The Giants prevailed--miraculously--in an epic, see-saw contest in Los Angeles to get their first win against the Dodgers. Buster Posey got the biggest hit of the season, a three-run homer in the 8th to break open a nail-biting 2-2 tie. So we thought. Tyler Rogers got burned by too many squibbers and managed to give up a two-out, three-run homer to pinch-hitting Austin Barnes to blow the save. He nearly blew the game when Albert Pujols jacked one to left that would have gone out except for a spectacular catch by Mike Tauchman. In the 10th LaMonte Wade, Jr. smoked a single to score the magic runner. Mike Yastrzemski walked and with two outs Evan Longoria drove both runners home with a double. Jarlin Garcia got the final three outs to seal the win.
The urgency of beating the Dodgers made this game particularly nerve-wracking. When Buster got the big blast (his 150th, by the way) it seemed like the Giants had finally broken through the blue wall that's been vexing them this season. Alas, it wasn't going to be that easy. The Giants had to have another three-run lead in order to finish it off! When Pujols hit his big fly after the back-breaking, game-tying homer, I was sure it was over. But Tauchman "had it all the way" and timed his leap perfectly, reaching over the fence and plucking the ball back. He collapsed on the track but held on to keep the Giants alive.
It was a thoroughly excruciating contest. It's hard to stomach those bullpen collapses, but to be fair to Rogers he's pitched exceptionally well overall. One of the grounders should have been handled by Mauricio Dubon but he flubbed it, that play ought to have been the second out. Rogers isn't really a strikeout pitcher so the fielders have to make the plays. Nonetheless the Giants survived and pulled out a great victory.
Tomorrow it's a Fox Saturday game, 4:10 Pacific. Logan Webb gets the start.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
6 comments:
It was a tough play that Dubon flubbed, even though he just came in as a defensive replacement. Not sure if Solano would have done any better. Also Crawford has been having a bit more trouble judging the hops on the dodger infield on hard hit balls. Seems as if it is an infield that one has to get used to. Jon Miller said it was a game the giants had to win twice. Too bad they cannot get two wins for it. The giants did show grit. Duggar who had looked quite good at the plate the last week or so, looked terrible in his last at bat. Tauchman's play did save the game. If an outfielder can get a save, he deserved one. He made the last out of the game look easy. I am not so sure that it was such an easy play. Earlier in the game, Crawford had a sure double taken away by a very nice catch from the dodger left fielder. It was a hard fought game and showed some true giants grit. The strike zone was a little bit bizarre.
I forgot to mention that Joe Panik had a nice game. He went 4 for 4, with a home run.
Happy to hear about Joe. He and Matt Duffy would fit right in with this team.
That has to be the biggest win of the year. They did have to win twice. It was crazy. I was so up after Buster's homer and so down after the tying homer in the 9th. Tauchman's catch was unreal. I hardly reacted, I was sure it was a homer, I think it took the whole inning break to recover and realize the Giants still had a chance. They made the most of it!
Wow. I mean ... wow. Those are some nice highlights. Kinda leaves one speechless. A catch for the ages, truly.
Quick thoughts : Buster is a god, duh. Taking last “year” off was apparently brilliant. However, on the other end of the spectrum, I will never buy that submarine shit as a closer, sorry. I can think of like two people that used that well. He is not one of them. His work last night deserves deep scorn. Without a miracle catch we are SWEPT and humiliated by the bad guys. Personally, I won’t soon forget it
"Deep scorn?" Seriously? They had ONE hard-hit ball! The inning should have been over--his defense let him down. Yikes. I can't believe that's your take-away from that game. He may not be true closer material but he's pitched incredibly well and been a part of a lot of big wins. They tried McGee as a closer and he worked for a while, so maybe they'll switch roles again. He's more of a traditional power pitcher, just kind of one-dimensional.
You can't blame a player for not being the perfect fit for the role. He is who he is and the Giants have used his skills, however weird they are, to compete. You have to work with what you have. No one on the team has emerged as a totally reliable option. NO ONE. (Hell, even Kenley Jansen blows a save now and then.)
Buster is being used carefully. Kap has been very disciplined about his workload and it has paid off big time. And they aren't being stupid and using him at first base, which I'm happy about.
Whoops, I meant TWO hard-hit balls!
Anyway, I had the headline "Buster's Blast Beats Bums" already written in my head and it was a shame not to use it. I still think it was the biggest hit of the year so far. The Giants were scrappy, but could not get a big hit. THAT was a big hit. I'm happy the team showed fortitude and kept fighting back. This team has lost a bunch of gut-punchers but they don't get down. They get up off the mat and keep going.
And Tauchman got a chance to be a hero and earn himself a spot in Giants-Dodgers lore. You have to love that.
Steven Duggar has been playing well. I like that. His homer of Buehler was the first ever by a Giants hitter!
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