The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>SAN FRANCISCO–Sunday, April 7 marked the two-year anniversary of the Giants’ last grand slam. It was also the three-year anniversary since the last grand slam hit by a Giants player at Oracle Park. With one violent swing of the bat, new Giants outfielder Kevin Pillar brought an end to those droughts. In the fourth inning of the Giants’ series-opener with the Padres, Pillar crushed a 419-foot grand slam halfway up the left field bleachers. The home run was the first of Pillar’s tenure with the Giants and just the seventh homer hit in 11 games for the team this year. Pillar redirected a 93-mile per hour fastball from Padres left-hander Eric Lauer and sent it out to left field at 104 miles per hour off the bat. The home run registered a 26-degree launch angle and pushed the Giants to a 5-0 lead less than two weeks after San Francisco failed to score in six innings against Lauer on Opening Day. With one hit, Pillar moved into sole possession of third place for the most RBIs on the Giants. Brandon Belt entered Monday leading the team with eight while Steven Duggar ranked second with five RBIs. Belt was the last Giants player to hit a grand slam as he launched his April 7, 2017 in San Diego against the Padres. Hunter Pence was the last Giants player to hit a grand slam at home.<doc-sep>SAN FRANCISCO–It had been 17 seasons since a Giants player recorded four RBIs in back-to-back games. It took Kevin Pillar just one week with his new team to accomplish the feat. After smashing a grand slam on Monday, Pillar cleared the bases with a double and added a sacrifice fly in the Giants’ 7-2 win over the Padres in front of 28,506 fans Tuesday. “I’m just really trying to focus on my strengths right now,” Pillar said. “I think we get really caught up in our weaknesses and we work on that so much that we forget about our strengths. I’m really getting back to what I feel like I do best.” Pillar became the first Giant to achieve the feat since Barry Bonds drove in four on back-to-back days and a total of nine against the Los Angeles Dodgers between April 2-3, 2002. A night after the Giants coughed up a five-run lead, Pillar’s big day coupled with a brilliant outing from left-handed starter Derek Holland helped the club even the series against the Padres. Bonds drove in 110 runs en route to winning the MVP in 2002, and while the Giants don’t expect Pillar to reach that mark this year, they would be thrilled if he could continue to provide some much-needed thump from the right side of the plate. What else did we learn from Tuesday’s game? Here are our three big things. 1. Giants start to solve early-inning woes Entering Tuesday’s game, the Giants were 5-for-71 in the first and second inning of games. In case your jaw isn’t on the floor yet, here’s the stat in italic type: 5-for-71. There are many reasons the club slumped to a 3-8 start, but a failure to put any kind of pressure on opponents early in games is near the top of the list. Though the Giants remain one of just three teams that have yet to score a first inning run this year, they finally gave Padres starter Joey Lucchesi an ERA in an explosive six-run second inning. Lucchesi had recorded scoreless outings in each of his first two starts, but Buster Posey kicked off the rally with a single and five other players recorded hits in the frame. “That could be one of our best games in awhile where we really kept the line moving,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “We placed some balls well but we had some line drives and guys weren’t trying to do too much and use the whole field. They played the game and got rewarded with six runs there.” The biggest at-bats came courtesy of 2019 newcomers Yangervis Solarte and Pillar, who were both in the starting lineup after Bochy decided to give Joe Panik a second day off in a row and Steven Duggar his first day of rest this season. The switch-hitting Solarte blooped a two-run double down the right field line while Pillar brought home three runs with a 109-mile per hour double to left field. A night after he launched a grand slam, Pillar emptied the bases with a rocket that showed how valuable it is to have right-handed hitters who can turn on mistakes. When the Giants scored just five runs in four games to open the season in San Diego, neither Pillar nor Tyler Austin were on the roster. After Farhan Zaidi made early roster moves to acquire both righties, the Giants have fared much better against Padres pitchers. “I’m glad (the trade) happened early in the year,” Pillar said. “I’ll really have the time to get to know these guys, get to know the coaching staff, front office and all of you guys and really start to be myself.” For anyone who questions how a trade transforms a player’s life, Kevin Pillar offered a really insightful look inside the challenge of leaving behind one team and coming to another. pic.twitter.com/OFrb5CLLb1 — Kerry Crowley (@KO_Crowley) April 10, 2019 2. Derek Holland made his best start as a Giant Holland was one of the team’s most consistent pitchers last season, but one aspect of his performances he consistently expressed frustration with was an inability to pitch deep into games. For the first time in his career with the Giants, Holland made it through seven innings on Tuesday. “I joked around with (Madison Bumgarner) and said I made it past five innings,” Holland said. “I also didn’t throw 100 pitches in five innings. That was good.” Aside from one mistake that Padres left fielder Hunter Renfroe launched to the top of the left field bleachers, Holland was outstanding as he limited San Diego to just five hits and one run en route to his