Back to Buster

David Laurilia of FanGraphs writes a "Sunday Notes" column that is the best thing on that site. If you need good stuff to read about baseball you should check out his weekend posts. Last week he took a quick look at Buster Posey. We won't get to see Buster play ball again but we can certainly re-visit his career accomplishments. What fortunate fans we were to see him play! Laurilia's January 9th article is titled "Is Buster Posey One of the Best Catchers in MLB History?" and I recommend that you read it. It's short. Laurilia makes his points without a lot of B.S.

--M.C.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/sunday-notes-is-buster-posey-one-of-the-best-catchers-in-mlb-history/

Buster, Bullpen Beat LA

SF 7  LA 2

It was a back-to-back festival in LA tonight. The Giants went back-to-back in the top of the 1st, a two-run shot from Buster Posey followed by a blast from Wilmer Flores to make it 3-0 off Tony Gonsolin. Unfortunately the Dodgers had an answer, back-to-backs from Max Muncy and Justin Turner off Kevin Gausman to make it 3-2. It stayed that way until the 7th when Buster Posey got a rally going with a leadoff hit and later scored on a double by Thairo Estrada. The Giants racked up four to put the game out of reach and get a huge win to open the series. The bullpen was superb--Zack Littell (1-2/3), Jarlin Garcia (1-1/3), Dominic Leone (1), Jay Jackson (1), Jake McGee (1)--in relief of an off-form Gausman who only lasted three frames. Sure nice to have Buster back!

In a familiar refrain, the Giants left nine men on base and were 4-for-13 with RISP. They had 12 hits and four walks and could have scored more. I suppose you have to credit the Dodgers for pitching well in some key spots. The Giants finally broke through against Victor Gonzalez. It's been a tough matchup so far: that's only their fourth win in ten games against LA.

Brandon Crawford goes on the IL (oblique strain). It's a huge blow, especially with all these big games coming up. They will be going with Estrada at short for now, I wonder if that means Mauricio Dubon will get brought back up?

Alex Wood tomorrow.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Buster Slams Brewers

SF 10  MIL 7
Buster Posey launched the first pitch he saw in the 10th inning far over the center-field wall for a grand slam that punctuated a dramatic win for the Giants in Milwaukee. Buster's blast was the fifth round-tripper of the evening for the good guys against zero for the home squad. Tyler Austin hit a homer off the normally invincible Josh Hader in the 8th and for good measure Brandon Crawford tagged another one off him in the 9th. That gave the Giants a 6-5 lead but Christian Yelich led off the bottom of the 9th with a triple off Will Smith and eventually scored to spoil his perfect save record. But a tremendous rally in the top of the 10th to load the bases for Posey made that moot.

Starter Shaun Anderson lasted only five innings against the tough Brewers lineup but he "served notice" by striking out the aforementioned Yelich three times! The young righty has shown some real fortitude so far in his eleven starts. Giants scored two in the 5th and two in the 6th on homers by Austin Slater and by Evan Longoria turning a 2-0 deficit to a 4-2 lead. The Brewers chased Anderson in the 6th but the orange-and-black ultimately came back and got the win. Mark Melancon gave up a run in the 10th but struck out Lorenzo Cain to finish it off. Giants pitchers notched 14 strikeouts tonight.

That has to be the best win of the season. Giants complete Game 90, the fifth seasonal inning, with a sparkling 11-7 record including seven wins in the last eight games, not to mention 6-1 in July.

1st inning: 8-10
2nd inning: 8-10
3rd inning: 5-13
4th inning: 10-8
5th inning: 11-7 

That brings the team to 42-48, still in last place, but certainly in a better place than before.

Madison Bumgarner is healthy and ready to go tomorrow, 4:15 p.m. GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Giants Down D-Backs

SF 6  AZ 3
Buster Posey had three hits, including an almost-homer to right field, plus a run scored and two driven in. It has been a hard slog for the veteran backstop whose .241/.304/.369 slash line is a far cry from his career norm (.303/.372/.461). Hip surgery for a professional athlete is often a career-ender, just ask Tim Lincecum, so you have to be impressed by Buster's effort this year even if the results aren't what anyone was hoping for. Brandon Crawford, another oldster, had three knocks as well and reached a career milestone with one thousand. Pretty cool. FNGs Mike Yastrzemski and Alex Dickerson chipped in two hits apiece, and one of Dick's was a homer. Brandon Belt hit leadoff and had a walk in front of Posey's double (the almost homer). I like the move, he should hit there or the second spot. I fear his knee health is not good and he is barely hanging on, although he looked sharp in the field last night. At least they have a platoon option with Tyler Austin. Belt is the only regular who has been above league average at the plate this season, so his batting average drop (now at .221) is alarming. Like I said, I suspect the knee is the culprit.

