Pence, Morse power Giants past Tribe

AT&T PARK — The Giants were all business from the start Friday night, needing only two batters to commandeer a first-inning lead.

Photos by Godofredo Vasquez/SFBay

They never gave it back and went on to beat the Indians 5-1 on a packed Orange Friday, which also happened to be Duane Kuiper bobblehead night.

Angel Pagan led off the game with a single and Hunter Pence promptly drove him in on a triple to right centerfield.

Michael Morse added a sacrifice fly to give the Giants a 2-0 after one inning. Morse blasted his sixth home run of the season to the opposite field in the fourth inning to make the score 4-1.

Manager Bruce Bochy wasn’t surprised with the power displayed by Morse:

“For a guy to hit a ball where he hit it, a man has to do that. At night in that part of the park, the ball doesn’t carry that well, but it was a no-doubter. I guess that’s why he’s got the nickname ‘the beast.'”

Tim Hudson (3-1) turned in another solid performance to secure his third win of the season. Hudson chewed up another seven innings of one-run ball to drop his ERA down to a diminutive 2.19.

Bochy talked about Hudson’s effectiveness after the game:

“He throws strikes, he keeps the ball down, he gets ground balls, he pitches to contact and he competes out there. He did a great job. Seven innings, that’s solid work tonight.”

Angel Pagan had a solid outing going 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a stolen base and some speedy plays in the outfield.

Pablo Sandoval (.171) went 1-for-3 in the game. He still struggled recognizing the strike zone, but showed some improvement lacing a triple off the right-field wall. He would score on a Brandon Crawford the next at-bat.

The Giants will look to add to their solid performance when Tim Lincecum (1-1, 6.43 ERA) takes on right-handed ace Zach McAllister (2-0, 2.04 ERA) Saturday. The game starts at 1:05 p.m.

Notes

Michael Morse has four home runs and seven RBIs in his last seven games. … Tim Hudson faced 115 batters before the Indians’ Carlos Santana drew a walk in the first inning. … The walk snapped his walk-less streak at 30 innings to begin the season. …The streak was the longest in Giants franchise history since Grover Cleveland Alexander in 1900. … Hudson has thrown at least 7 innings in all five starts this season.