Five in a row

SF 7  STL 3

Paul Goldschmidt continued his mastery of the Giants with four hits and two homers last night. He came up in the 9th with the bases loaded and one out and the Cardinals down by four but hit the first pitch he saw from Camilo Doval to Thairo Estrada who started a game-ending double play. Everything else went the Giants way, too. Anthony DeSclafani had another good start, giving up two runs (the Goldy homers) and fanning six over six innings. Tristan Beck and Tyler Rogers (who has allowed only one run in 12 appearances) took care of the 7th and 8th but Sean Hjelle had a terrible 9th and had to be bailed out by Doval despite entering the game with a 5-run lead.

Lefty Steven Matz held the Giants at bay until the 4th when LaMonte Wade, Jr. homered to start the inning. Blake Sabol got a hit, stole second, and scored on a hit by Austin Slater. Mitch Haniger singled off reliever Jordan Hicks in the 5th and scored the go-ahead run after an error and a wild pitch. Haniger walked in the 7th and scored on a homer from Wilmer Flores. In the 8th Michael Conforto drove in Thairo Estrada who led off the frame with a double, and Conforto scored on Wade's triple. It was a good showing by the lineup and they had enough cushion to survive the Cardinals last-gasp rally.

The 11-13 Giants are two games off the pace in the West (Arizona is on top at 14-12). They have improved their home record to 7-6 and have a chance this afternoon (12:45 PT) to complete a four-game sweep. Logan Webb gets the start.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Take that!

SF 5  STL 4

Rookie Blake Sabol blasted a two-out, two-strike, two-run homer in the 9th to shock the Cardinals and give the Giants a dramatic walk-off win. It was a nail-biting 2-1 game into the 8th when St. Louis finally broke through against the Giants wall of relievers, tacking a three-spot on Scott Alexander and Camilo Doval. That 4-2 lead looked insurmountable for the home team but an error (one of three by the Redbirds) by Tommy Edman at second base allowed leadoff man Joc Pederson to reach. A clutch double from Mike Yastrzemski (who homered earlier) plated him and the Giants had a pulse. Two quick outs followed and it didn't look good. Ryan Helsley is a very tough reliever who has 100+ mph heat and a wipeout slider. He left one just a bit out over the plate and the young Giants catcher showed off his power with a 428-foot bomb to center. That's four wins in a row!

John Brebbia opened (1-1/3), Sean Manaea followed (1-1/3, 1 R), then Jakob Junis (1.0), Taylor Rogers (1-1/3), Tyler Rogers (2.0), and finally Alexander (1/3, charged with all 3 R), Doval (1/3, gave up the RBI hit to Paul Goldschmidt), and Sean Hjelle (1.0) took the 9th.

The Giants blew a couple of games earlier in the month and I kept thinking "when is our turn?" for some come-from-behind excitement. This was one of those "payback" wins. It is good to see the team playing better baseball. Maybe Anthony DeSclafani can mow 'em down tonight for a series sweep (whoops, it's a four-game series!) for a fifth straight win. Wouldn't that be nice? First pitch at 6:45 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

p.s. It's an unusual off-day on Friday as the team travels to Mexico City for a weekend set against the Padres. The Giants will be the visitors at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú Béisbol (3:05 Sat, 1:05 Sun PT).

Cobb!!

SF 4  STL 0

Alex Cobb blanked the Cardinals for his second career shutout (and fifth complete game) in his 207th start. Cobb struck out only four guys but he got—get this—seventeen ground ball outs. Seventeen. That's some serious pitching voodoo.

It was a no-score nail-biter until the 8th when the Giants finally broke through. With the bases loaded and one out FNG Mitch Haniger drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and J.D. Davis followed with a homer. It was a dramatic frame as Cobb was clearly dealing and the shutout was obviously in play. He got his chance in the 9th and really delivered. The ground ball scheme kept his pitch count down and he finished with a mere 109 total (to 33 batters).

