curveball that went deep to center field, scoring Conor Gillaspie, Joe Panik and Aaron Hill. With those four runs the Giants went up 5-4 over the Padres.

Later, in the top of the 8th inning with a 1-2 count, Belt smacked a four-seam fastball into the seats in center field to make it 7-6 Padres. Belt’s solo shot brought the Giants within one run of the Padres, who took the lead back in the 7th inning after a two-run double from Yangervis Solarte and a sacrifice bunt from Austin Hedges that drove in Solarte.

This was the first grand slam for Belt, who averaged .275 in 2016 with 17 home runs. So far this season Belt has had 4 hits in 17 at-bats for a .235.

The San Diego Padres had a solid night as well, with Manuel Margot also hitting two home runs in the game. The Padres invested a lot in their young talent, but they made some key contract extensions in the offseason to ensure that All-Star Wil Myers and fan favorite Yangervis Solarte would be around a few more years.

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Despite Belt’s solid outing, the Padres were able to protect their lead and claim the 7-6 victory in their home opener. Clearly the Giants need to work on protecting the lead if they’re going to get back to the top of the NL West division this year.