Shaun Anderson turned in another gritty effort, this time 5-2/3 with two runs allowed. He gave up hits but no big flies and thus kept the team in the game. I like this guy, he is young and unpolished but shows a lot of confidence and determination. Let's hope he keeps developing his game.

Drew Pomeranz takes on the ageless Zack Greinke this evening at 7:05 Pacific. Go Giants!

--M.C.

Buster Bopped

Buster Posey took a foul tip off his mask on Sunday and was placed on the concussion list. He's out at least a week. We all know how uncertain these things are, one can only hope for the best. Buster has taken a beating back there, like all catchers. His importance to the team makes it different for Giants fans, I think. Lots of catchers get hurt, but few have the celebrity status of Posey, who advertises for the world's number one carmaker, fer chrissakes. I took this from a Baggs tweet:

Buster Posey: “I value who I am and who I will be as a husband and father first and foremost. At the same time, I enjoy my job and plan on doing my job.”

That sounds like Buster who has a real knack for saying the right thing. I wouldn't be surprised if he was a Senator some day. What I'd like to see is Posey managing. Seems like he's perfect for the job, especially in this media-saturated landscape. Aaron Boone had no experience managing but the Yankees chose him over more traditional picks and his time on TV was a selling point. Buster is really good in front of a microphone. His calm demeanor and natural reticence, along with his good looks--and that tinge of a Southern accent--make him a camera magnet. Hensley Muelens can manage the Giants until Posey retires and takes over. Wouldn't that be fun?

Drew Pomeranz also goes on the IL and Tyler Beede takes his spot. Aramis Garcia will handle the catching duties with Stephen Vogt.

--M.C.



p.s. The Giants got beat 12-11 in a cold, snowy Denver today. Derek Holland had a disaster start, giving up three runs in the 1st and four in the 2nd. Tyler Austin had two three-run homers, both big blasts, to lead the comeback effort (it was 8-8 after his second in the top of the 6th) but they ultimately fell short. The bullpen wasn't up to the task as Tyler Beede, Mark Melancon, and Sam Dyson gave up six hits, five walks, and five runs.

B-Craw Bomb Beats Reds

SF 6  CIN 5
Brandon Crawford hit his first homer of the year in the 9th inning to lead the Giants to a come-from behind win in Cincinnati. Buster Posey had a big game as well with a double and a three-run homer. Starter Jeff Samardzija gave up three homers in a row in the 1st inning but then put together four scoreless and turned it over the the 'pen. The A-Team of Trevor Gott, Reyes Moronta, Tony Watson, and Will Smith shut the door and the Giants had their fourth win in their last six games.

They've one more in Cincy tomorrow morning (9:35 PDT) with Drew Pomeranz getting the call. It's on to Denver Tuesday with Madison Bumgarner.

--M.C.


p.s. Giants claimed RH starting pitcher Andrew Moore off waivers, he was with the Rays (and came up though the Mariners system). Breyvic Valera was DFAd to make a spot on the 40-man. Breyvic was a favorite for the All-Name Team, I'll be sorry to see him go.

Buster!

SF 5  CHC 4 (13)
Buster Posey got to play the hero this afternoon, roping a double off the right-field wall to drive in Brandon Belt with the winning run. Belt was walked with two outs and Andrew McCutchen singled him to second before Posey's walk-off blast. Dereck Rodriguez pitched the 11th, 12th, and 13th innings and faced only 11 batters, allowing no hits and just two walks while striking out three. Johnny Cueto struck out seven in his five innings of work and was staked to a 4-0 lead in the 1st frame (Chase D'Arnaud led off with a homer) but gave up a run in the 3rd and two runs in the 5th. He was pulled after five with six hits and three walks (86 pitches) on the tally. The bullpen was epic again, the only blemish a Javier Baez homer off of Tony Watson to tie the game in the 7th. But Watson can be forgiven, he has been nearly untouchable this year, and in fact it was only his second homer allowed.