That's three wins in a row, if you're counting. The Giants need some positive things to happen and a big pitching performance is that kind of thing!

The 9-13 Giants and 9-14 Cardinals are at it again tomorrow night (6:45 PT). It's righty Jake Woodford for St. Louis and TBD (it's Manaea's turn) for the home squad.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Yaz Comes Through

SF 5  NYM 4

It took a lot of work to set it up for Mike Yastrzemski to get the game-winning hit but the Giants managed and eked out a victory against the Mets to split the series. Yaz hit a double to right-center in the 8th that scored Joc Pederson from first base and broke a 4-4 tie. Brandon Nimmo cut the ball off in the gap and made a good throw to the relay man but Joc showed some nimble feet and scored easily. I don't think he hustled around the bags that briskly last season. Perhaps the threat of outfield play got him to trim down.

Ross Stripling started and lasted 3-1/3, yielding three runs. He threw 67 pitches to 17 batters and did not allow a homer. That's an improvement. With Alex Wood on the IL the Giants need Stripling to get into form. Taylor Rogers, looking better all the time, got the final two outs in the 4th. Tyler Rogers was overpowering in his two frames, fanning four, unfortunately also giving up a game-tying solo homer to rookie catcher Francisco Alvarez. It was a rising ball up in his eyes at 73 mph and he somehow lofted it out to left field. Rogers had a bewildered look on his face. He has pitched exceptionally well so far this season. John Brebbia had a dominant 7th, Scott Alexander had 1-2-3 8th, and Camilo Doval was overpowering for the save in the 9th.

The Giants scored in the 1st on Joc's two-out single. Thairo Estrada hit a booming homer leading off the 2nd to make it 2-0. After the Mets took the lead in the 4th the Giants got two in the bottom half to push ahead 4-3. Francisco Lindor failed to get a double play on Brett Wisely's grounder and that allowed Brandon Crawford to score. Alvarez' homer tied it in the 6th and Yaz' double gave the home squad the lead back and they held on for the win.

An excellent day for the fans in San Francisco. So far the team is 4-6 at home. The Cardinals come to town tomorrow for a four-game set. Friday is an off-day before a weekend series in San Diego.

Alex Cobb takes the hill at 6:45 p.m. Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

The Ninety-Million Dollar Man

SF 7  NYM 4

Logan Webb started his first game at home since signing his five-year, $90M extension and after a couple of rocky frames settled in and mowed 'em down for his first "W" of the season. He gave up two runs on five hits including another homer (solo shot by Brandon Nimmo) but walked only one and whiffed eight in seven innings. He faced 25 batters and threw 98 pitches. It's exactly the kind of start the team is paying him to deliver. The lineup jumped all over Mets lefty David Peterson for four runs in the 1st (a three-run bomb by Brandon Crawford was the big blow) and they scored two more in the 2nd and another in the 5th (Wilmer Flores homer) to keep the pressure on. Both Scott Alexander (8th) and Camilo Doval (9th) gave up a run but the Giants had sufficient cushion to seal the win.

A win! How nice it is to say that!

Ross Stripling takes the hill tomorrow afternoon (1:10 PT) in the finale. UPDATE: that's incorrect. Game time is 4:10 PT!

Go Giants!

--M.C.

1st inning: 6-12

The Giants got thumped by the Mets last night. They also found out that Alex Wood's hamstring injury will keep him off the field for "several weeks." Bad news comes in bunches. The Giants stocked up on starting pitching in the off-season but so far it hasn't paid off. Overall the pitchers have allowed 94 runs in 18 games (5.22 rpg) which is not going to get the job done. The league average is 4.62 rpg. The offense has scored 83 runs which is just a tick (4.61 rpg) below the league mean. The Pythagorean projection says the Giants should be 8-10. Certainly they've blown a couple of games they seemed likely to win. Last night wasn't one of them. Tristan Beck made his debut in a long relief effort. He pitched the final 5-1/3 innings after starter Sean Manaea was knocked out. Beck gave up nine hits and four runs but struck out five and walked only one.

