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.
6 comments:
I hope this version of the giants can get to the current version of Greinke. It did seem that the play at first base where Slater was safe and called out, and then N.Y. also did not overturn, was the turning point of the game. I played it back in ultra-Slow motion 10 times, and all 10 times he was safe. Maybe N.Y. has an angle which played out in an alternate universe.
That was a key play, no doubt, it killed the rally. But mainly the Astros got to the bullpen. Six runs is usually enough to win.
Giants starters are having a tougher ride these days. Better opponents, for one thing. And the league adjusting, as you'd expect. They are a .500 team since the Break. I certainly did not expect them to play .640 ball all season, but they'll need to get back to their winning ways soon.
If they play .600 ball the rest of the year (59 games remaining) they'll finish with 99 wins. If they play .550 ball, it's 96 wins, and if they revert to .500 it's 93-94 wins.
All of those are terrific outcomes, but with two really strong teams in the division it's likely the difference between a West crown and a Wild Card. Obviously this assumes the team doesn't collapse into a death spiral, and I feel good that they won't. They have a lot more depth than any Giants team of the last several years and I think that will keep them competitive for the next two months.
But it is going to be a bumpy flight so fasten your seatbelts!
I'm reading that Sammy Long has been sent down, Sam Selman has been traded (or was traded yesterday) for Tony Watson.
They sent three guys to the Angels for Watson, strangely enough. Jose Marte and Ivan Armstrong were part of the deal.
Angels are stockpiling young pitchers. Marte is 25 and at A+. Armstrong is 21 and at A-level.
I'm not sure why they wanted Watson so badly but it's OK, they seem to know what they are doing. I wanted a starter, but I'm ready to party with this team.
GO GIANTS!
Only reason I can think of for Watson is they wanted a pen lefty with PS experience.
Gotta trust Z....
Yeah the Giants like reunions with former players, it seems, and they believe in their "pitcher-whisperer" approach. FZ talked about Watson being a role model with his calm demeanor. It's going to be two months of high-stress baseball and sometimes you just need a veteran with a cool head even if he isn't a superstar. And lefty arms in the bullpen are super important. I'm guessing the other potential lefty relievers aren't any better, production-wise, than Watson, even though he's having a down year.
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