“Late Night” Lamonte Wade Jr. made true to his name with two walk-off hits in the Giants’ three-game series against the Guardians this week.
Thanks to Wade, San Francisco has won five of their last six games and enter the weekend just a half game back of the final Wild Card spot, as he takes the top spot in Week 23 of our #HighFive.
1. LaMonte Wade Jr.
Numbers do not lie and for San Francisco Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. they tell the story of how he is one of the most clutch players in the Majors.
LaMonte Wade Jr Hit His Second Walk-Off In Three Games!! This Bro Is Catching Fire At The Right Time 🔥
🎥: @therealknelson
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•#baseball #Giants #mlb #MLBbro pic.twitter.com/dRHk5HseN0— MLBbro.com (@MLBbrodotcom) September 14, 2023
Wade, who hit the first home run of his career four years ago today (September 15th, 2019) hit two walk-offs this week beginning with a 10th inning game-winning single Monday night then a game-winning sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in Wednesday afternoon’s finale.
Wade now has a career batting average of .611 when the game is tied in the ninth inning or later, which is one of the highest in the Majors over the last 50 years.
Through the first two weeks of September, Wade has hit in eight of nine games for a .400 average, .441 on base percentage, with five RBI and a home run.
His Giants look to take advantage of their competition during a four-game set in Denver this weekend against the Rockies who have one of the worst records in the Majors.
2. Marcus Semien
Marcus Semien continued to add to an historic season for himself and the Texas Rangers. Sunday afternoon, Semien hit his 8th leadoff home run of the season, setting a new franchise record by passing former second baseman Ian Kinsler. He would finish that game going 4-for-5 at the plate with his second multi-homer game in four calendar days, three RBI and a stolen base to help drag the Rangers out of a slump that had lingered since the team returned from the All-Star Break.
Semien is leading all Major League second baseman in hits, triples, doubles, runs and is second in home runs and RBI.
The Rangers took care of business in hostile territory by winning their series against Toronto this week and now take a flight to Cleveland to face the Guardians as they look to keep their latest hot streak going despite the recent losses of Max Scherzier and Adolis Garcia.
3. Hunter Greene “Machine”
Major League Baseball’s best flamethrower occupies a spot on the #HighFive list for a second time since returning from a month and a half long stint on the Injured List a few weeks ago. Greene struck out nine in six innings of one-run ball Sunday afternoon against Jordan Walker’s St. Louis Cardinals.
He allowed only one hit and walked four to earn the fourth win of his sophomore campaign.
“If you were to ask Hunter he probably would say he was not at his best,” said Reds veteran Joey Votto. “Still, he only gave up one hit, that is how good he is.”
Cincinnati will need one of their young pitchers to assert themselves as an Ace down the stretch and through their first playoff run since 2020. Greene is the perfect guy for the job, but for him, his best ability will be his availability. His next start will be under the bright lights of New York against the Mets Friday night.
4. Tommy Pham “Bam”
Last season Tommy Pham made headlines with the “Slap heard around the world” after his disagreement with Joc Peterson over fantasy football. Now when you mention his name, it’s in the conversation concerning the best trade deadline acquisition any team had.
Since joining the D-Backs, Pham has fit into their puzzle perfectly. Penciling his right-handed power bat third in the order has given a young Diamondbacks lineup a dose of depth and versatility.
Tommy Pham Wasn't The Sexiest Pickup During Trade Deadline | But He Was The Veteran Bat Arizona Needed
Gary Sheffield Jr. Has the FACTZ pic.twitter.com/7W7Brj623f
— MLBbro.com (@MLBbrodotcom) September 11, 2023
This week Pham got his vengeance against the Mets, the team who traded him earlier this season. In the first three games of the series, he was 5-for-12 with a home run, two RBI and two steals. Pham is hitting .333 with three home runs, three stolen bases, six RBI and has a .700 slugging percentage over his last seven games.
5. Josh Naylor
Injuries derailed what was shaping up to be Josh Naylor’s best year of his career, but he got back to his pre–All-Star Break form to take the final spot on our #HighFive list after putting up some impressive numbers this week.
On Monday night, Naylor drove his 17th Bro bomb of the season deep into the San Francisco night sky and into the waters of McCovey Cove. Those were just two of his 88 RBI; a number that would be higher had it not been for him missing the entire month of August with injury.
Those total ranks him fifth amongst all Major League first baseman. Over his last seven games Naylor has a .320 batting average with two steals, eight RBI, two home runs, three walks and four runs scored. The time is now or never if the Guardians want to earn themselves a playoff spot.
They enter the weekend 7.5 games behind the Twins for the final playoff spot.
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