The series with the Mets continues through the weekend. Anthony DeSclafani goes tonight at 7:15 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Finally!

SF 5  MIA 2  (11)

During any substantial losing streak (and anything past three in a row is substantial) I always get this irrational fear that they will never win another game. They'll finish the season 5-157 and forever live in ignominy as the lousiest ballclub in history. I've written about this before, I'm sure. But that's what being a fan is all about—irrational reactions. And goodness I'm irrationally happy right now.

Alex Cobb whiffed eight and only allowed one run in five frames but it took him 92 pitches. Once again the bullpen got the call and they answered with five scoreless (2 H, 2 W, 6 K). On the hitting side the Giants faced lefty Trevor Rogers (no relation to Giants twin brothers Tyler and Taylor who also pitched today). He exited in the 4th with an injury after the Giants had scored a run. Five relievers kept the lid on things until the big rally in the 11th. Homers by Michael Conforto and Mike Yastrzemski opened things up and the team was poised to snap their five-game losing streak.

Naturally the bottom half was a nail-biter. Sean Hjelle gave up a double that scored the Manfred Man and then struck out the next batter. He followed that with a walk. Taylor Rogers was summoned and he got a strikeout but then hit a batter. That loaded the bases for Luis Arraez. Arraez won the batting title last year and came into this game hitting a league-leading .458 but grounded out to end it. Whew.

The Giants really needed a win. Really. They would have been 0-for-the road trip if they lost. Their 6-11 mark keeps them out of last place.

The Mets are in San Francisco for four games starting tomorrow night at 6:45 PT. Sean Manaea gets the start and faces Kodai Senga.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Rain, no game

After a lengthy and confusing delay today's game was postponed and was rescheduled for July 24th. The Giants go on the road after the ASB for ten games in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Washington, D.C. They'll use the scheduled off-day (Monday 7/24) to go back to Detroit for the make-up game before coming home.

It's been an ugly week. Even with Logan Webb scheduled to start I was not upset when this game was called. The Giants need a break. They've looked bad in their last three outings. They were thumped by the Dodgers on Wednesday even after taking an early lead against Clayton Kershaw. They traveled to Detroit on Thursday and were stymied by the Tigers in extras on Friday night even after a spirited comeback. They blew a big lead yesterday and lost again in extra innings. It's been grim.

The bullpen is an obvious weakness right now. Camilo Doval has been erratic and John Brebbia has hit some bumps after a strong start. Taylor Rogers is lost. His brother Tyler, along with Scott Alexander, have been late-game stalwarts (13 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 W, 10 K). Jakob Junis has been solid but Ross Stripling has allowed six homers in his three appearances (10 IP, 1 GS). Sean Hjelle has the strikeout stuff going but has allowed nine runs in 7-2/3 IP. I can't fault Kapler's game management. He has put the right people in the right places but the players have not executed.

Starter Anthony DeSclafani looks like his 2021 self (19 IP, 3 GS, 3 R, 0 W, 16 K) and that's good news. Webb has not been himself and Alex Cobb has been up and down, as has Sean Manaea. Alex Wood looks OK in a small sample (2 GS, 7-2/3 IP) but needs to be stretched out. FanGraphs says that Giants pitchers are worth 0.9 WAR which is good for 20th in MLB. Their ERA (4.50) and FIP (4.51) are the same but their xFIP (3.84) suggests they've pitched a wee bit better than the results. Certainly the poor fielding in these last few games is a part of that. MLB average right now is 4.73 runs allowed per game and the Giants staff is at 5.36 RA/G.