The team kept it together, much credit having to go to young D-Rod for some clutch relief work. The winning rally in the 13th was by the big studs in the lineup and came with two outs as I mentioned. That's a hell of a win against a very good club! Giants take the series from Chicago and have three coming up with Oakland after a day off tomorrow.

--M.C.

Coors Win

SF 7 COL 4
The Giants grind out a getaway win in Colorado with some timely hits and a stalwart bullpen. Derek Holland wasn't great, but following M.C.'s Dictum, he was at least better than the other guy. Once the Giants relievers got a hold of things they put up four zeroes and sealed the deal. Holland got things going in the 1st by giving up a three-run homer to (who else?) Nolan Arenado. The Giants answered with two in the 2nd on hits by Brandon Crawford, Mac Williamson, and Pablo Sandoval with a Jon Gray wild pitch in between. The Rockies pushed it back to 4-2 right away but the Giants answered with two in both the 4th and the 5th with an Evan Longoria triple being the big blow. Buster Posey added an RBI single in the 8th to make it 7-4 and that's how it ended. Reyes Moronta, Tony Watson, Sam Dyson, and Hunter Strickland did the relief work.

The Giants were 2-6 on the trip. They are off tomorrow and then home for six games. Jeff Samardzija goes on the DL and Tyler Beede gets called up. Chris Stratton starts on Friday against the Phillies and Andy Suarez gets Saturday. No word yet on Sunday's starter. There's a chance Madison Bumgarner could start against Arizona on Tuesday.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

6th inning: 7-11

1st inning: 6-12
2nd inning: 6-12
3rd inning: 10-8
4th inning: 4-14
5th inning: 8-10
6th inning: 7-11

Even more depressing are the monthly win totals: 9 in April, 13 in May, 9 in June, and 9 in July. I was hoping the team would improve enough to avoid 100 losses, but that requires winning 22 more games or 11 in each of the next two months. Can they pull that off? They can't hit: 30th of 30 teams in OPS. They can't pitch: 25th of 30 in both OPS against and runs allowed. Oh, and Johnny Cueto is injured and we aren't talking blisters. The dreaded "flexor strain" has revealed itself. I'm thinking he may be on the shelf for the rest of the season. Tell me I'm wrong.

But enough of that. I'm looking for bright spots. Jeff Samardzija was not pretty tonight, in fact he's usually not, he's got that gnarly jock approach to pitching which works pretty well overall, and he got the job done. The lads clobbered the ball, getting runs early and often and chipping in some big blasts as well. 10-4 final in Oakland. I kind of like that sweaty, fastball-heaving thing that The Shark does. Not everyone can be as cool and clever as Johnny Cueto or as talented and intense as Madison Bumgarner. You figure there have to be a few journeymen-grinder types; in fact you have to figure that most ballplayers are like that. The exceptional ones are just that--exceptional.

Sure is nice to see Brandon Belt hitting better. And Buster Posey continues to swing the bat well. His fielding is freakishly good, it's too bad it's wasted on this wretched club. Kelby Tomlinson got an extra-base hit, his third of the season. Let's shoot for 22 more wins, whaddya say? Twenty-two measly goddamn wins in two goddamn fookin' months of baseball. Is that too much to ask?

--M.C.

Make that Six

SF 5  PIT 3
The Giants complete another sweep, this one on the road, and notch their sixth straight win. A two-run homer in the 8th by Brandon Belt was the difference, but a three-run 7th was the key to the comeback victory. Hunter Pence, not known for his patience, walked to start the rally and Buster Posey followed with a double. Belt's single plated a run, as did Brandon Crawford's, and pinch-hitter Kelby Tomlinson's sacrifice fly finished it. The Giants are suddenly looking like a real team. Jeff Samardzija gave up a two-run homer in his six innings but he also struck out five and walked, you guessed it, none. Another strong outing by the big righty; the team is now 7-10 in his starts. The only blip for the relief crew was Steven Okert giving up a solo homer to make a 5-2 game 5-3, but Cory Gearrin had already delivered a stalwart 1-2/3 and Sam Dyson's 1-2-3 9th (comebacker-comebacker-whiff) was outstanding.

