The Giants lost a ballgame for only the fourth time in the month of August. They had not lost a game by four runs since July 28th, when they lost 8-0 to the Dodgers. Today was a bit of a train wreck with Anthony DeSclafani exiting in the 2nd due to injury. Seven pitchers later the only one left was FNG Tyler Chatwood. He not only was the sacrificial lamb on the hill he made the final out in the batter's box as the Giants ran out of players. The hitters didn't get much going and Jake McGee couldn't save a 1-0 lead in the 9th. Kevin Pillar got the big hit, a three-run homer in the 12th.
It's been an arresting stretch of baseball. The Giants have played really well. They have a day off tomorrow, thank goodness. I know I could use a day off. This pennant race is exhausting!
The weekend features a three-game set in Oakland. The A's are really good and are battling for an AL West title. There are 41 games left to play and all of them are going to be tough. Friday night's game is at 6:40 and Alex Wood gets the start.
Go Giants!
--M.C.
5 comments:
All 3 NL West Teams have versions of a Starting Pitching Injury Crisis. That may be OK, when it comes to us holding onto the Division. But, I'm worried about our Playoff set-up.
I figure the Giants have to win the division first, then I can think about a playoff rotation.
If they are a wild card team then the point is moot. A one-game decider is not much more than a coin flip.
Everyone is worried about the pitching. Considering starters, the Giants rank 8th in "quality starts" tied with the White Sox. They have 49. The A's lead the majors with 63. You can probably guess most of the others: LA, Houston, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and Atlanta, and, surprisingly, the Rockies. They also rank 8th, with the same teams, in percentage of "quality starts" with 40% behind the A's 52%. The Giants are tied for 4th with the Astros in Average Game Score with 55, LA leads with 58, followed by Milwaukee and Chicago. Make of those stats what you will.
Ranking relief pitching is a bit more problematic, there is no easily identifiable stat like "quality starts." The Giants have 5 more saves than anyone else (Yankees rank second) and are 2nd in holds behind Atlanta. Those numbers are, of course, cumulative, so the more likely a manager is to use lots of pitchers (Kapler) the more likely to run up the numbers. The Giants also rank 5th in blown saves, with 23 (the best team, the Cubs, have 10; the worst, the Mariners, have 25 as do the Phillies). And of course, blown saves does not necessarily mean losses. I think what all this says is that the Giants are holding their own starting, and doing better than that in relief. None of it addresses the injury situation, we can only hope that it is temporary.
If you use bWAR to measure pitching, the Giants rank 6th overall, 7th for starting pitching and 4th for relief pitching. That seems pretty reasonable.
If you go by "runs allowed" they are second to LA (451 to 431). If you go by FIP they are third behind Milwaukee and LA.
Milwaukee has a starting trio (Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff) that's as good as anyone and could be formidable in a short series.
It's all about injuries, as we know. The Giants have two legit top-flight starters in Gausman and Webb and I think they could match up with any team. Add in the excellent team defense and I would feel OK with those two leading the way. That's assuming they are healthy when the time comes!
It really is better to win the division, and to win it with enough time to spare so pitchers can be rested. But I have a feeling the NL West race will come down to the final weekend.
But we are getting ahead of ourselves. There are 41 games left to play.
Based upon post-All Star Game, I'd hardly call Gausman 'top flight' right now. In fact, I'd rate him as 'probably nursing some injury, but still able to go'. That, along w/ the DeSclafani & Cueto situation is what has me worried. Webb has been very good, & Wood has been decent at times (especially as a 'stopper' - like tonight, I hope). There are no decent reinforcements at Sacramento. I'm anxious about things.
My other peeve is that Solano barely plays anymore. They've been facing a lot of right-handed Starters, so La Stella's getting all of the action. I think that Solano's track record justifies a few starts against RHP.
On the bright side, I'll be making my third trip to the yard on Wednesday, September 1 (v. Brewers). So far, I've specialized in NL Central opponents (win v. St. Louis, loss v. Pittsburgh).
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