Power surge sinks 'stros

SF 8  HOU 6

The Giants, as is their wont, bounced back with a big win this afternoon, slugging five homers to push past the powerful Astros. They jumped on their longtime nemesis Zack Greinke and then added on against the Houston bullpen to secure their 65th victory. Alex Wood got the start but it was the stellar work by the emerging Big Three that nailed it down: Leone in the 7th, Rogers in the 8th, McGee in the 9th, nine up and nine down on 32 pitches. Brandon Crawford, stud that he is, broke the tie in the 6th with a two-out RBI double. Big flies were by Solano, Wade, Flores, Ruf, and Yaz.

Kris Bryant will make his debut in orange-and-black tomorrow. Logan Webb will get the start, 1:05 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

p.s. Giants finish July 15-10 (.600), 120 runs scored vs. 100 runs allowed.

Altuve Slams Giants

HOU 9  SF 6

Jose Altuve hit two homers including a grand slam and the Astros took the first game of the series. Kevin Gausman had a nightmare, 43-pitch 1st inning and the team fell behind early. The bullpen could not keep the lid on the potent Houston lineup and despite a comeback effort the home squad came up short. Both the Dodgers and the Padres lost so the NL West standings stay the same.

It's Alex Wood and Zack Greinke this afternoon at 1:05 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Kris Bryant, Giant

The story has now made it past the twitter-verse: Maria Guardado reports on the Giants MLB site that Kris Bryant is coming to San Francisco. I posted in the comments on Wednesday's post that the Giants had been linked to Bryant.

The Giants give up Alexander Canario, a 21-year old RH OF at A-level. He's on the 40-man roster so that clears a spot for the FNG. They also give up Caleb Killian, a 24-year old RH starter at AA-level.

Bryant is a rental but he's the best player available that really fills the Giants needs. They get a right-handed power hitter who can play both corner infield and corner outfield spots and has even logged games in center field. His best position is third base and he's a former MVP and RoY not to mention a World Series winner with Chicago. He's 29 years old and has a career .886 OPS in 3626 PA over seven seasons.

It's a great move and should really help the team. I still think they can use another starter, but I'm not complaining. Bryant is a superb ballplayer and I don't see a downside. The Cubs get two excellent prospects but the Giants are finally in a position to trade from their farm system and they took advantage of that. Good job by the F.O.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

 

p.s. Looks like Tony Watson is returning to the Giants. Sam Selman goes to the Angels for Watson along with two other players, pitchers Ivan Armstrong and Jose Marte. Seems like a lot for an old lefty but I'm not complaining!

Shutout!

SF 5  LA 0

After getting thumped yesterday the Giants bounced back behind a strong start from Johnny Cueto. He breezed through five but got into trouble in the 6th with two walks and an error on a potential double play ball. But Jarlin Garcia came in to get the whiff with the bases loaded and end the threat. That was as good as it got for LA today. The Giants rapped out nine hits, four of them driving in runs with two outs. Brandon Crawford, just off the IL, got the scoring started with a two-run double in the 1st. What can you say about BCraw this season? He's been amazing! It was a "score early, score often" approach and that's worked well for the team all year. The bullpen was superb again with Dominic Leone striking out two in the 7th, Tyler Rogers striking out three in the 8th, and Jake McGee retiring Muncy, Turner, and Bellinger on easy outs in the 9th.

The Giants and Dodgers have played 16 games this season and each team has scored 68 runs. The Giants have won eight games and the Dodgers have won eight games. Huge win today to take the series and even things up!

The Astros come to town tomorrow night for a weekend set. Kevin Gausman gets the opener at 6:45 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 p.s. That's just the third time the Dodgers have been blanked this season. Another tidbit: no homers by the Giants in the three games, yet they won two of them!

Blanked

LA 8  SF 0

Dodgers starter Walker Buehler continued his mastery of the Giants and Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani extended his misery against the Dodgers. DeSclafani was out in the 3rd inning and Buehler allowed only three hits through seven. John Brebbia struggled in his two innings of relief, adding to the Giants woes, and Jason Vosler had a rough night at third base. To add injury to the insult, Buster Posey had to leave the game after taking a foul tip off his mask.

