Bryan Hickerson didn't want a rainout Saturday because it meant his pitching turn would be skipped.
So, following a one-hour, 44-minute delay at the start of the game, Hickerson got his wish and made the most of it with seven strong innings in a 10-1 victory over the New York Mets.Matt Williams, Royce Clayton and Mike Benjamin each hit two-run homers and the Giants broke out of a slump with 14 hits against left-hander Eric Hillman (0-2) and two relievers.
"I didn't care if it was raining, I wanted to pitch," said Hickerson (1-0), who yielded five hits, struck out six and walked none while reducing his ERA to 1.31. "I didn't want to go another week without pitching."
Hillman, however, had completely different thoughts about the inclement weather after he was battered for nine hits and five runs in three-plus innings.
"I never got comfortable on the mound for any pitches, and that was the key," said Hillman, who quickly fell behind when Darren Lewis hit a leadoff homer in the first.
Using that home run as a springboard, the Giants reversed a trend which found them last in the major leagues in hitting and batting .198 in the first five games of their homestand.
They mustered merely seven hits in their previous two games, yet surpassed that total by the third inning. Eight of the nine starters had at least one hit.
"I hope this is the start of something," Giants manager Dusty Baker said. "Darren got us going with a homer, and we finally got some two-out hits."
Benjamin applied the finishing touches with an inside-the-park home run in the eighth inning, the first for the Giants since Bob Brenly did it against Montreal, Aug. 29, 1984.
Pirates 6, Braves 1
At Atlanta, the Braves lost their fourth straight game, their worst slump in a year, when Kevin Young singled home the tiebreaking run in the ninth inning Saturday and sent the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-1 victory.
The Braves, who began the season with a 13-1 record, had not lost four in a row since last April 25-29, when they dropped five consecutive games.
Young, batting .095 (2-for-21) entering the game, had two hits. His single in the ninth followed singles by pinch-hitter Dave Clark and Don Slaught.
Rockies 8, Cubs 2
At Denver, Greg Harris broke his six-game losing streak, scattering eight hits as the Colorado Rockies defeated Chicago.
Harris, bidding for the first complete-game shutout in team history, blanked the Cubs until Mark Grace led off the ninth with a single and Derrick May followed with a home run.
Marlins 3, Reds 2
At Cincinnati, pinch-runner Chuck Carr beat shortstop Barry Larkin's throw home on a grounder in the ninth inning, and the Florida Marlins beat Cincinnati.
Orestes Destrade led off the ninth with a single against Hector Carrasco (3-1) and was replaced by Carr, who led the league with 58 stolen bases last season.
Astros 15, Cardinals 5
At St. Louis, Kevin Bass went 5-for-6 with a homer, and Steve Finley had four hits and drove in three runs to power the Houston Astros to a win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Bass, who drove in three runs, matched a career-high with five hits by homering in the ninth. Finley went 4-for-5 and scored twice.