The Giants hit five home runs to back a quality start from Logan Webb and they beat the Dodgers to up their win streak to four games. And they snapped their eight-game losing streak against LA. After an error in the 1st by Evan Longoria that put a man on Webb gave up a two-run shot to Freddie Freeman. FNG Lewis Brinson, in the lead off spot against lefty Andrew Heaney, smacked a game-tying two-run blast in the 3rd. J.D. Davis followed with his own homer to make it 3-2 San Francisco. The Giants tacked on three more in the 4th behind homers from Thairo Estrada and a David Villar. Webb gave up another run in the bottom half but then added two more scoreless frames to notch his 12th win. His ERA is 2.89, just under Carlos Rodón's 2.92, and those are good for 15th- and 16th-best in MLB.
Brinson added another homer in the 9th off lefty reliever Justin Bruihl. Brinson is there for his RH power bat so let's hope we see more thump from him. His career stats are underwhelming but he does have a .421 slugging percentage and 13 HR and 16 2B in 352 AB vs. southpaws. Yunior Marte and Scott Alexander handled the 7th and 8th and Camilo Doval had an easy 9th for his 20th save.
I'm not sure I've said this before but I thought we'd see the club deliver more performances like this one. It was nice to see the team bounce back from the early deficit. Last year they hit 241 HR which was good for second in MLB. This year they have 151 and are in the middle of the pack (13th).
Austin Slater goes to the IL for his dislocated pinky finger. Joey Bart should return tonight. Game time 7:10 PT.
Go Giants! Beat LA!
--M.C.
3 comments:
I watched Brinson play in Miami, and most of the time despite his talent he was an easy out. Some teams, including the giants made the mistake of pitching the ball high in the strike zone against him, and that seems to be his wheel house. The dodgers made the same mistake. Both bombs were pitches high in the strike zone. If the giants can teach this guy some plate discipline he could increase his value as he is very athletic. He could be a valuable addition if things work out right, or he could just be a quick hit wonder. We shall see.
He's a big dude--6'5"!!
I don't have a problem with The Zaidi Churn. In fact, I can't believe more teams don't do it! There are a lot of AAAA players out there who might just need a new situation in order to be a more productive major-leaguer. Talent is one thing. Turning that talent into MLB success is quite another. The Dodgers seem to be good at helping marginal/under-developed players achieve at a higher level. I don't expect miracles from The Churn but I do think there are lots of diamonds-in-the-rough out there that could use some cutting and polishing. I think it's great that the Giants staff is eager to pursue those opportunities.
I've mentioned David Laurila and his FanGraphs columns before--he's the best reason to subscribe to that site. He recently interviewed former minors pitcher Mike McCarthy who is now a coach in the Padres system. He had this to say about teaching and learning:
“What makes the best players in the world great? I think it’s a balance of, and this goes beyond baseball, there should be an inquisitiveness of the world, a desire to have a constant state of learning, but also a knowledge of self. The ability to balance the growth with the knowledge of self, while always thinking forward about what else is out there, is a great space to be in. The very best players I’ve worked with have been in that that state of balance, knowing who they are and being inquisitive of the world around them. They’re saying, ‘What else can I be doing to get better?’”
I really like that sentiment. The whole thing is worth a read:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/padres-triple-a-pitching-coach-mike-mccarthy-is-well-educated-in-analytics/
LINK
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