On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about the San Francisco Giants' 3-1 win over the Texas Rangers on Monday night. Alex Wood was brilliant again, Brandon Belt homered, and manager Gabe Kapler pulled the right strings in the late innings with pinch-hit decisions. Austin Slater, Darin Ruf, and Mauricio Dubón were used consecutively as pinch hitters with two outs and nobody on base in the seventh inning, and all three reached base safely. Dubón's single drove in Slater as the go-ahead run.

Ben takes a look at some pinch hitting numbers for the Giants since Kapler took over prior to the 2020 season. Since that time, the Giants are first by a mile in plate appearances by pinch hitters, and they're first in wRC+ by their pinch hitters. That's a winning combination, and it's an intentional strategy. Kapler, his coaches, and the Giants' front office led by Farhan Zaidi, deserves a lot of credit for how they've built and managed this team. The Giants improved to 21-14 with the win, and they remain in first place in the NL West.

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