MILWAUKEE -- Casey Schmitt has had a lot thrown at him this year.
He’s played all four infield positions. He’s served as the designated hitter. He’s learned to play left field on the fly.
Now, the Giants’ super-utility man is adjusting to yet another new position: the leadoff spot.
Schmitt batted first for the fifth consecutive game on Thursday afternoon and he remained unfazed in the face of a new challenge. He launched his first career leadoff home run in a lively 12-9 win over the Brewers, helping the Giants split this four-game series at American Family Field.
“Anytime you can kind of get that first punch, I think it’s huge,” Schmitt said. “It just kind of followed from there. Everyone put really good swings on the ball.”
Schmitt wasted no time getting San Francisco on the board, driving the first pitch he saw from Milwaukee right-hander Coleman Crow off the top of the left-field wall to collect his career-high 13th home run of the season in the top of the first inning.
“That’s a cool thing,” Schmitt said of setting the new benchmark only 63 games into the season. “Just believing in myself, that’s what I’m most proud of.”
Schmitt’s 379-foot shot, according to Statcast, sparked an early three-run rally for the Giants, who later scored three more in the third to knock Crow out of the game after only 2 1/3 innings. San Francisco broke the game open with another six-run outburst in the seventh, which was highlighted by former Brewer Eric Haase’s third career grand slam.
“Today, we felt like an actual team offense, not just like a bunch of guys going up there to make stuff happen,” Haase said. “At-bats were leading off each other. It led to wearing down starters, wearing down bullpen guys. That’s the kind of stuff we want going forward.”
Every member of the Giants’ starting lineup recorded at least one hit, fueling a 20-hit barrage that powered the club’s second double-digit showing of this road trip. Jung Hoo Lee finished 4-for-5 to continue his recent tear at the plate, while Bryce Eldridge and Matt Chapman chipped in with three hits apiece.
Lee is now riding a career-high 12-game hitting streak, slashing .522/.532/.696 with three doubles, one triple, one home run and seven RBIs over that span. His batting average is up to .322 on the season, which ranks fourth in the Majors behind Otto Lopez (.336), Brandon Marsh (.333) and Giants teammate Luis Arraez (.325).
“I just think he’s a really good hitter,” manager Tony Vitello said of Lee. “I boil it down to the mentality, but I do see him staying in line a lot better than he did earlier in the year.”
The Giants got a couple of nice defensive plays on Thursday as well, with center fielder Drew Gilbert making a perfectly timed leaping grab at the right-center-field wall to rob Andrew Vaughn of a homer in the bottom of the seventh.
Schmitt also continued to impress in left field, battling the sun and racing back to make a running catch on Christian Yelich’s 101.7 mph drive off starter Adrian Houser in the bottom of the first. The 27-year-old couldn’t have necessarily envisioned starting in left field and batting leadoff for the Giants at the beginning of the season, but he’s taken pride in his ability to roll with the punches this year.
“However I can get in the lineup, that’s kind of how I want it,” Schmitt said. “I spent my first two seasons not playing as much. I’m just taking advantage of it and going out there and being myself.”
Schmitt leads San Francisco in home runs, OPS (.844) and RBIs (35), which should make him a candidate for his first career All-Star selection. He’s turned himself into a huge weapon for the Giants through his defensive versatility, but his lack of a full-time position could inadvertently hurt his chances of securing a trip to the Midsummer Classic next month.
The Giants currently have Schmitt listed at the designated hitter spot on the All-Star ballot, which undersells his value and will put him in direct competition with Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber and Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, who rank first and third in the National League in OPS.
Still, Vitello said he believes Schmitt will be recognized as more than just a DH when his body of work is taken into consideration.
“I think he’s worthy,” Vitello said. “That’s the spot he’s probably soaked up the most time, but it kind of understates his value of being Mr. Versatile all over the place. In a game like that, once you get the roster sorted the way that it is, you probably want extreme versatility just by the nature of the game.”
After losing two of three to the Rockies and going 2-2 against the Brewers, the Giants (25-38) will head to Chicago to take on the Cubs in the final leg of their 10-game road trip.