Sammy Long is back, Zack Littell was sent down. Brandon Crawford could be back tomorrow. More moves are coming.

Day game tomorrow, 12:45 PT. Johnny Cueto and David Price.

Go Giants! Beat LA!

--M.C.

+3

SF 2  LA 1

The Giants take the first game of the series to push their lead in the NL West to three full games. Logan Webb led the way with a terrific start, out-pitching Julio Urias with six innings of three-hit ball. The Giants scored on an error by Cody Bellinger in the 8th to get their first home win against LA this year. The Dodgers first baseman chucked one into the stands to send Buster Posey home with the go-ahead run against Blake Treinen. Darin Ruf threw out Luke Raley at home plate in the bottom of the 8th to preserve the lead. Buster got the big RBI hit to tie the game in the 6th and started the rally in the 8th with a walk (after being 0-and-2) that led to him scoring the winner. Jarlin Garcia handled the 7th, Trevor Rogers got help in the 8th, and Jake McGee took care of the 9th. Austin Slater had two hits and a run scored, he also threw out a runner in the 5th at second base to shut down the Dodgers rally. It was a big win by the home squad!

Anthony DeSclafani and Walker Buehler match up tomorrow night at 6:45 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Walk off

 LA 8  SF 6

The Dodgers walk off with a win, literally. Tyler Rogers walked two in the 9th with a 6-5 lead before allowing a three-run homer. That's the first time this season he's walked two batters in an appearance. The Giants hit four homers to take a 6-2 lead but couldn't hang on. John Brebbia gave up three runs in the 6th in relief of Alex Wood. Jarlin Garcia and Jake McGee put up zeroes in the 7th and 8th but Rogers couldn't get it done at the end.

Logan Webb gets the start tonight.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

p.s. I'm on the road for the next several days so I won't be posting. I'll be back early next week.

Buster, Bullpen Beat LA

SF 7  LA 2

It was a back-to-back festival in LA tonight. The Giants went back-to-back in the top of the 1st, a two-run shot from Buster Posey followed by a blast from Wilmer Flores to make it 3-0 off Tony Gonsolin. Unfortunately the Dodgers had an answer, back-to-backs from Max Muncy and Justin Turner off Kevin Gausman to make it 3-2. It stayed that way until the 7th when Buster Posey got a rally going with a leadoff hit and later scored on a double by Thairo Estrada. The Giants racked up four to put the game out of reach and get a huge win to open the series. The bullpen was superb--Zack Littell (1-2/3), Jarlin Garcia (1-1/3), Dominic Leone (1), Jay Jackson (1), Jake McGee (1)--in relief of an off-form Gausman who only lasted three frames. Sure nice to have Buster back!

In a familiar refrain, the Giants left nine men on base and were 4-for-13 with RISP. They had 12 hits and four walks and could have scored more. I suppose you have to credit the Dodgers for pitching well in some key spots. The Giants finally broke through against Victor Gonzalez. It's been a tough matchup so far: that's only their fourth win in ten games against LA.

Brandon Crawford goes on the IL (oblique strain). It's a huge blow, especially with all these big games coming up. They will be going with Estrada at short for now, I wonder if that means Mauricio Dubon will get brought back up?

Alex Wood tomorrow.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Showdown series

STL 2  SF 1

The Giants got another fine team pitching effort but the Cardinals did a little better and take the rubber match. St. Louis has a seriously good bullpen. The loss sets up a showdown with the Dodgers with first place in the NL West at stake. The Giants have held the top spot since the last day in May but if the Dodgers win this afternoon in Colorado they will have to share it with their southern rivals. Four games in LA starting tomorrow night, all at 7:10 Pacific.

GO GIANTS! BEAT LA!!

--M.C.

