The Giants had to come from behind to win today and that showed some real grit and moxie. Of course it was the lowly Pirates but grit and moxie have been in short supply so we'll take it. And we all know the lowly Pirates have kicked the Giants ass this season so it was great to see the lads rally and take the series. Jerar Encarnacion tied the game in the 5th with a homer. He's back from the IL and has already bopped two big ones. The Pirates got another one against Robbie Ray (6 IP, 2 R, 8 K) to take the lead, but Matt Chapman flashed some VSC grit and tied the game with a sacrifice fly in the 8th.
The 9th featured a one-out double from Jung Hoo Lee. That's his 27th two-bagger which ties him with Rafael Devers and Pete Alonso for 11th-best in MLB. He's struggled this season but he's still got the skills and he's doing a lot better lately. That hit sparked a moxie-fest: pinch-hitter Dominic Smith doubled and then Patrick Bailey singled making it 4-2 Giants. Randy Rodriguez, fresh off his ugly blown save, came on for the 9th and closed it out. José Buttó and Ryan Walker each threw a scoreless frame after Ray. This is the new-look bullpen.
I should mention that Dom Smith has appeared in all six games in August (as 1B, DH, and PH) and has six hits, one in each game, with three runs scored and seven batted in. He's 6-for-20 with a double and a homer. Solid!
Tomorrow is Thursday and we know what that means—no baseball. They come home to play the Nationals this weekend. Friday night's game is at 7:15 Pacific. It looks like Kai-Wei Teng, Carson Whisenhunt, and Justin Verlander will get their turns.
Go Giants!
--M.C.
1 comment:
It looks as if Encarnacion is proving another giants adage. As soon as a giants player gets hot, he gets injured. Waiting for Smith to go down.
Post a Comment