San Francisco Giants catcher Daniel Susac hit his first two Major League Baseball home runs on Wednesday, breaking a months-long power drought for the position in a decisive 16-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Before Susac's performance, it had been nearly two months since any Giants catcher had hit a home run. The last catcher to go deep for the team was on June 4. The offensive struggles from the catching position had been a minor factor in the Giants' season, according to the team's reporting.
Susac's first home run came in the second inning off Brewers starter Thomas Pannone, a 411-foot blast to center field that contributed to a three-run lead. Starting pitcher Logan Webb noted the long wait for a home run from the position, joking, "It was about time."
Webb pitched six innings, allowing two runs, as the Giants built on their lead. The team exploded for seven runs in the sixth inning and added three more in the seventh and eighth.
Susac added a second home run in his final at-bat against position player Andrew Vaughn, who pitched for the Brewers in the eighth inning. This brought Susac's career home run total to two, achieved in his 45th career game after failing to hit a home run in his first 44.
"I'd be lying if I said [it wasn't on my mind], but I knew it was going to come eventually," Susac said. "Just trying to get back to the swing I began this year with. It's been a grind. ... Lost a little bit of weight in spring training, so I've been trying to put that back on while keeping it healthy weight."
The Giants, who were recently swept by the Kansas City Royals, took two out of three games against the Brewers, a team tied with the Dodgers for the majors' best record. This marks the Giants' first consecutive series wins since the end of June.
Manager Tony Vitello commented on the team's offensive surge, stating, "It's a really, really good group when it gets going downhill. They stacked at-bat on at-bat today, and I guess you've got to trust the process that if you've got at-bats like we had in that [sixth] inning, eventually the floodgates will open."