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Anthony Molina handles ‘adversity' against former team in Giants' win vs. Braves
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- Anthony Molina handles ‘adversity' against former team in Giants' win vs. Braves
Anthony Molina handles 'adversity' against former team in Giants' win vs. Braves originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Less than 24 hours before the 2026 MLB trade deadline, the Giants traded veteran starter Tyler Mahle to the Atlanta Braves.
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Mahle has been fantastic since joining his new team; his 1.48 ERA in five starts is the lowest for any starting pitcher moved at this year's deadline.
But it's not like the Giants completely got fleeced by the Braves, at least so far. The player who went back to San Francisco in return, 24-year-old righty Anthony Molina , now is 2-0 in two appearances after a solid outing in the Giants' 7-3 win on Monday — over his former team in Atlanta at Truist Park.
Molina's first outing in orange and black came in emergency relief after Adrian Houser left with an injury last Tuesday. The Venezuela native threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing just a hit and a walk, despite being in the middle of making coffee when he was called on to enter the game.
Before Monday's start, on the other hand, Molina had plenty of time to prepare to face the team that traded him less than a month ago, which he said provided some extra motivation.
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"It was a great experience playing against the Braves," Molina said through translator Erwin Higueros. "I was getting ready since a week before the start."
Molina wasn't quite as dominant this time as he was in his first outing, but he still gave the Giants what they needed in an odd make-up game for a June 18 rainout after a doubleheader on Saturday. In five innings of work, Molina allowed six hits, three runs and no walks while striking out six.
Along with the win, the performance was enough to impress manager Tony Vitello as Molina makes a potential case for inclusion in the currently wide-open 2027 Giants rotation.
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"I thought he was awesome." Vitello told reporters. "I mean, that's a tough set of circumstances, and you know, you start playing a mental chess match of, you know they know you as well as anybody, but it was strike, strike, strike, strike, and then handled some adversity really well there."
In addition to a zero in the walks column, Molina threw 54 of his 75 pitches for strikes, which evidently pleased Vitello.
And as far as the adversity Vitello mentioned, Molina found himself facing Braves slugger Matt Olson with the bases loaded in the fifth inning and the Giants trailing 3-2 after third baseman Olseivis Basabe misplayed a potential groundout.
Despite falling behind in the count 3-0, Molina got Olson to fly out. In the next half inning, San Francisco scored four runs that would end up being the difference in the game.
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"If you don't have to face Olson, you don't want to face Olson," Vitello said. "And unfortunately, we don't make a play, and, you know, [Molina] did a good job of maintaining his poise — even talked about that before the game. He's got a great smile, good personality, but he is kind of more stoic, and I think that serves him well in that role on the mound."
Molina wasn't the only Giants youngster to have an impactful game as he seeks a spot on next season's Opening Day roster. Jonah Cox had an RBI bunt single and a solo homer, Basabe also went deep and Turner Hill knocked in the go-ahead runs with a pinch-hit, two-run double in the sixth inning.
Perhaps most importantly to some, the win also gave the Giants their first sweep of the season — kind of. San Francisco won the first two games of the series when it was originally scheduled in mid-June, but the series finale was postponed due to rain until Monday.
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Now, Elias Sports Bureau technically doesn't acknowledge it as a sweep. But when you haven't yet completed a sweep as the calendar turns to September, it's safe to say the Giants will be happy to fudge the definition a bit.
