Somehow the Giants held off the Mets for the second straight game and eked out a 3-2 win. Tonight the bullpen delivered 3-2/3 innings of high-leverage ass-kicking, highlighted by a huge bases-loaded whiff from Jose Alvarez and an eight-pitch save from Tyler Rogers. Kris Bryant gave Alex Wood a 2-0 lead in the 1st with a homer. Pete Alonso answered in the 6th with a two-run homer to tie it. The Mets got another great start, this one from Carlos Carrasco, but the Giants broke through in the 8th against reliever Seth Lugo. They should have had more--Aaron Loup cleaned up a bases-loaded no-out mess to keep it close.
The Giants travel to Atlanta and play tomorrow at 4:20 PT. Kevin Gausman gets the start.
Go Giants!
--M.C.
p.s. Yesterday was Game 126 and thus the end of the 7th seasonal inning. Check this out:
Wow. The Giants are 17-5 in August and 25-12 since the All-Star Break.
10 comments:
The giants did not play well the last two games vs. the Mets, but still were able to come up with the wins. Bryant has been a hero, but I think staying with the giants will help him become an even better player. This year Longoria, increased his selectivity at the plate and when healthy has been a better player. Taking more walks and not swinging at as many pitches out of the zone. He still has a propensity to go after some bad pitches but he is no where as bad as he was when we traded for him. Bryant also has a propensity to swing at the low outside slider, that is considerably off the plate. I think he can prosper into being an even better hitter if he learns how to be just a bit more selective. He can still be aggressive but the giants seem to have some program that helps players become a bit more selective. It is not perfect but appears to be rather effective. When Bryant gets pitches that he can drive he sure seems to do a good job of barreling the ball. Its a tough loss to have Donovan Solano on the IL once again.
Jose Alvarez got a bases loaded ground ball to Crawford, not a whiff. However, more importantly, on two consecutive nights 'La Maquina', as Javier Lopez started calling him on TV, came into consecutive bases loaded situations on consecutive nights, & threw a total of 4 pitches to get out of both jams, leaving a total of 6 runners on-base, 4 of whom were in scoring position. That's some tough relief pitching!
Yeah, thanks for spotting that! Alvarez has been outstanding. He had a bit of a bumpy ride to start the season but he's been nearly perfect since then. He hasn't given up a run since early July. (I hope I didn't just jinx him.)
I've been seeing a lot of talk about signing Bryant to a long-term deal. He's certainly a terrific player, and the Giants will have lots of money to spend, so it's possible. I've assumed all along that he was a "rental" and I am OK with that. I suppose I don't really want to think about next year or the off-season. Everything that's happening RIGHT NOW is so much more interesting and exciting than any of us expected, I just want to live in the moment and appreciate things. This team is a hell of a lot of fun!
Solano tested positive for COVID after showing cold-like symptoms. It's not clear if he is a "breakthrough" case or whether he was unvaccinated--the team doesn't report that, of course.
Hitting coach Justin Viele has to be quarantined as he was listed as a "close contact" of Solano. That means, obviously, that Viele is unvaccinated. If you are vaccinated in that situation then you don't have to quarantine.
I have to say that Viele needs to get his head out of his ass and get the goddamn jab. I can only guess the same applies to Solano. I know there are people who have medical issues that can prevent them from getting inoculated, and that may be the case here, and if so I'll take it all back. But otherwise I'm giving both these guys a "thumbs down" for selfish, stupid behavior. The vaccine is not just about YOU it is about EVERYONE ELSE. Life, like baseball, is a team game. Sometimes you gotta suck it up and do something for the team.
I am surprised that their are unvaccinated major league players, except a slim few who may have some kind of significant medical issue. Players coaches and staff should all be vaccinated. We do not need the team to have games shut down because of covid. The team has been less than totally forthcoming about Solano's trip to the I.L. Dodgers are saying they may actually have a full healthy line-up for this weekend's games.
I figure that if the Giants play .600 ball from here on out, winning 21 of 35, they will be guaranteed a playoff spot, regardless of what other teams do (and that would include Cincinnati running the table). If the Giants win 100, 17 out of 35 remaining, which is slightly less than .500 ball, the Reds would have to play .900 ball between now and the end of the season to tie (.909, actually). The Padres can win no more than 96 games. I guess you'd have to like the Giants chances.
There are a lot of professional athletes who are un-vaccinated, not just baseball players. It's hard to believe, and it's even harder to believe with coaches, since they have to interact with everyone on the team.
In order for a pro sports team to win these days they have to manage COVID, not just on-field injuries.
The Giants will make the playoffs. Ideally they'll win the West. But even if they don't they'll be the number one wild card. Even if they play .500 ball they'll win 100 games!
I note that Baltimore and Arizona are already eliminated. Pittsburgh (4 games) and Texas (five games) are nearly done, too.
According to Dave Flemming on TV tonight Solano was fully vaccinated and his is a "breakthrough" case. He has to stay in NYC for seven days.
I'm happy to know he was vaccinated. I mean, he made the effort, and that's what matters. Nature has a way of circumventing all our best efforts.
I apologize for impugning Solano's character.
Post a Comment