SAN FRANCISCO -- One of Gabe Kapler’s clearest memories from the 2021 campaign took place during the Giants’ series against the Rangers last June.

Kapler remembers watching Mauricio Dubón take pregame batting practice alongside several Giants veterans. The slender Dubόn isn’t known for his power, but he left a lasting impression with his bat on that day at Globe Life Field.

“I think we were in Texas, and he was taking BP with our bangers,” Kapler recalled. “In that batting practice, their data was up on the scoreboard. Exit velocities were up there, and guys were driving the ball all over the place. I think the hardest-hit ball of that round was from Mauricio, so he’s got real sock. It doesn’t necessarily come out in the same way or as often as some of the guys that were hitting with him that day, but it’s in there.”

Hours later, Dubόn flashed that pop, crushing a two-run home run off left-hander Austin Gomber that helped pave the way for the Giants’ 8-5 win over the Rockies in Monday night’s series opener at Oracle Park.

Dubόn, who manned center field and batted second in his fourth start in the last seven games, drove in each of the Giants’ first three runs, delivering a sacrifice fly in the first inning before smoking a fastball from Gomber into San Francisco’s bullpen in center field for a 405-foot shot that made it 3-0 in the third.

It was the second home run of the year for Dubόn, who added a pair of singles to cap a three-hit night. The 27-year-old super utility man is now 7-for-19 (.368) with two home runs and six RBIs over his last six games after batting only .136 through his first 12 appearances of 2022.

Despite his rough April, Dubόn said he didn’t try to tinker too much at the plate, as he knew he was hitting the ball hard without having much to show for it. Rather than fixate too much on his meager batting average, Dubόn decided to stick to his approach and continue to try to make quality contact.

“It’s funny, I talked to my wife about that,” Dubόn said. “Last year, I did the same thing. I started hitting the ball hard right at people, and I tried to look for hits instead of staying with what I practiced the whole offseason. I decided not to do that this year and just stay with the plan. It’s been working out. I haven’t changed anything. It’s working.”

Dubόn’s surge is well timed, as the Giants have an impending roster crunch now that veteran infielders Evan Longoria and Tommy La Stella are close to returning from the injured list. Dubόn, who is out of options, wasn’t guaranteed to break camp with the Giants before injuries created a spot for him on the Opening Day roster, but he’s quickly showing why he can be such a valuable piece for the club.

“I don’t know where we’d be without him,” Kapler said. “For the last couple of games, he’s been excellent.”

Rodón racks up 12 K’s in 110-pitch gem

Left-hander Carlos Rodón took the mound on an extra day of rest on Monday, though he had to work hard against the Rockies’ pesky lineup. Colorado forced Rodón to throw 30 pitches in the first inning alone, with former Giants outfielder Connor Joe setting the tone with a nine-pitch at-bat that resulted in a leadoff single.

Still, Rodón managed to limit the damage, striking out 12 over six innings of two-run ball to improve to 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA over six starts this year. Rodón threw 110 pitches, tied for the second-most by a starting pitcher in a single outing this year.

The Rockies cut the Giants’ lead to 3-2 behind Yonathan Daza’s two-out, two-run single in the fifth, but Rodón came back to strike out Randal Grichuk on a slider to keep San Francisco’s lead intact. With the Giants a bit short in the bullpen, Kapler elected to send Rodón back out for the sixth. The 29-year-old ace rewarded his manager’s faith by capping his outing with a 1-2-3 inning. 

With his 14th career double-digit strikeout game, Rodón now leads the Majors with 53 punchouts over 35 innings this year, though Kapler said he believes there’s still more potential to unlock.

“As good as he’s been, as many dudes as he’s struck out, there’s still probably more ceiling in there for Carlos,” Kapler said. “I think that starts with curbing some of his frustration that he feels throughout the game because every pitch that he delivers takes so much energy. If we can find ways, if he can find ways, to conserve some of that energy for every pitch he’s going to make deep into games, I actually think there’s an even better pitcher in there. I think he’s that good.”  

Rodón agreed. 

“I get emotional and frustrated,” Rodón said. “I showed that a little more today, so I know I can be better at that instead of wasting energy on frustration and pitches that already happened and you can’t control. A little stronger mindset, there’s definitely a lot better I can do. I think I can go deeper in the games, as I should. Gabe’s right.”