I'm happy the team finally looks good. We knew they could play like this but it's been a rare sighting since last season's ASB. They get these spurts of superior baseball but can't sustain it. Maybe that will change. Did you see that Christian Arroyo got hit by a pitch and broke his hand? Bummer. Looks like next year for The Kid.

--M.C.

Matt Cained

2-0 loss in SF
Matt Cain found himself in familiar circumstances tonight: pitching well but the team failing to deliver runs. It felt like the good old days in '07 and '08 when he put up a 15-30 W-L record. The team was a robust 149-175 over those two seasons; that .460 win percentage looks pretty good right now. It was a 0-0 tie until the top of the 7th when the Giants intentional-walk-of-the-no.8-hitter gambit bit them in the ass. The Braves pitcher, veteran southpaw Jaime Garcia, got a two-out hit and two runs scored on the play and that was the ballgame. Garcia had thrown six scoreless by that point and he got two more outs in the bottom of the 7th before handing it over to the 'pen who kept the string of zeros going. The Giants got four hits, all singles, all against Garcia.

Buster Posey played first base. Imagine how rested and protected Posey would be if he could DH. He'd be a great DH. I say we lobby the NL to adopt the DH. I'm not willing to go there, usually, but we're talking about Buster here. I'm willing to go there for Buster. The question is: are you?

--M.C.

Happy Home Opener (mostly)

4-1 win in SF
Matt Moore dazzled the Opening Day crowd with a sterling 93-pitch effort (3 hits in 8 IP with no walks and 5 whiffs) to subdue the sizzling Arizona Diamondbacks. Their young flamethrower Taijuan Walker had horrified the home audience straight away with a wild fastball that beaned Buster Posey during his first plate appearance. He was taken out of the game.** The Giants didn't retaliate, just relied on Moore to keep the buzz saw running. They then scored three runs on a goofy play in the 4th. Walker, with the bases loaded and one out, Moore batting, tried to field a swinging bunt and his throw home to get the force got past the catcher. Two runs scored, and a bad throw by the catcher allowed a third, Moore wound up at second. The Giants put a lot of guys on but couldn't get a big hit, 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. But they cashed in on the fielding lapses, and that's good baseball, particularly when your guys make big stops and turn hits into outs.

But Moore was the man today, and that's the formula for the orange-and-black, get a big start. Yasmany Tomas hit a homer leading off the 5th but that's all Arizona could muster, the lefty was particularly strong at the end, throwing seven pitches in the 7th and eleven in the 8th. Happy to see Jarrett Parker get something going, a walk and a hit, he scored the third run on that nutty sequence, that was good baserunning by the Giants overall. I was also happy they scored another run late and even happier that FNG Mark Melancon got the last three outs. Wins are good. Wins are always good. Let's have some more. Jeff Samardzija tomorrow night.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.


**At the time of this posting all the info on Buster's injury has been that he's OK and no roster move likely.

Giants Reach Nadir, Move Past It

Or at least, I hope so.  Filling in for MOC, he should be back tomorrow.  The Giants turned in their 11th loss in 13 games since the ASB Friday, Smardjy giving up 4 runs, which was plenty.  Joe Panik came back from injury, but was unable to contribute offensively.  As was true for pretty much everyone else.  1 -1 until the 5th, when the Nats pushed 1 across, 2 - 1.  Righetti visited the mound to tell Smardjy not to throw Daniel Murphy a strike, so he set it on a tee for him.  Tripled and he could pull into 3rd as he was slowing down.  Giants were 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position and they hit into that rarest of plays, a triple play.  Rarer than that, a 3 - 5 (or 3 - 3 - 5) triple play, apparently the first one ever recorded in major league baseball.  I find that somewhat hard to believe, but it just seemed to capture the way the Giants have been going.  Bases loaded in the 7th.  Crawford did not hit a ground ball to 2nd for a DP, nothing like that.  No, a freaky triple play, and it was over in one swing of the bat.  Also, apparently, the first one the Nats had ever recorded.  Runners on again in the 9th, but, again, no cigar.


