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Cubs' Robel Garcia hits 454-foot homer into San Francisco's McCovey Cove

By Alex Butler

July 23 (UPI) -- Chicago Cubs second baseman Robel Garcia smacked a 454-foot homer into McCovey Cove for the first run of the game in a 5-4 loss to the San Francisco Giants Monday in San Francisco.

The behemoth blast came in the top of the second inning at Oracle Park. Both teams went down in order in the first inning. Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo popped out to leadoff the second frame, prompting Garcia to step into the box.

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Garcia whiffed on a 91.8 mph fastball before eyeing a 1-1 fastball from Giants starter Shaun Anderson. He sent the 91.8-mph offering to deep right field, where it cleared the bleachers and splashed into the San Francisco Bay. Garcia's blast had an exit velocity of 113 mph and left the field in 5.2 seconds, according to Statcast.

Kyle Schwarber pushed the Cubs' lead to 2-0 with a solo homer in the next inning. Albert Almora gave Chicago a 3-0 edge with an RBI single in the fourth frame. Then the Giants came roaring back.

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Kevin Pillar plated San Francisco's first run when he grounded into a double play, scoring Stephen Vogt. Mike Yastrzemski brought in the Giants' second run with an RBI single in the fifth inning. Rizzo pushed the Cubs' lead to 4-2 with an RBI double in the eighth inning.

The Giants responded with three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a one-run lead. Joe Panik plated the go-ahead run for San Francisco on an RBI double.

Garcia was 1-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored and a strikeout in the loss. Panik was 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI for the Giants.

The Giants host the Cubs in the second game of the three-game series at 9:45 p.m. EDT Tuesday in San Francisco.

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