Normally, there is a lot to say about Madison Bumgarner when he pitches. Tonight, there was a story and he was not the headliner. Mac Williamson was the hero, and almost the goat in the same game. In the 8th, he hit a go-ahead solo home run with the game tied at 1 each to give the Giants a 2 - 1 lead, and then, in left, had a ball clang off of his glove for an error, putting HanRam (or whatever they call him now) on 2nd to start off the 9th. That was his first major league home run!
Not that Madbum didn't play a part and pitch well. Well, although maybe not as well as he had been throwing lately. Effective, although not efficient. Madison was matched up against David Price for the Botox, ace against ace. Madison matched Price, although it took him some effort, like a 30+ pitch 4th inning that limited his night to 6 innings. In those 6, he threw 101 pitches, struck out 5, walked 1 and gave up 4 hits. David Price went 8, threw 107 pitches, struck out 7 Giants, walked 2 and only allowed 3 hits.
Price was the only pitcher for Boston. The Giants, after Bumgarner, used Derek Law for the 7th (1 hit), Cory Gearrin for the 8th (0 hits), and three pitchers to get through the 9th, Casilla, Lopez (1 BB) in a reprise of the Big Papi showdown from last night, and Strickland. Phew! Did I mention that the Giants won this one, 2 - 1? All the scoring was from home runs with the bases empty. Madbum gave up one to Chris Young in the 4th, and Price gave up one to Brandon Belt in the bottom of the 4th. Honorable mention to the only other Giant to get a hit on the night, Matt Duffy.
Brandon Belt looked better than I have seen him for awhile. He looked like he had a clue at the plate and was hitting the ball with authority. That's necessary, with Pence and Pagan out.
That was, in spite of the fact that Madbum gave us only 6 innings, a beautiful pitching duel. And you know what makes it even better? The doggers lost 1 - 0 behind Maeda. The Giants get a day off before Kershaw and Cueto face off Friday night.
9 comments:
Great win. Nice to see Mac get a big hit. That was an unfortunate play in the 9th, but the wind was blowing and the ball was tailing away so I can see where his relative lack of experience would hurt him. I think he'll be better. Both he and Parker have a chance to show what they can do and that's exciting. Tough team, great pitcher, Giants eke out a win, sweet!
Ishikawa 3.0!!!! Perhaps we should have seen that one coming. Welcome home, Travis!
That was about as windy as it gets at PhoneCo. In other words, a normal night at Candlestick.
Giants also signed OF Chris Denorfia to a minor league deal. Nice to see Ishikawa back but I'm having a hard time figuring any kind of spot for him, even as a lefty PH, esp. since Parker is around. But maybe he can just be a good luck charm!
With our Players dropping like flies, particularly our OF's, having another experienced lefty & right in reserve is OK w/ me. And, Parker & Williamson are still unproven, so these moves represent some more insurance in that regard.
Oh, I have no beef with Ishi, I'm all for stockpiling. And happy to have one of "our own" back in the fold. I just don't see the roster math. And I really hope that Parker and/or Williamson will step up and play well and make him (and Kyle Blanks and Chris Denorfia and Gorkys Hernandez and etc.) superfluous. I mean if the Giants are using any of those guys that means they are really hurting!
On the pitching front, ChiSox just DFA'd Mat Latos. He's only 28! Shows you how hard it is to stay on top of this game. He was a 3-4 WAR player not too long ago.
And Stephen Johnson, traded by the Giants for Marlon Byrd, was just released. He was once a promising prospect.
Yordano Ventura is suddenly trending downward. He was looking like a stalwart in the KC rotation for years to come but has really struggled this season. He's only 25! Success in MLB is fleeting, eh? Makes you appreciate those guys who've stuck around for a decade or more, still contributing, still able to keep their game together even if they aren't stars any more.
59th pick by Giants is Vanderbilt CF Brian Reynolds.
Big ass game tonight!! JohnnyC will become one of the fastest ever to reach most beloved Giants status if he can out duel Kershaw. Wouldn't that be something? I hope his back is 100%.
Will Buster finally put his stamp on this year? Time for player of the month type action
He dueled Kershaw. Got a brutal balk called in the first after an HBP, a swinging bunt, a passed ball, IF that was a balk why was it not called the first ten times he did that motion with men on base this season?
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