Snakebit or just plain sucky?  You decide.  But today, the Giants came back with a 5 - 3 victory.  Jake Peavy started, only went 4 and gave up all 3 Nats runs.  He was followed by fng Matt Reynolds, Strickland, Law, Lopez, Romo and Casilla.  And Hunter Pence came back!  He had a double and walked.  FNG Eduardo Nunez came through with 2 hits, including a 2-rbi double!  Buster Posey had 2 hits and a walk, and threw out 2 runners, including Bryce Harper by a finger.  Giants only 2 for 12 with RISP (I think), but still, 5 runs!  The Giants have scored 5 runs in a game 3 times since the ASB, but 2 of those efforts were losses.

So, maybe, just maybe, this stretch of bad, bad baseball is behind us.  Or at least, that is my most fervent hope.  At least for a day, you could believe it. 

Cold Brewed

Giants win a squeaker, 3 - 2.

Madison Bumgarner on the hill.  Maddy had not given up as many as 2 runs in his last 6 starts.  The Brewers are a team of sluggers, though, and managed to chalk up 2 runs on only 4 hits.

Quite the contrast to the Giants, who managed to run up only 3 runs on 12 hits, and left 12 men in scoring position for the game.  They also drew 4 walks.  On a percentage efficiency basis, you might say the Brewers prevailed, but fortunately for the Giants, you win based on run totals.  So it was a 3 - 2 victory.  Much of the game did not seem nearly that close.  The Giants kept banging out hits, and you kind of knew that they would start piling up runs like they did last night, except that really didn't happen much.

Buster Posey was on base 4 times, all singles.  His bat is heating up.  He scored once, as did Joe Panik and Angel Pagan.  Angel also had a hit and an rbi to mark his return from rehabbing an injured hamstring.  Gregor Blanco got himself on the hits board with 2 (and he needed them) and might have had a chance at another had he not been prematurely rung up on a ball that he foul tipped.  You could hear the tip on tv, but apparently the umpire couldn't, and you can't appeal that call.

Madbum picked up his 8th victory in 113 pitches in 8 innings.  Maddy gave up the 2 runs, 4 hits, one of which was a home run to Jonathan Lukroy.  He struck out 8 and walked 1, and got 1 hit, a single.  Santiago Casilla picked up a save.  He blew through the first 2 batters, until Ryan Braun gave him a battle that ended in a strikeout on the 11th pitch. 

The Giants pick up their 4th win in a row and their 5th out of their last 6.  Pretty good for a team that has seemingly been struggling and dealing with bad news.  Here is some more.  Belt left the game, but is probably OK.  A lot of discussion lately about the bullpen, so I thought I would look up some stats.  Going back to a little before the beginning of June, at the start of the Atlanta series, the bullpen has thrown 41 innings and given up 15 runs.  That is a 3.29 era.  Not lights out, but not too bad.  In that time period, the Giants have won 8 and lost 6.  3 of those losses were due to the team falling behind while the starter was on the mound, 3 were the fault of the pen.  2 were Casilla and 1 was a combo of Law and Casilla.  Casilla looked good tonight, though.

Johnny C on the mound tomorrow afternoon, then a day off before taking on the Tampa Bay Rays.

Buster!

5-4 win in 10 at home
Buster Posey played hero this afternoon and belted a single on an 0-1 pitch from Kenley Jansen with one out in the 10th to score Joe Panik and give the Giants a dramatic walk-off win. It was looking bleak for the home squad who endured another shaky Shark start, but this one at least was close, tied 2-2 after five. It took EIGHT more pitchers, including five in the fateful 7th to give up the tying run after the Giants had edged ahead 3-2. Rookie Chris Stratton, last man, gave up what seemed at the time the homer of doom to give LA a 4-3 lead in the 10th. But in the bottom half the Giants strung four hits together (Span, Panik, Belt, Posey) off the Dodgers über-closer to score two and get a much-needed win.

Did I say how much the team needed this win? The Giants go to 4-5 for June meaning the needle hasn't dipped to Swoon yet, still hovering between Swoonish and Swoon-like. Plenty of time to turn it around. Man, that's three incredible games in a row! Did you see this comeback coming? I sure didn't. What a great, cathartic win for the club and equally for the fans. I think we needed this one, eh lads?

