It’s a Giant Rout--Braves Defeated, 23-8

It was a Friday night on which the San Francisco Giants worked up a sweat both on the bases and in the dugout. They couldn’t wait to take their cuts.

“The guys were running to the bat rack,” Will Clark said after the Giants produced the most hits (27) and runs in the major leagues this season in defeating the Braves, 23-8.

The hits and the runs were the most in the club’s 32-year San Francisco history. The previous high for runs was a 21-2 romp over the Cardinals on July 9, 1988. The hits record was 26 against the Dodgers on May 13, 1958.

Leading the way were Clark and rookie Rick Parker. Clark’s two three-run homers were among the biggest hits off seven Atlanta pitchers. Parker, replacing Brett Butler in center field, contributed a three-run homer, a double, two singles and six runs batted in.

The victory also extended the Giants’ winning streak to seven games. “Our adrenaline was up after we swept Cincinnati, and it carried into here,” Parker said.

The Giants, in the process, knocked another game off the Reds’ lead in the National League West and continued their torrid hitting in June. The team is batting .339 (95 for 280) this month.

“This is one of the best games we’ve ever played,” Jose Uribe understated after tying career highs with four hits and three RBIs.

Matt Williams and Mike Kingery had three hits each.

A crowd of 32,154 didn’t have much to cheer about until Georgia’s elimination of Stanford at the College World Series was flashed on the overworked scoreboard. The fans spent much of the night booing Braves’ pitchers.

Dale Murphy provided some thrills with a three-run homer and three singles among Atlanta’s 15 hits. Jeff Treadway and Lonnie Smith also homered for the Braves. But Atlanta’s pitching collapsed, and the team’s earned-run average soared from 4.83 to 5.16.

“We had a hard time making an out,” Giants’ Manager Roger Craig said. “This was truly a launching pad tonight. It’s great to win and have everyone contribute.”

Even the bench played a big role. Rick Leach, Ernest Riles and Kingery singled as pinch-hitters. Trevor Wilson was the winning pitcher, and Mark Thurmond earned the save.

After six innings, the Giants had 16 runs and 19 hits. There was constant scurrying for the record book as the club approached franchise records.

The Giants fell short only because they ran out of innings against the Braves’ pitching staff. The New York Giants scored 26 runs against Brooklyn on April 30, 1944. They accumulated 31 hits against Cincinnati on June 9, 1901.

The highlights from the game were many:

--Clark’s two homers gave him 12 for the season with 45 RBIs.

--Parker had four hits, four runs and six RBIs. He’s batting .419 (13 for 31).

--Uribe collected hits his first four at-bats to boost his average from .294 to .310.

--Leach’s pinch-hit single gave him six hits in 15 at-bats in that role (.400).

“Just about everything we hit fell in,” Clark said. “We hit a lot of balls hard, but there also were a bunch of flares that fell in. But don’t talk about me. Everybody was doing it tonight.”