first win of the year. Holland finished the night with nine strikeouts, his most in a single-game since he recorded 11 in an August 30, 2015 shutout of the Baltimore Orioles. The left-hander dazzled against electric Padres rookie Fernando Tatis, Jr., who struck out looking three times against Holland on Tuesday. “I’ve still got it,” Holland said. “I’ve still got it in the tank. Being able to show that I’m still healthy and I can still pitch and execute that way.” Though Holland only finished with 10 swinging strikes, he commanded the ball extremely well throughout the evening and was particularly effective with a slider that produced 19 strikes on 30 pitches and just three balls in play. His Giants teammates feed off of Holland’s energy and against San Diego, he was able to put two mediocre starts behind him with a dominant effort that helped San Francisco snap a two-game losing skid. Derek Holland honoring Dirk Nowitzki after the best start of his #SFGiants career pic.twitter.com/haexyk30ue — Kerry Crowley (@KO_Crowley) April 10, 2019 3. A manufactured run It may not have looked like much, but the lone run the Giants put on the scoreboard in the fourth inning Tuesday was symbolic of a small but critical offensive breakthrough. For all the talk of the Giants being a “small ball” team, the lineup has struggled to manufacture runs and take advantage of its opponents mistakes.<doc-sep>At one point, the Giants had a five-run lead. It was the largest lead they’ve had this entire season. The Giants’ problem this year hasn’t been their pitching. They’ve held opponents to an average of 3.6 runs per game and they’ve only allowed a team to score six or more runs once in their first 10 games. Even if they didn’t add on, the lead should have been secure. They should have won this game. They did not win this game. In this darkest of timelines, the San Diego Padres are an unstoppable killing machine, and no lead is safe. Just when you think you are happy, your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you will know the debt is paid. The worst thing about watching the Giants facing Eric Lauer is the interminable terror that their precious few baserunners will get picked off. Lauer picked off 10 runners last year which not only led the league, but it was more than the next two pitchers combined. When the Giants loaded the bases in the fourth inning, I couldn’t help but think that someone was going to get picked off to end the “threat.” It would have been overkill. “What did Eric Lauer think was going to happen?” I would have written. “That the Giants would get a hit with the bases loaded, let alone hit a gr—” Oh. Oh my. Here’s a reminder that while Kevin Pillar might not have an OBP over .300, he’s still good for 10-15 dingers a year. In Giants numbers, that’s like 30. Pillar’s grand slam was the first a Giant has hit since April 6, 2017 when Brandon Belt hit one in a game the Giants also lost to the Padres. That’s two full seasons of baseball that the Giants failed to hit a grand slam. They were the only team not to hit a grand slam last year, but it’s not like they lacked for opportunities. They had 136 plate appearances with the bases loaded in 2018 alone which is 36 more times than the Orioles had, and Baltimore hit four. Hitting a home run with the bases loaded shouldn’t be this rare an occurrence. Heck, Fernando Tatis’s father, Fernando Tatis, hit two grand slams in the same inning. Because the Giants finally hit a grand slam, it meant that they had to forfeit all other scoring opportunities. Kevin Pillar got reached on an error and stole second with one out in the seventh, but the Giants couldn’t bring him in. Buster Posey arose from the grave to deliver unto the Giants a leadoff double, but that gift, too, was wasted. Joe Panik reached in the ninth inning to represent the tying run, but the only pinch hitter left on the Giants’ bench was Erik Kratz. Madison Bumgarner’s final line doesn’t look very good, but that ignores the four hitless innings he threw before everything went into the toilet. Through the first four, Bumgarner only faced one over the minimum and struck out three. In the third inning, Madison Bumgarner struck out Luis Urías on four pitches. It was the 1,607th strikeout of Bumgarner’s career which made him seventh all-time on the Giants strikeout list. With that strikeout, Madison Bumgarner passes Gaylord Perry to become number 7 on the Giants all-time strikeout leaders list. pic.twitter.com/NBiIN93a2m — San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) April 9, 2019 Bumgarner should catch the next two names on that list this season, Carl Hubbell and Matt Cain, and Tim Lincecum isn’t much farther ahead at 1,704. As long he pitches in a Giants uniform all season, becoming fourth on the list should be easy. The fifth was when things began to unravel. Bumgarner stopped being to hit the gloveside part of the plate with his cutter and missed off the plate where it wasn’t tempting anyone. The pitch that Fernando Tatis Jr. knocked out was right down the middle as was the pitch that Wil Myers clobbered. Speaking of Wil Myers, here’s an extremely unfun fact courtesy of the guy who used to have to write these recaps: With that home run, Wil Myers moves into a tie for fifth-place on the HR list in San Francisco since 2017. 