Let's see if they can make it two out of three tomorrow. It's at 5:30 Pacific and we'll get to see their teen phenom, Julio Urias. Jake Peavy goes for the good guys.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Pence Out, Madbum On

Hunter Pence was placed on the Disabled List before today's game, but Madison Bumgarner feels like he "found the delivery he has been missing for a year and a half" accrding to Charles Odum at AP.  Maddy's line:  7 2/3 innings, 11 K, 4 hits, 2 walks, and 0 runs.  And... a 2-run shot to help in the 6 - 0 Giants victory.

Hunter Strickland and Chris Stratton fimished the game and Joe Panik and Buster Posey each hit 2-run home runs.  Witout Hunter, we need Buster, and now is a great time for him to get hot.  The Cardinals have been feeling their oats lately.

Giants Power Past Dodgers

9-6 win in SF
Johnny Cueto had a nightmare 1st inning in his San Francisco debut. It started when he hit Chase Utley, the first batter, and ended with him giving up five runs on five hits and a walk. He even looked bad in the field, failing to cover first base on a bunt. We weren't happy campers, but we knew that the best time to be behind 5-0 was the 1st inning, so we had not gone over to despair. Sure enough the boys answered with two runs in the bottom half. Dodgers starter Scott Kazmir gave up a two-out hit to Buster Posey, walked Hunter Pence, then gave up singles to Brandon Belt and Matt Duffy. We had the feeling that if Cueto could settle down the lads would get more chances to do some damage.

Sure enough JohnnyC hit the reset button and threw six excellent innings,five scoreless, giving up one run in the 4th and notching eight strikeouts. The lineup, meanwhile, stepped up with three to tie it in the 3rd on two spectacular home runs, one by Buster Posey and one by Brandon Belt. We had a great view of both, Buster's was a high, soaring blast to left that stayed up forever, Brandon's was a screaming liner to center that got out in a hurry. Even the run the Dodgers got in the 4th was answered right away by Angel Pagan's solo shot. Whatever LA could conjure up the Giants seemed to have an answer. In the 6th the Giants knocked out three more runs off reliever Louis Coleman, the big blow a double to deep center from Joe Panik.

The bullpen was up to the task and go the last six outs, one by Sergio Romo, two by Josh Osich, and a neat 1-2-3 9th from Santiago Casilla. All in all it was a fine day at the yard. The Giants take three of four and come within a whisker of a sweep. We had an excellent group of old friends in section 148 today and the mood at the Park was festive. The youngster next to me got a ball tossed to him by Hunter Pence, that was a nice moment (excellent work by JC to make it happen!). The weather was overcast and pleasantly cool, very comfortable for sitting and watching the action. We got to jump up and down a lot and celebrate. The Giants had 12 hits including three doubles and three homers! JohnnyC looked bad and then he looked great and finished strong.

Here's a few shots of the group:

 

That's JC on the selfie-cam with Jim behind him, then Susanna and Ron to the right and Zo in front of them.  

That's me on the left and Steve behind me, JC on the cam and Jim on the right.

The Giants have hit 14 homers in 7 games. I don't think we can count on that sort of pace, but I do think this team will be able to thump it. They can also do the small-ball thing and the keep-the-line-moving contact hitting thing and the gappers-and-speedy runners thing. It's a versatile lineup. If they get consistent pitching they will be very tough. Cueto showed, for the last six, what it can look like. It's too early in the year to get too high or low, but damn if the team didn't show us something this weekend!

More tomorrow,

M.C.

Flat Giants Fall in Finale

4-3 loss in Milwaukee
The Giants gave away too many baserunners today--7 walks and 9 hits--and could not respond with enough offense of their own to catch the Brewers. A ragged Jeff Samardzija showed flashes of clutch pitching, limiting the damage with a strikeout or double-play grounder when he needed one, but too many balls in play went for hits. Add in three walks and Milwaukee's lineup just had too many chances. If he had gotten another double-play grounder in the 6th he would have pulled off a 'quality start,' as it was he left after 5-1/3 with the game tied 3-3. Of all people Javier Lopez walked the first guy he faced to lead off the 7th and that run came around and was the game-winner.

