The ugly five game losing streak finally ended as the Giants won a close one, 5-4, in the sad, half empty confines of the Phillies' Citizens Bank Park. Homers were the key to this one and we did a little bit better in that regard as Buster Posey's seventh inning solo shot was the difference.
Tim Lincecum was the winner (6-3) but it would be a stretch to say that he pitched well. It is, however, safe to say that he was considerably better than Jerome Williams and that is all that mattered in the end. Tim survived 6 innings, giving up 4 runs on five hits (including 2 more homers) and 2 walks. It did not start well as he gave the ridiculously anemic Phillies a 3-1 lead after the first 2 innings. During that time, Tim threw a couple of the lamest pitches you will ever see. The first was a fattie to Ryan Howard (literally the only power threat and there was a base open!) that he crushed for a homer. Then an inning later, Tim gave up a RBI double to Williams, of all people. He did finally settle in and get through a few more innings but it was another painful outing. No fastball command. How many times have we seen that in the last few years?
Fortunately on this night the opponent was really no match. The once mighty Phillies look amazingly weak, especially in comparison to the impressive Pirates. Utley is barely above .200 for goodness sake! Mortality is a bitch, isn't it? It will be very disappointing if we don't get a least one more from these guys, especially with MadBum going tomorrow.
POG: Matt Duffy gets the nod tonight with a couple hits (including a sweet opposite field shot to their tiny right center field porch) and a nice grab out of the stands. Justin Maxwell stepped in admirablely for the injured Pence as well. His 2 run homer tied it in the fourth. Just as a note: McGehee returned (for some odd reason) and struck out as a pinch hitter.
8 comments:
He was struggling but despite his issues, he pitched an effective game, in fact, he ended up with a quality start per the PQS methodology, so I give him credit for accomplishing that in spite of not having much fastball control in the early innings. He kept us in the game enough for us to win.
"Relatively Good?" Accurate I suppose, but maybe you should consider recycling some of your old headlines.
McGehee was hitting the crap out of the ball for Sacramento. He earned another chance.
I think my feeble humor was lost. Lincecum could only possibly be considered "good" in comparison to the crap he was up against. It is a real stretch to call that a quality outing. Sure the stats may say that but anyone that saw the game knows better. He gave them an early lead, then after Maxwell homered and Crawford got an RBI single, Lincecum gave up another homer and left the game tied. The pitiful Phillies made a horrible base running error too, but I don't remember if Tim benefitted from that.
Tim's numbers are not really telling the whole story. He is getting many breaks and good run support so it is all working out ok now but tough times are coming. This should come as no surprise, each year for the last several he has had a good month or two ( maybe even a no hitter ) but the majority of his work has been classic #5 starter, replacement level work. This year is different because he is off to a good start so that means we can all be hopeful that he can maintain it for an entire "come back" season. But really you guys, I don't see much different from Tim this year. Well, his hairdo is definitely different. But that kinda sucks too.
I still love him. And he is a damn OK #5 starter.
Machi was DL'd and that made a spot for McGehee. Back to 12 pitchers. Machi has not looked good this year and Kontos has been solid. With Strickland emerging the 'pen was getting crowded.
A win is a win is a win. The Giants needed a win and they got one. Let's see them get another today!
Did you see the A's brought up Pat Venditte who is a "switch-pitcher"? Now that is cool!
As to McGehee, many Giants fans (including me) would have rejoiced if instead of him the Giants had snagged Ben Zobrist. Zobrist is at -0.7 fWAR and McGehee, at -0.8. This is, as Samuel Johnson said in a different context (of course) the distinction between a louse and a flea. Except that Flea Z costs a lot more money than McG.
Welcome Enzo! Nice of you to comment, hope you stop by often. I had no idea that Zobrist had fallen on such bad times. He had been very consistently productive for a while now. Yes, I too, was one of those people that wanted him bad. Just shows you how much I know! Thanks for the info!
I like the abbreviation "McG." Spelling out his name annoys me, almost as bad as Sheerholtz or whatever.
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