The hitters rate 2.7 WAR for 6th-best. They are scoring 4.93 runs per game. We've seen some really good stuff from Thairo Estrada (.365/.411/.615 with a team-leading 19 hits) and J.D. Davis (.341/.391/.659 and a team-leading 4 HR and 13 RBI). It's a capable offense but some key weapons are on the shelf (Joc Pederson, Austin Slater, Mitch Haniger) and some others (Mike Yastrzemski, Michael Conforto, David Villar) have cooled off after promising starts. Catching remains a problem especially since Roberto Pérez is out for the season. I wonder if we will see Gary Sánchez soon. Brandon Crawford is hitting under .200 and already has four errors.

It's only 14 games of course, so 5-9 is not the end of the world. (The 2022 Giants were 9-5 after their first fourteen.) But it has been frustrating so far. There is enough talent on this club to be competitive but they have yet to play with any identity or consistency. The Giants go to Miami for three against the Marlins and then come home for the Mets and Cardinals.

The best news this week was Logan Webb's extension, a 5-year, $90M deal. That buys out his two remaining arb-years (2024-25) and his first three free agent years (2026-28). Good move!

Monday's game is at 3:40 PT. Webb is listed as the starter.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants shut out Dodgers

SF 5  LA 0

The Giants won four games against the Dodgers in 2022, the last one coming on September 5th in LA. Prior to that the Giants swept a three-game home set (June 10-12) but otherwise lost every other time. That was fifteen times. The old schedule had nineteen games against division foes. The new schedule has thirteen such games. I am in favor of the new schedule.

After a thorough pasting on Monday night the Giants battled back tonight and blanked the potent Dodgers lineup with a tag-team effort. Alex Wood couldn't quite get through the 5th but Jakob Junis got it done and added an out in the 6th. He passed the baton to Scott Alexander who finished the frame. Then it was an inning apiece from John Brebbia, Tyler Rogers, and Camilo Doval to close the door. The hurlers allowed only three hits and got eleven whiffs.

The Giants struck early. Dustin May walked LaMonte Wade, Jr. and Michael Conforto to open the bottom of the 1st. J.D. Davis grounded out, moving the runners over, and Joc Pederson doubled them home. It stayed 2-0 until the 8th when David Villar homered after a Mike Yastrzemski double. Brandon Crawford hit the first pitch he saw for another homer and it was 5-0. Doval added lots of drama in the 9th but got the outs he had to get. He likes to live on the edge!

Tomorrow night (6:45 PT) features Alex Cobb and Clayton Kershaw. He's still Kershaw, but he's not the Giants Killer he once was. That role has been taken by Julio Urías. Cobb pitched really well the last time out (Opening Day) but got no help in a 3-1 loss.

Go Giants!

Beat LA!

--M.C.

Giants salvage series

SF 3  KC 1

It was not a pretty opening weekend for the orange-and-black. A lackluster effort on Friday wasted a strong start from Alex Cobb (7 IP, 2 R, 0 W, 6 K), and an ugly collapse yesterday wasted a fine effort from Sean Manaea (6 IP, 1 R, 1 W, 8 K). The Giants looked dead for most of today despite quality work from Anthony DeSclafani (6-1/3 IP, 1 R, 0 W, 7 K) and trailed 1-0 in the bottom of the 8th. But it was Easter Sunday and they found a way to rise up and save the day. Rookie Bryce Johnson got on with a wind-and-sun aided popup and scored the tying run on a double from Wilmer Flores that caromed at just the right spot. Johnson was going on the pitch and was deked at second and slid into the base but was still able to score. Wilmer's hit was just out of reach for the left fielder and it took him a while to get the throw off. Johnson was lucky but he's also really fast so it worked out for the Giants. Michael Conforto then hit a two-run homer to make it 3-1 San Francisco and that's how it finished.