Cards quiet Giants

STL 3  SF 1

Kwang Hyun Kim is one of the hottest pitchers in baseball right now and the Giants got their second dose of him tonight with the same result as the last time. Kim out-pitched Kevin Gausman on July 5th, throwing seven scoreless innings. This time he threw six scoreless and out-pitched Anthony DeSclafani. The Giants nicked reliever Ryan Helsley with a run in the 7th but Genesis Cabrera, Giovanny Gallegos, and Alex Reyes got the last eight outs to seal the win. Tyler O'Neil hit a solo homer and Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run shot to give the Cardinals the edge.

Johnny Cueto gets the start tomorrow morning (11:15 PT).

Go Giants!

--M.C.

5th inning: 12-6

1st inning: 11-7

2nd inning: 11-7

3rd inning: 12-6

4th inning: 12-6

5th inning:  12-6

Tonight was Game 90, the end of the fifth seasonal inning, and the Giants continued their winning ways with a 7-2 thumping of the Cardinals in St. Louis. Three homers and a stubborn team-wide pitching attack got the job done. The 58-32 (.644) Giants lead all of baseball!

Logan Webb got the start when Kevin Gausman was placed on the Emergency Family Medical List and thus unavailable. Webb allowed a run in four innings, giving up a two-out RBI bloop but otherwise keeping the ball on the ground and avoiding the big hit. Zack Littell, John Brebbia, and Jarlin Garcia got through the next two innings but Dominic Leone ran into trouble in the 7th. FNG Jay Jackson had to come in with the bases loaded and two outs and he was up to the job and struck out Harrison Bader. Jackson earned the win with a scoreless 8th and Tyler Rogers took the 9th and and got it done on eight pitches. The Cardinals stroked eleven hits and worked four bases on balls but also left thirteen men on base and were 2-for-11 with RISP. It was a tense game despite the score--Giants relievers had to make a lot of big pitches.

The Giants got two big flies from Mike Yastrzemski, the first one in the 4th, a solo shot that opened the scoring, and a three-run shot in the 7th to finish the scoring. LaMonte Wade, Jr. broke the 1-1 tie in the 5th with his own three-run homer. Adam Wainwright started for St. Louis and gave up four runs in his six frames. Wainwright is 39 years old and debuted in 2005, the same year as Matt Cain.

Anthony DeSclafani goes tomorrow at 4:15 Pacific. It's a Fox Saturday game.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

The 2021 Giants

No one expected the Giants to be in the hunt for the NL West title, let alone to be in first place at the All-Star Break. They lead the Dodgers by two games and the Padres by six games. Their 57-32 record (.640) is the best in MLB. I remember thinking this team had a good shot at being competitive, that an above-.500 finish was a realistic goal. There are still 73 games left for the Giants to play, so we are a still a long way from the end, but this team has clearly out-performed everyone's expectations.

So, how have they done it? Baseball is pitching, fielding, and hitting. Run prevention is the most important part of the formula. The Giants have allowed 325 runs and that's the second-fewest of all 30 teams (the Mets have allowed 318). Their 3.65 rpg is the best mark in the game and it exactly matches their team FIP. Only the Marlins (3.58) and Dodgers (3.64) have a better FIP than the Giants. When it comes to striking out batters, the Giants are pretty mediocre as their 8.8 K/9 is only 20th-best. But they counter that by not walking many batters: their 2.6 W/9 is the ML-best rate. Their 7.3 H/9 is the third-best, and their 1.0 HR/9 is fourth-best. They've thrown 11 shutouts--the most of any team--one better than the Yankees and the Braves.

FanGraphs rates the Giants pitching staff as the ninth-best by fWAR at 10.3, behind the Rays (10.7), the Marlins (10.9), the Mets (11.7), the Red Sox (11.9), the Brewers (12.2), the Dodgers (12.5), the Yankees (12.8), and the White Sox (15.1). I mentioned they are third-best in FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching), and they are sixth-best in xFIP at 3.89, which is expected Fielding Independent Pitching. xFIP is a way to measure how well a team has pitched, FIP is a way to measure how well a team has performed. Outcomes don't always match up with execution. You can make a great pitch and still give up a homer! xFIP is one of the better saber-stats at predicting future ERA. Suffice to say the Giants are doing a good job throwing strikes, suppressing hard contact, and preventing runs.