Buster Posey was thrown out at the plate in the 1st on a nice effort from third baseman Aaron Hill who nabbed a popup in shallow left with his back to the plate and spun around and made an excellent throw to get the out. I have a rule: Buster Posey should NOT EVER be thrown out at the plate. (1) He's too slow. Don't chance it. (2) He's too valuable. Don't chance it. Alas, that was a critical not-run. Gregor Blanco scores easily on that play, but he's Gregor Blanco. I'm not one of these ballplayers-are-china-dolls types, I like to see athletes athleticize. But no way Posey should run on close tag plays. Let the next guy hit him in. The Giants had a chance in the 8th and two hard smashes to center by Hunter Pence and Brandon Belt went for outs. A little luck, there's the tying run.

Samardzija looked like he could not throw his forkball/splitter thingie. That's what he'll need to get more swing-throughs and weak contact. His fastball has some life, the gun said he hit 94 mph, and his slider looked good but he did not have enough command of it. A sweep would have been nice but the Giants did what they needed to do which was take two of three. The Brewers may have a lousy team, but they are still major-leaguers and even the worst teams win 40% of the time!

Next up is Los Angeles in the Home Opener tomorrow afternoon. Jake Peavy gets the nod against Alex Wood. I think everyone is excited about the impending Madison Bumgarner-Clayton Kershaw matchup on Saturday.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Escape from Colorado

The Giants split the 4 game series today - no torrential rain-outs this time, to finish their visits to Colorado for this year.  The place always seems to present some kind of problem.  The Giants won the final, though, by a score of 7 - 4 to put the series with the Roxies at 7 wins and 9 losses.  That's right, we are in danger of losing the season's series against Colorado with 3 games remaining at the very end of the season.  But a win is a win and the Giants showed some offense and picked up number 17 for Madison Bumgarner.

Everyone, except for Juan Perez, got a hit.  Gregor Blanco got a hit and scored a run, Kelby Tomlinson got 2 hits including a double and scored once.  Matt Duffy hit a bases-loaded triple which scored 2 (Brandon Belt was out at the plate), Buster Posey homered and doubled and scored thrice, Marlon Byrd had 4 hits including a double and had an rbi, Brandon Belt had 2 hits and an rbi and Brandon Crawford hit a double for 2 rbi.  The 5th inning was particularly eventful as the Giants batted around and scored 5.  Madison Bumgarner, not to be forgotten, also hit a double.  The home run was Buster's 100th.

Maddy was on the mound, he threw 100 pitches, allowed 4 runs on 9 hits in 6 innings, walked a guy and struck out 3.  He was good, even if not his best and seemed to have an occasional disagreement about the strike zone.  Hunter Strickland threw a very efficient 7th, Lopez and Romo combined for the 8th and Santiago Casilla looked good to finish off the 9th.   All of the pitchers kept Arenado and Gonzalez in the park, which is kind of an achievement.  Arenado did not get a hit, although Gonzalez doubled.  The Rockies had Yohan Flande on the mound, he has pitched in relief and started for Colorado and he was pulled during the Giants romping 5th.  Colorado then proceeded through 7 relief pitchers, some of whom you may have heard of.

A win was imperative.  The Giants got one and now head to Arizona where a decent offense is also a must.  Their backs are still against the wall, which will be true for the rest of the month, if they are lucky.  Joe Panik is due back tomorrow.  They get a day off Thursday.

On to July

Ryan Vogelsong wasn't sharp and the Giants got Latos-ed in Miami. They had a chance to un-swoon their June with a win: they finish the month 12-14. This team likes to tease us by inching ever closer to first place and then falling back. The Dodgers win instead and they hike their lead to 1-1/2 games. I say it all the time, but I'll say it again, if you had told me in March that the Giants would be within a few games of LA on the first of July I'd have been happy.

Buster Posey who homered in the 3rd, had a great sequence in the 6th when he hit a ball in the gap and went for two, much to the surprise of the outfielders. It took a spectacular head-first hook slide from our lumbering catcher to avoid the diving tag from second baseman Dee Gordon. Posey went to third on an out and then with beautiful anticipation dashed home on a wild pitch, just sliding under Latos' tag. He looked positively nimble there! It made a 4-2 game 4-3, giving hope, but that was all she wrote for SF. Just a reminder what a great ballplayer Buster is, as if we needed reminding. I was surprised Gordon's inside-the-park homer was his first. That guy should get one of those every month.

MATT CAIN PITCHES THURSDAY!!

Go Giants!

--M.C.