The Giants saved up all their runs for today and gave the Athletics a good pasting. This team really can pile it on and I'm not used to that. San Francisco certainly owed it to their Oakland neighbors as they had been on the opposite end of a streak of pastings, a streak finally snapped this afternoon. That ends the season series, a lopsided 1-5 in the six (three home, three away) games.
Tyler Anderson pitched well, giving up a couple of runs in the 6th with an 8-0 lead, certainly an encouraging performance from the lefty. The inning started with a rare error from first baseman Brandon Belt and the runs were unearned. Shaun Anderson, Caleb Baragar, and Wandy Peralta put together a scoreless 3-1/3 to finish things. The Giants were able to take advantage of a good start unlike yesterday when they squandered Kevin Gausman's excellent effort.
The big bopper was Brandon Crawford with a double and a homer, a grand slam that "broke the game open" as they like to say. Joey Bart got a day off (he needed it!) and Chadwick Tromp responded with three hits including a two-run homer. Darin Ruf, after two misplays in left field yesterday, bounced back with two hits and four runs batted in, one of the hits a two-run homer. There were lots of highlights!
The Rockies come to town tomorrow evening at 6:45 Pacific. Johnny Cueto, scratched from the start today, gets the call.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
5 comments:
I'm glad they finally beat Oakland to avoid a season sweep.
I've decided that if the Doggers manage to "win it all" this year I can live with that, because I can tell myself that this year doesn't count. Nothing counts.
And then there is the irrepressible Chadwick Tromp:
“It’s an even year,” he said, smiling. “C’mon now.”
(https://theathletic.com/2080849/2020/09/20/giants-power-their-way-back-to-500-and-hope-to-make-a-final-push-at-home/)
In theory the Giants could make the post-season and in theory they could win it all. I think the odds they make the playoffs are about 1-in-3, maybe 1-in-4, if Philly, Cincy, and Milwaukee are all in the mix. The odds they win the tournament are pretty damn long but for any team in the post-season the odds are non-zero.
So, my question to you is, if the Giants beat the odds and win the 2020 World Series, would it count?
After last Thurs. I saw the giants were in the 6th slot for the playoffs. After going 1-3, and all the teams right behind them winning the giants have jumped into a multiple team tie for the 8th slot, except for some reason, the giants lose the tie breaker. Explain that one? We didn't even play those teams. Despite the giants having the ability to score runs, they always seem to have a few players with very poor pitch selection. Several AB's Longoria got himself out. One AB, he swung at two pitches that could not be hit with a telephone pole. The bases were loaded. All he had to do was stand there with the bat on his shoulder and he would have walked and gotten an RBI. He is a veteran, and although in many ways he has stats not unlike Belt, when it comes to taking a walk, the is the anti-belt. His OBP, and walk numbers are atrocious. On his behalf, he has finally been playing some good defense at third this year. Bart also really needs some schooling on the strike zone. I watch Oakland or the Dodgers and for the most part these guys usually have excellent pitch selection. This skill it seems to me is very under rated. as teams that do not swing at bad pitches get more good pitches to hit, walk more, and score runs without having a whole bunch of 300 hitters.
Cueto scheduled to go today. One big problem Cueto is having this year is keeping his pitch count down. Either he starts to nibble a bit too much, or teams are able to foul off way too many of his pitches leading to high pitch counts. I would like to see him put away batters quickly once the gets to 0-2 counts. So often he takes it from 0-2 to 3-2 and too often with easy takes this year. He can go an inning and get guys out 1,2,3, but toss over 20 pitches. Maybe he just enjoys being out there. It would be nice if he could go at least 7 innings and keep his pitch count below 105 pitches.
Cueto is not the same guy since the surgery, unfortunately. Maybe with this off-season and a full Spring Training next year he can be an effective starter in 2021.
I'd like to see the Giants sign Gausman for next year.
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