For the entirety of the second half, the San Francisco Giants have been looking for some spark to lead them out of the abyss that has been their abysmal post-All-Star Break slump.
Just when all seemed lost, one of the newest Giants became the catalyst San Francisco needed to take down one of the best pitchers in baseball in Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals.
Eduardo Núñez had his coming out party in the Nation's Capitol in historic fashion, becoming the first Giant to rack up two triples and a double since Will Clark in 1991 on route to his fifth four-hit game of the season.
Brandon Belt made sure his corner mate wasn't alone on the offensive front, putting together a three-hit game of his own, including a solo shot in the top of ninth to put a cherry on top of a feel-good victory in D.C.
For all the work done by some of the young bucks in the infield, it was the man who has spent a little north of ten years donning the orange and black which gave the Giants one of the biggest lifts of the night.
Matt Cain took the momentum from his five no-hit innings against Washington in his last start and ran with it, pitching five more scoreless innings on route to recording the 101st win in his career.
Just like Cain's last start against the Nationals, The Horse had to work through more than a couple jams and high-pressure situations to keep Washington out of the run column.
Much of Cain's success in keeping Nationals from coming across the plate can be attributed to the defense, which played up to its full ability when its starter needed a clean performance the most.
Buster Posey set the tone for the defense in the bottom of the first inning, throwing out Washington's speedy Trea Turner by a hair with a bullet to Brandon Crawford.
Núñez played his part on the defensive side as well, making a diving stop to help start a double play that would all but squash a Washington rally that began with runners on first and second with no outs.
Belt made a risky decision in the top of the fourth inning that ended up working out for the Giants.
With the bases loaded, the first baseman fielded a weak ground ball and, with his momentum carrying him towards the plate, threw home and gunned down Wilson Ramos instead of getting the sure out at first, keeping the Nationals out of the run column.
Strasberg had no problem keeping the Giants from putting together any momentum through the first third of the game, only allowing one baserunner through his first three innings of work.
After one go around through the lineup, however, the Giants started to figure out the Nationals' ace.
Núñez began the top of the fourth inning with one of his triples off the top of the center field wall which just missed being the third baseman's first home run with the Giants by less than a foot.
The third baseman did not take the time to admire the near home run, sprinting right out of the box, kicking it into gear before he hit second, and losing his helmet, in typical Núñez fashion between second and third.
Belt struck out in the following at-bat, but Posey came to the rescue, singling up the middle to drive in Núñez, giving the Giants their first run of the night.
Crawford, Pence, and Panik followed Posey's lead by stringing together three consecutive singles, the last of which plated Posey and extended San Francisco's lead to two.
The Giants had a golden opportunity to tack on and put up a crooked number, but to no avail as Gregor Blanco and Cain both went down on strikes.
The lone All-Star representative for the Minnesota Twins wasn't done just yet, starting another rally in the following inning with his second triple of the ballgame, this one of the opposite field variety.
Belt wouldn't miss out on his opportunity to cash in two innings in a row, hitting an opposite field double of his own to drive in Núñez.
Posey kept the hit parade going, and Crawford drove home his fellow Brandon with a sacrifice fly to center field.
San Francisco tacked on in the later innings, scoring one in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings to put the cherry on top of a great all-around victory.
Jake Peavy made his second relief appearance and, suffice to say, the former starter is still getting used to not being the first Giant out on the mound.
Peavy faced three batters, yet could not record a single out, giving up three consecutive hits before being yanked from the ballgame for Derek Law, who retired his one and only batter.
Law, along with the rest of the bullpen outside of Peavy, kept the Nationals scoreless and hitless following Cain's departure in the sixth inning.
Bochy is becoming more and more accustomed to utilizing Will Smith out of the bullpen, and the lefty has responded accordingly.
Since his nightmarish first appearance against Philadelphia, Smith has not allowed a run in his last three appearances, albeit he has not thrown a complete innings worth of work in any appearance.
Smith nearly allowed a home run to Brian Goodwin, who made his major league debut after taking over for Bryce Harper, but the rookie's first hit aspirations would have to be on hold as Pence caught his potential dinger at the warning track in right.
By the midway point of the second inning, Hunter Pence looked as if he had been through a round in the ring.
A foul ball off the bat of Pence hit the top of the plate and bounced high enough to hit the right fielder just below the right eye, immediately swelling and turning purple.
From the television broadcast, one can see that the ball left an imprint of its stitches in Pence's face.
Despite the sucker punch to the face, Pence stayed in the game, although his toughness wasn't rewarded as he struck out in the very same at-bat.
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