The Giants got overpowered by Corbin Burnes in the opener (2-1) of yesterday's doubleheader and there's no shame in that. Last year's Cy Young Award winner allowed only three hits and struck out 14. David Villar got a ground ball single in the top of the 8th in an attempt at a last-gasp rally but Luis González hit into a double play to quash that notion. González was the only player in the lineup who had not struck out against Burnes. The highlight of the day for the Giants was the excellent work from Jakob Junis who gave up three hits and two runs in his six frames. Scott Alexander opened with a scoreless inning and Tyler Rogers pitched a scoreless 8th.
In the nightcap (4-2) the Giants had no excuses. Opener Alex Young gave up three runs in the 1st and had to exit with only two outs. Rookie Sean Hjelle pitched five innings in relief, giving up three hits and one run while striking out six. That was the highlight for the Giants. Hjelle, like Villar, is part of the 2018 draft class. The lineup could only manage four hits (one a homer by Joc Pederson) and the team went down quietly.
They are looking up at the Diamondbacks who have slipped into third place by a half game. Today Carlos Rodón takes the hill in Chicago at 1:05 Pacific. The 57-80 Cubs would be in last place (behind the Rockies) in the NL West. They are currently third (behind Milwaukee and St. Louis) in the NL Central.
Go Giants!
--M.C.
2 comments:
Luis Ortiz pitched the final two innings in the second game. He's a former 1st-rounder (#30) from 2014, the same class that produced Carlos Rodon and Aaron Nola. He's from Sanger in Fresno County. He signed a minors deal with the Giants earlier this year.
Dominic Leone was released.
Last year: 53-2/3 IP, 37 H, 15 R, 2 HR, 22 BB, 50 K, 219 TBF, 1.51 ERA, 3.08 FIP, 1.7 bWAR
This year: 49-1/3 IP, 55 H, 24 R, 6 HR, 24 BB, 52 K, 222 TBF, 4.01 ERA, 4.04 FIP, 0.4 bWAR
On the surface the 18 more hits and 4 more HR don't seem to be enough to turn a really effective reliever into a barely passable one.
Hitters hit .195/.279/.268 against Leone (.547 OPS) last year.
Hitters hit .281/.257/.464 against Leone (.822 OPS) this year.
Now we are getting somewhere. Average EV last year 87.3 mph, this year 89.1 mph. Last year LD% was 18.6, this year LD% was 26.0, but the big culprit is groundballs, 46.9% last year and only 39% this year.
The bullpen is a huge reason for the team's collapse this year. Giants starters are 4th-best in MLB (behind HOU, PHI, NYM) in fWAR (14.2) just ahead of fifth-place LAD.
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