Hand-in-hand with pitching is fielding. The Giants have surprised everyone with their superb defense. They've made only 41 errors, tied for second-fewest in MLB. Advanced fielding stats at FanGraphs rate the Giants around the top third to the middle-of-the-pack, except for defensive WAR which puts them fifth-best, and that's probably a reasonable assessment. You don't have to be the best, you just have to consistently make the make-able plays. That's what the Giants do. They shift at the right times, they pitch to the shift, and they catch the ball. There are a lot of solid defenders on the roster who get the job done. As far as standouts go the stats say the best fielders are, to no one's surprise, Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford, Mike Tauchman, and Steven Duggar. B-R has a stat called Defensive Efficiency, which estimates how well teams convert chances into outs, and the Giants are second-best at .721, behind the .722 Astros.

I think everyone knew the Giants could hit. And the matchup madness Gabe Kapler engages in gives the ballclub lots of opportunities to exploit other teams' weaknesses. The Giants have scored 441 runs, the sixth-best mark in MLB. Their run differential (441-325) of +116 is the fourth-best. They are ninth in batting average, fifth in OBP, and fifth in slugging percentage. They have the most homers (132) and are fifth in walks (347). Their wOBA of .330 is tied with the Dodgers for fourth-best, and their wRC+ of 110 is tied with the Blue Jays for fourth-best. The team OPS of .764 is third behind the Astros and the Blue Jays, and it rates a sixth-best 109 OPS+.

Pitching, fielding, hitting. The Giants are among the league's best teams in all three areas. That's how you build a winner! Going forward, the Giants are facing a long and difficult second-half pennant race against last year's champion Dodgers and this year's darlings, the Padres. Those are good teams and it will be a real dogfight. How do I feel about the Giants chances? I feel great! They are playing excellent baseball and assuming there are no catastrophic injuries I believe the team's depth will help them continue to play excellent baseball. Farhan Zaidi and Scott Harris have built a strong roster and it is likely they will bring in a piece or two to help with the stretch run. Gabe Kapler and his staff have done a superb job with the team, setting the tone and expectations, communicating clearly, putting players in spots they can succeed in, and making the right choices with game tactics.

It's not a fluke--the 2021 San Francisco Giants are damn fine team. Enjoy it!!

--M.C.

Sweeping into the Break

SF 3  WSN 1

The Giants got a three-run homer from Curt Casali in the 2nd inning and made it stand up for their major league-best 57th win. Kevin Gausman pitched six scoreless but ran into trouble in the 7th, loading the bases with no outs. Dominic Leone got a ground ball from Starlin Castro that looked like it would be a double play but LaMonte Wade dropped the relay at first. A run scored but that was all the Nationals would get. A fly out on a nice play from Steven Duggar and a strikeout ended the threat. Tyler Rogers and Jake McGee did their things and the Giants completed the sweep.

It's the All-Star Break. The next real game will be Friday, July 16th in St. Louis. That will be the 90th game of the season, or five seasonal innings. I'll do another post in the next few days.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Giants keep rolling

SF 10  WSN 4

The Giants jumped all over Nationals starter Jon Lester who was also victimized by some poor fielding. It was 8-0 after three innings. Anthony DeSclafani threw six scoreless and left with a 9-0 lead. Tyler Beede got an inning of relief work and he gave up three runs but also struck out two. Let's hope he can get back to full strength soon and add some depth to the staff. Jose Alvarez nailed down the 8th on four pitches and with a 10-3 lead John Brebbia got the 9th. He gave up a run but got the final outs and the Giants had another big win. Brandon Crawford was 3-for-3 with a homer. Joey Bart started and had two hits, an RBI, and a run scored. Thairo Estrada had four hits--two were swinging bunts--and three RBI. He started the game in LF and finished it at SS. That's how the Giants roll!