I was happy with the road trip. I thought getting a win in Yankee Stadium was a big accomplishment and the homer barrage against the White Sox in Chicago was a lot of fun. Coming home with a 3-3 record felt like a positive sign despite the erratic play. But the back-to-back losses at home were quite deflating and put a dent in my outlook. Thank goodness they won today. I am much cheered up. In fact, I liked the formula: a tough start, solid relief, and a clutch rally. I think the Giants will get a lot of quality starts this season. Logan Webb will come around—there's nothing wrong with his pitches, he just has to adjust like every other player. He's got the goods to stay on top of the league and I've no doubt he'll be there soon. Bullpens are always hard to gauge. I was happy that Taylor Rogers looked better. Let's hope Sean Hjelle finds his mojo soon.

The catching situation remains fluid. Roberto Pérez goes to the 60-day IL. That's a real bummer. He seemed to fit in well and was giving the Giants what they needed. Blake Sabol is an exciting experiment but he's much too inexperienced. Austin Wynns was called up today. He was a dependable backup last year. Joey Bart is starting his rehab in Sacramento. The Giants also have Gary Sánchez at AAA. They picked him up on a minors deal. He was once a regular with the Yankees and the Twins.

Austin Slater and FNG Mitch Haniger are still out with injuries. I think those additions to the lineup might smooth out some of the variation. The run totals (0, 7, 0, 12, 3, 16, 1, 5, 3) are all over the place. Of course it is only nine games. That's nine DAY games. Weird stuff! The Giants really ought to be 5-4 but they are instead 4-5. The Dodgers come to town tomorrow night with Webb taking on Julio Urías (6:45 PT).

Go Giants!

Beat LA!

--M.C.

Opening Day - A Tale of Two Ball Clubs

 The Giants are just a couple hours away from their home opener, and the weather in San Francisco is shitty.  Not one of those atmospheric rivers or bomb cyclones that the Weather PR people keep touting, but a dreary, heavy, cold mist that is refusing to let up.  It might let up by game time, but there isn't forecast to be any sun today.  Maybe tomorrow.

Two ball clubs will be at Oracle Park, and that's just in the 3rd base dugout.  The Giants have played 6 games.  In the 3 losses, they have scored 3 runs, total, on 11 hits and hit 1 homer run.  Our ace, Logan Webb, has an 0 - 2 record, he's pitched 11 innings, struck out 16 (which is pretty good) and given up 8 earned runs (which is less so).  He's only walked 2 people.  Jeremy Affeldt says that he has become a known-enough quantity that he needs to switch up his pitch selection a bit to keep hitters off guard.

The other Giants have won 3 games, they have scored 35 runs (31 before the position players, Matt Beaty and Hanser Alberto, started pitching at the end of Thursday's game.  Remember that for trivia challenges.  They have 48 hits (4 of those were off of Alberto) and 14 home runs (1 Alberto's).  The Giants have 15 home runs total, I believe that is a MLB-leading stat.  Jakob Junis is among the league leaders with 2 wins, he isn't a starter, but followed Alex Cobb and Alex Wood.  That's a lot of hits and home runs!  The obvious conclusion is that the Giants have plenty of power, even without Judge or Correa.  Shawn Estes was opining after the game Thursday that the Giants having a bunch of guys up and down the line-up who can hit 20 - 30+ home runs is not sustainable.  From every position?  Probably he's right.  But it strikes me that equally unsustainable, if not more so, is one 40+ home run hitter.  The point of getting Judge or Correa was to put butts in seats (and, admittedly, to provide a scare factor that has been missing since Bonds was around).  Neither of those guys would fill more than one position.  Too, Mitch Haniger has yet to take the field.

It's early.  I wonder where Mark is.  I bet he's skiing.  Fucker.  Davis, Lamont, Villar, Conforto, Sabol, Yaz, Flores, and Crawford have all looked pretty good at the plate so far.  At least Disco, Cobb, Junis, and Hjelle have looked pretty solid, and Webb looks good, he just hasn't been successful.  If our relief can hold up, and we can avoid injuries, and get a bit more from our starters, we might be OK.  It's the Home Opener!