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Giants' Crawford hits homer off brother-in-law, family reacts awkwardly

By Alex Butler
San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford. File photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI
San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford. File photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo

May 23 (UPI) -- Brandon Crawford hit a home run off of his brother-in-law during the San Francisco Giants' 11-2 loss to the Houston Astros.

The Giants shortstop took Gerrit Cole deep in the top of the fifth frame Tuesday at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. Cole is married to Crawford's sister. The pitcher had the last laugh, earning his fifth win of the season, but he also provided some awkward material for the next family holiday.

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The righty had his squad in front 5-0 when he began his sequence with Crawford. He had Crawford in an 0-2 hole to start off the at-bat. Crawford fouled off three consecutive pitches before eying a fifth offering. Cole tossed in an 88.1-mph slider.

Crawford hacked at the toss, sending it deep to left field for a two-run homer. Cameras panned over to the Crawford's box seats, where Cole's wife reacted around the rest of Crawford's family. Crawford's dad reacted with a minor grimace.

"We don't talk about [facing each other] a whole lot, especially our at-bats." Crawford told reporters. "We'll talk about baseball plenty, but we don't talk about our at-bats a lot."

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Cole sent a pair of his cleats over to Crawford after the game. Gerrit and Amy Cole were wed in 2016.

"The first time I faced him in my debut, he broke a bat and got a hit or broke a bat and got an out. He signed it and sent it over to me," Cole said. "I signed the pair of cleats that I pitched [in] tonight and I wrote [Giants announcer Duane] Kuiper's call, 'Outta here!' on the one, and then [Jon] Miller's 'Adios, pelota!' on the other one. I sent it over, try to have a little fun."

Cole allowed four hits and two runs, while tossing eight strikeouts in six innings of work. Crawford was 2-for-3 at the plate, with two RBI and a run scored.

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