1. Brandon Belt (17) 2. Brandon Crawford (13) 3. Nick Hundley (10) 4. Pablo Sandoval (8) 5-t. Buster Posey (7) 5-t. Gorkys Hernandez (7) 5-t. Wil Myers (7) — Grant Brisbee (@GrantBrisbee) April 9, 2019 Bumgarner came out to pitch the seventh which seemed questionable considering how tough the previous two innings were for him. Not only that, but he was facing the order a third time through. He should have come out after he hit Tatis on a 3-2 pitch. Bochy stuck with him, and Bumgarner rewarded his confidence with a double off the Willie Mays wall. Reyes Moronta was tasked with getting out of a tying run on second, nobody out situation, and he got three quick outs without any problems whatsoever, no sir, not a one, except for maybe that slider he hung to Franmil Reyes. In Tyler Austin’s first at bat with the Yankees, he hit a home run. In his first game with the Twins, he hit a home run. In his first game with the Giants, he did not hit a home run. He did, however, get a hit which ties him with Connor Joe on the all-time Giants hit list. Austin is listed a first baseman/outfielder, but the Twins disagree on that classification. They didn’t put Austin in the outfield at all during the spring, so today he started at first which meant that Brandon Belt moved to left. While it’s easy to view this Belt being relegated to a less important defensive position, this is also a testament to Belt’s talent. He doesn’t need to have played the position recently to feel comfortable. It’s like riding a bike for him. The Giants didn’t win the baseball game, but that’s the least of the concerns. Gerardo Parra left the game after getting hit in the face with a fastball from Brad Wieck.<doc-sep>
In his landmark self-help book “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” Dale Carnegie wrote, “Just drive in eight runs in two nights for your new team. That oughta do it.” The run-starved fans of San Francisco have taken a liking to Kevin Pillar. So have his new teammates, who awarded the center fielder one of their two player-of-the-game belts after Tuesday night’s 7-2 victory against the Padres at Oracle Park. Monday’s grand slam earned Pillar a move to leadoff on Steven Duggar’s first start off Tuesday night. The move paid huge dividends when Pillar hit a three-run double in a six-run second inning, the earliest the Giants have scored this season. He added a sacrifice fly in the fourth to give the Giants a 7-0 lead. The Padres did not have another comeback in them. Derek Holland, the other belt recipient, made sure of that with his first seven-inning start with the Giants and his first nine-strikeout game since 2015. He struck out Fernando Tatis Jr. three times, all looking. In the span of four plate appearances over two nights, Pillar caught Brandon Belt for the team lead in RBIs with eight, which speaks well of Pillar, not so much the offense as a whole. Pillar also was the first Giants hitter in 17 seasons with back-to-back games of at least four RBIs. The last man to do it, Barry Bonds in 2002, was in the house. “Anytime you’re brand new to a clubhouse, to a new group of players, to a new organization and front office, to new fans, you want to go out and have your moment,” Pillar said. Actually, he has had three. In the second home game of the season Saturday, Pillar saved two runs with a diving catch in center that robbed the Rays’ Tommy Pham with the bases loaded. The runner from third scored on the sacrifice fly. Then, after tweaking his swing and approach after his first extended discussions with hitting coaches Alonzo Powell and Rich Schu, Pillar delivered monstrous hits with the bases loaded on consecutive nights. The adjustments helped a guy who was 1-for-17 for the Blue Jays when they traded him to San Francisco and 2-for-17 with the Giants before Monday's grand slam. Pillar’s double Tuesday was the second-hardest-hit ball by a Giants batter this season at 109.5 mph. The ball took an infield-like bad hop and hit Hunter Renfroe in the chest before scooting toward the wall. Pillar also owns the hardest-hit ball, Pillar also had the hardest, not his grand slam Monday night, but a 110-mph single Saturday. The acquisitions of Pillar last week and Tyler Austin on Monday have changed the nature of the roster, making the Giants a more formidable team against left-handed pitching. That might force opposing managers to rethink their rotation strategy of left, left, left and, for good measure, left. “We’re a better club with these two guys,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “That’s not a knock on the two young guys we had here, but these are experienced players, especially Pillar, and Austin has a track record hitting lefties. They give us a better lineup with more depth. We’re more dangerous.” The Giants’ first three hitters went down in order against Joey Lucchesi, leaving them scoreless in the first inning for the season after 12 games with two hits in 38 at-bats. Something remarkable happened in the second inning, however. The Giants not only produced their earliest runs this season, they scored six against a lefty who had not allowed any runs this season. Pillar’s double was the only one of six hits in the inning to left field. Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and Evan Longoria each hit singles to right, Longoria getting an RBI, before Yangervis Solarte dunked a double just over first base along the line for another run. After Pillar’s double, Austin hit a single for his first RBI with the Giants. Pillar's fourth RBI would not have been possible without Parra's hustle double leading off the fourth and Holland's sacrifice. Holland accomplished something he did not do in his first season as a Giant. He won in April. He had his best start with the Giants, too, taking a shutout into the seventh before allowing a Renfroe home run. So many times since his arrival last year Holland has bemoaned his inability to give Bochy length. He finally did at an opportune time, with the Giants playing the fifth of 10 consecutive games without a day off.