Kevin Gausman gets the start tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Ruf night for Nats

SF 5  WSN 3

The Giants used eight pitchers and three homers to subdue the Nationals tonight and notch their 55th win. Logan Webb returned to the rotation and logged a tidy three innings, yielding only one hit and striking out four. He left with a 3-0 lead courtesy of a two-out RBI from Darin Ruf in the 1st and a two-run homer from Curt Casali in the 2nd. Jose Alvarez and John Brebbia gave the lead back in the 4th, but Jarlin Garcia, Zack Littell, Dominic Leone, Tyler Rogers, and Jake McGee each pitched a scoreless inning to redeem the 'pen. Giants fielders put on a show, the highlight being a Brandon Crawford double play in the 6th where he made a miraculous dive to steal a hit and then glove-flipped it to Donovan Solano who barehanded it at the bag and then threw to first. They also threw out a runner at the plate in the 4th to end the inning and again in the 7th to get the second out and stifle a rally. The runner in both cases was Gerardo Parra! Parra also hit into a double play to end the 8th. The Nats put a lot of pressure on Giants relievers but the defense stepped up and bailed them out. A homer by Ruf in the 5th gave the Giants the lead back and one by Wilmer Flores in the 7th completed the scoring.Ruf is 6-for-12 in his last five games with four runs scored and seven RBI.

Day game tomorrow (1:05) with Anthony DeSclafani getting the start.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants bounce back

SF 5  STL 2

Giants starter Alex Wood gave up a two-out RBI hit to Nolan Arenado in the 1st, and that drove in Paul Goldschmidt, who had walked. But before you could say "here we go again" Wood got in a groove and the lineup clawed back and the team took a 3-1 lead to the 8th. Tyler Rogers got into trouble with one out, giving up an RBI hit to Paul Goldschmidt, and Nolan Arenado strolled to the plate. Before you could say "here we go again" he hit into a double play and the curse was lifted. No disrespect to Wood, who played stopper tonight, but that was the biggest pitch of the game. Rogers gives up a lot of contact and sometimes it gets him in big trouble. Darin Ruf then hit a two-run homer in the bottom half and Jake McGee had a stress-free save. Big win against a tough foe. The Cardinals really took it to the Giants in this series but the home team showed some fight-back and nailed down a win.

Off-day tomorrow and then a three-game set against the Nationals with the All-Star Break following. Friday night's game starts at 6:45 PT. Logan Webb is scheduled to start.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Cardinals keep the heat on

STL 6  SF 5

Nolan Arenado continued his Giants-killing ways with three hits including a first-inning homer. He got help from another Giants-killer, Paul Goldschmidt, who had two hits and two RBI. That was almost enough just from those two alone. A late two-run surge against reliever John Brebbia was too big of a hole to climb out of and the Giants lost their second straight game. Johnny Cueto gave up nine hits and four runs in his six innings and the lineup went 3-for-16 with RISP. Jason Vosler almost hit the game-winner in the 9th, but his opposite-field fly ball was caught on the wall for the final out. Adam Wainwright started for St. Louis and gave up three runs in his five innings. Brandon Crawford had four hits and drove in three and Mike Yastrzemski had three hits and scored two.

Alex Wood tonight at 6:45 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Cards spoil homecoming

STL 5  SF 3

Nolan Arenado may not be on the Rockies but he's still a Giants-killer. He broke up Kevin Gausman's no-hitter in the 7th and scored on Matt Carpenter's triple to spoil the shutout as well. Gausman allowed only three hits in seven frames and struck out eight, but gave up two runs and came out on the wrong end of the duel with St. Louis starter Kwang-hyun Kim. The Giants failed to score against Kim, mustering only three hits and pounding out twelve ground balls in his seven innings. The Cardinals bullpen faltered and gave up three runs in the 8th and 9th, but the Giants bullpen beat them to it and also gave up three runs in the 8th and 9th. The Giants got a great start from their ace but could not solve the veteran Korean lefty. Kim has over 1600 innings of KBO time with the SK Wyverns. He was their league MVP in 2008 and is among their all-time top ten in wins and strikeouts.

