After a couple of feeble losses the Giants put together a great pitching performance and added just enough offense to win the getaway game at Fenway. Kyle Harrison walked five but also struck out seven and allowed just three hits and one run in his five innings. Two of the hits were doubles but none left the yard. A 3rd-inning homer by Mike Yastrzemski was all the Giants could manage until the 7th. Three singles to start the frame plated the go-ahead run and a sacrifice fly added the other. Four innings of stellar, one-hit relief pitching made the difference. Ryan Walker needed 16 pitches for the 6th, giving up a single but also getting a strikeout. Erik Miller got three outs, one a strikeout, on 15 pitches in the 7th. Tyler Rogers got two groundouts and added a strikeout and only needed 8 pitches in the 8th. Camilo Doval went 3-and-2 to the first batter but then got a groundout, struck out the next guy, and closed it with a lineout, 14 pitches in all. Nice work—only one batter over the minimum.
Tuesday's shockingly poor start from Logan Webb was supported by four hits, all singles. Even if he'd pitched well they would have lost the game. Wednesday's bullpen game wasn't much better, only five hits, but at least there was one double and one homer and thus a couple of runs. This offense should be better. Right now it's all on the pitchers.
It's a tough road ahead: they go to Philadelphia for three four starting tomorrow. The Phillies are 21-11, the third-best record in MLB, just behind the Braves (20-9) and Guardians (20-10). Like the Red Sox the Phillies pitch really well. The Giants will have to match it. Jordan Hicks goes tomorrow against Aaron Nola (3:40 PT), Keaton Winn faces Ranger Suarez on Saturday (3:05 PT), and Logan Webb matches up with Tijuan Walker on Sunday (4:10 PT). Monday (1:05 PT) is TBD. It was encouraging to see a big game from the relief corps, don't you think?
Go Giants!
--M.C.
13 comments:
Daulton Jefferies got hit the hardest in the bullpen game. He got optioned back to AAA. Randy Rodriguez takes his place. Rodriguez is a righty from Venezuela, signed as an amateur back in 2018. He's 24 and would be making his debut if he gets in a game.
Lee hit the ball hard all series. The one hit he had was when he did not hit the ball hard. If he hits the ball the way he did in Philly, he should have a few home runs, but that it the way it goes. You hit one 415 feet and our out by the 420 ft. mark, then you hit one 379 feet, and just miss one at the 380 foot mark, etc. Giants hit a lot of hard line drives into outs. Still a believer in hitting them against the defense, instead of all you can do is hit it hard. Pence said according to hit ball speed the giants should have hit 261 in game 2, and Boston around 161, but the opposite was true. Giants hit it hard right to the defense, and boston hit the ball less hard, but where nobody was. I know this is a tough skill at the MLB level, but I see Arraez do it every day in Miami. Is he just that much better than others that make it to the majors? Ok, do not have to answer that.
I like to think Arraez is a good comp for Lee. I think he will start to figure it out. It's a big adjustment to MLB pitching and defenses.
1st-round pick (#14 overall) for the Giants ten years ago was Tyler Beede. He was DFAd by the Guardians today. He was a double 1st-rounder, as he was drafted out of HS in 2011 (21st overall) by the Blue Jays. He opted for Vanderbilt instead. Talk about a great pedigree!
But it never worked out. Injuries and Tommy John surgery didn't help. He's managed to pitch professionally for several seasons, including in Japan, and I'm curious if he'll keep going now that he's turning 31 at the end of the month.
First-rounders have the best odds of making it in the bigs. But the odds are pretty damn long to begin with, so even those guys aren't "sure things."
Aaron Nola (LSU) was the 7th pick of that 2014 draft, with Michael Conforto (Oregon St.) at #10 and Matt Chapman (Fullerton) #25.
There were 41 picks in the round. Conor Joe was #39. If you sort that list by career bWAR Joe (3.5) is tenth-highest. That means 31 of the 41 players drafted ten years ago have a lower career bWAR. In fact 12 never made it to the majors!
Some never could make it to the speed of the bigs. Some had injuries. Some otherwise could not just go above the level that they were at. Sometimes I think the younger you are when you try to jump up to the next level, or the next "speed" the better chance you have. There are a few athletes that can just jump to that level late, because they started late but are just that good.
Luis Arraez just got traded to the Padres. For four prospects.
The Phillies "City Connect" uniforms are truly hideous. The Giants orange creamsicles look like formal wear by comparison.
Phillies City Connect looked like the anti-Phillies Uniforms.
Blake Sabol will now be catching. Both Bailey (7-day concussion IL) and Murphy (knee) are down.
Randy Rodriguez made his debut last night.
Webb today. Let's hope he can stop the bleeding.
Really nice interview with Kyle Harrison by David Laurila of FanGraphs.
Warning: lots of nerd talk!
Here's a sample, after being asked to describe his fastball's behavior:
“I wouldn’t say ride,” Harrison said of his fastball’s movement profile. “I don’t think that’s the right term, because that calls for induced vert, and if my induced vert gets too high, that means my arm slot is creeping up too high and I lose my vertical approach angle. It’s crazy how much I’m learning about all this. In a couple of starts, my heater wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be, because my arm slot was a little lower and I was up-shooting the ball a little. It’s a fine line. You’ve got to stay consistent to get results up here.”
These guys talk like this today. Rapsodo, Driveline, Statcast, etc., it's a brave new world.
Either the curse of Posey's early retirement, or the trade of Joey Bart, seems to be rearing its ugly head. Sabol was on the 40 man, but the next catcher, by call up or another move will have to be added to the roster, and someone will have to be removed. That is what happens when you pay over 4 million a year for a 33 year old journeyman catcher. Bart made 770 thousand. What will it take to get Posey out of retirement?
More money than God. Posey is a businessman now. Suit and tie instead of the tools of ignorance.
Yeah I really thought we had a surplus of catching with Sabol and Murphy. They couldn't keep Bart--he had no minor league options left. Pirates have Yasmani Grandal on the bench behind Bart right now but they also have two catchers on the IL (with 5 options between them). There's a chance he'll get cut again even though he's playing well right now. Maybe the Giants will get him back!! :-)
Anyway, it sucks to have these guys get hurt. The team is reeling and needs some people to step up and start performing. The injuries just make it tougher.
Mason Black makes his debut tomorrow (1:05 Pacific). Black was a 3rd round pick in 2021 from Lehigh. He's 24 (and RH) and always been a starter, advancing quickly through the system. Good luck, Mason!!
New catcher Jackson Reetz came up with the Nats (signed out of HS in 2014) and had a cuppa coffee in 2021, then bounced around AA/AAA with the Brewers and KC for a bit. The Giants signed him in December. He's got some pop--he hit a homer tonight. He's 28 and a RH hitter. Welcome aboard, Jackson.
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