The Dodgers had an answer for everything the Giants did in this series. And the Dodgers punished the Giants for everything they failed to do. The weaknesses of the team are many but two really stand out and were on display in this four-game set: fielding and relief pitching. Poor defense cost the Giants both early and late, and poor execution from the bullpen corps sabotaged any comebacks. Last season the Giants could match up well and compete with the Dodgers but this year the talent gap is too big. LA has three of the best hitters in the game--Mookie Betts, Trea Turner, and Freddie Freeman--hitting in the top three spots of their lineup. Few teams can match that and the Giants are clearly over-matched. Although I must say it was great to see Darin Ruf hit two game-tying homers (a grand slam Thursday and a two-run homer today). He's a good hitter having a rough season which is sort of a bellwether for the whole offense. Maybe as he heats up the rest of the team can follow. And Austin Slater is really hitting well this month, perhaps he can keep that going the rest of the way.
Here's the damage:
SF 6 LA 9 (Thu)
SF 1 LA 5 (Fri)
SF 2 LA 4 (Sat)
SF 4 LA 7 (Sun)
Not much to say that the scores don't tell us. The Giants got pasted 25-13. They had four chances to win a ballgame and they whiffed on all four. That's a Golden Sombrero! Let's hope they do better when the Dodgers come to San Francisco in the first week of August.
Jakob Junis gets the start tomorrow night in Arizona at 6:40 Pacific.
Go Giants!
--M.C.
5 comments:
clearly the fielding and relief pitching were the 2 key factors. The giants struck out more than twice as often as the dodgers in game 4. With that being said, the strike zone favored the dodgers in the last 2 games. Many more favorable strike zone calls for the dodgers. The giants did get a few mistakes go their way, but overwhelmingly they went the other way. Dodger hitters seemed to feel much more free to protest calls they did not like, even when those pitches were in the strike zone. Krukow's explanation that a future hall of famer with a long track record will get those calls especially against rookies. Not buying it. Dodgers do not need any additional help. Hate that we jetisoned two decent defensive players in Dubon and Duggar. Seems as if Mercedes has no business playing left field, nor should Wade be playing first base. I would venture to say that bad fielding has cost the giants at least 10 games this year.
From Ken Rosenthal:
Consider: The Giants’ pitching staff has allowed the lowest home-run rate in the majors, the highest groundball rate and the fourth-lowest average exit velocity. For the most part, they are getting the kind of contact they want from their pitching staff. But they are not turning nearly enough balls in play into outs.
I think the Giants expected some defensive decline as the players are all a year older, but the drop-off has been huge. Brandon Crawford is the key reason, I think. His play was poor before the injuries have kept him off the field. He looks older, heavier, and slower this season. I hate to say it but he looks out of shape. Those are hard words to write as he is of course a huge fan favorite, and a personal favorite of mine.
I should note that the Yankees are an old team but their fielders rate highly.
I think both Dubon and Duggar hit their way off the team. It's unfortunate because as you point out the Giants could use their good gloves. But you have to hit in the big leagues if you want to be a difference-maker, that's just a cruel truth.
Giants picked up a lefty reliever, Ben Bowden, from the Rays. He's a Vandy product, and has some MLB time with the Rockies.
Jose Alvarez is on the 60-day IL so they need more LH help. No info yet on whether it's a cash deal or a PTBNL.
Hard for some guys to hit that well when they play sporadically. Duggar was always super streaky. I just do not think the return for those guys was close to reasonable. You can't teach speed. Dubon's versatility was nothing to sneeze at. I guess Solano is still barreling up balls when he is healthy.
Agreed, but that's an unfortunate reality for many players. Last year the Giants had a league-average hitter in every spot, all the way down to the last guy on the bench. This year, not so much.
Same with the bullpen. Last year they had six guys with 50+ IP and ERAs below 3.00!
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