Johnny Cueto, that old vet, takes on another old vet, Adam Wainwright, tomorrow night at 6:45 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Three in a row

SF 5  AZ 2

The Giants used some right-handed pop and a dandy start from Anthony DeSclafani to subdue the Diamondbacks. Happy Fourth of July! Austin Slater and Darin Ruf each had a big fly, and Ruf added an RBI double as well. Buster Posey had an RBI hit and also walked in front of Ruf's homer. Buster got dinged in the 6th on a foul ball and had to leave but it seems nothing is busted and he'll be available off the bench tomorrow. DeSclafani had a shot at his third CG but gave up a run on two hits in the 9th and Tyler Rogers had to get the final out. He struck out seven and gave up six hits and two walks in his 8-2/3 IP, throwing 107 pitches to 31 batters.

It's a home game tomorrow afternoon against the Cardinals at 3:05 PT. Kevin Gausman gets the start.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Slater slays 'em

SF 6  AZ 5

Austin Slater hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the 8th to rescue the Giants from ignominious defeat in Arizona. It was a prodigious blast, well over the stands in center field, and it came on the heels of a 4-for-40 slump. Flemm reported it as 482 feet, and that figure is on the ESPN highlight clip. But according to the Statcast website it "only" went 463 feet! I don't know why there's a discrepancy, but it matters little. It was a huge hit by a guy that hasn't had many lately. Slater was in the game after pinch-hitting for Alex Dickerson in the 5th. Dick had a walk, a hit, and a run scored off D-Backs starter Jake Faria. Slater grounded out against lefty reliever Joe Mantiply, then homered in his next at-bat against another lefty, Ryan Buchter. The Giants "matchup-madness" strikes again.

It was a frustrating night. Thirteen men left on base, 2-for-14 with RISP. They probably should have scored ten runs. Sammy Long lasted only four innings, unable to hold a 4-0 lead. Arizona took advantage of an error and some dink hits to take the lead in the 5th against two Giants pitchers, Zack Littell and Jose Alvarez. Tyler Rogers looked a little shaky but Dominic Leone and Jake McGee were solid in the final three frames.

6:10 game time this evening. Anthony DeSclafani gets the call.

Happy Fourth and Go Giants!

--M.C.

Bats Bounce Back

SF 11  AZ 4

Every hitter in the Giants starting lineup got at least one hit. The only exception? Buster Posey, the best hitter on the team. Buster was walked twice but didn't figure in the scoring. The coup de grâce was delivered by FNG Thairo Estrada who hit a grand slam in the 9th. He had two hits and an RBI before that. LaMonte Wade, Jr. had a two-run homer, continuing his streak of excellent play, and Alex Dickerson broke out of his funk--we hope--with a homer. Brandon Crawford had three runs batted in and Steven Duggar scored three times. Starter Alex Wood struggled with command but still struck out eight in his five frames. He came up with some big pitches, mostly with the slider, when the game was still in the balance. Jarlin Garcia and Dominic Leone had an easy time in the 6th and 7th, but Jimmie Sherfy gave up two homers in the 8th, both solo shots. Zack Littell did the mop-up work in the 9th. That was the 81st game, the halfway mark of the season, and the Giants are 51-30.

Estrada is 25 years old and from Venezuela. He came up with the Yankees and mostly played second base but added a little shortstop, third base, and even some outfield. He's a righty hitter and was tearing it up at AAA. He has yet to find his ML stroke but he's only had 128 ML PA. With Mauricio Dubon struggling the Giants needed to make a move. Estrada  is probably not as skilled a defender as Dubon but he may have more upside as a hitter.

Sammy Long starts tonight at 7:10 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Flat in Phoenix

AZ 5  SF 3

The Giants lost their fourth straight game--their first such losing streak this season. Johnny Cueto wasn't sharp and the lineup could not mount a comeback after falling behind in the 4th inning. Wilmer Flores and Mike Yastrzemski hit homers, but that was it. The bullpen (Jose Alvarez, Jarlin Garcia, and John Brebbia) pitched three scoreless. LaMonte Wade, Jr. and JohnnyC combined for a really slick 1-3-1 play in the 1st, Wade sprawling out to barehand a deflection and flip the ball to Cueto covering, who barehanded the throw!

Alex Wood tonight at 6:40 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.