It's Over

LA 9  SF 0
Dereck Rodriguez, bless his heart, had to play the sacrificial lamb this afternoon as the Dodgers took control of the ballgame in the 1st inning. He got burned on a few weakly-hit balls, but the boys in blue are absurdly good (106 wins) and the Giants have had no answers at any time this weekend. D-Rod was hit hard this year and mostly unable to replicate his rookie-year successes. Let's hope he can up his game before next spring and compete for a roster spot. The team needs all the young arms it can gather together. In fact, the team needs to improve everywhere. But that's another post.

Bruce Bochy talked about managing Team France in the next World Baseball Classic (2021). That sounds like a perfect fit. He is the only MLB manager born in France. Competitive guys like Boch probably never really retire, they just find less-stressful ways to keep the juices flowing. I thought it was interesting how many people, in their tributes to Boch, remarked on the same personal qualities like his patience, his tolerance, his loyalty, his genuine concern for their well-being, that sort of thing. He cultivated relationships and maintained them with grace and good humor. Boch comes across as a genuine good guy and living proof that Leo Durocher was full of shit.

Giants made history this season. They used 64 players, the most ever by an NL club. They went 35-46 at home (.432), and I think that may be their worst-ever or tied for their worst-ever home record, including the New York days. I saw that factoid on Twitter, but I am unwilling to do the research to verify it. I understand Timmy was in the house today. He's like Area 51, you are never really sure what's true and what isn't. He's alive and was photographed, that I know. Madison Bumgarner pinch-hit against Clayton Kershaw in the 5th (who was a good sport and kept pumping in fastballs) and lined out to third. Kershaw tipped his hat to Boch, and Bum tipped his helmet to the crowd. I hope that is not the last time we see no. 40 in orange-and-black, but I'm expecting a lot of changes and you just never know how things will shake out. I think I will avoid predicting what will happen as I'm usually wrong.

We'll have a lot to talk about over the ensuing months, but for now I think we all need a break!

--M.C.

River Cats are AAA Champions!

SAC 4  COL 0
The Sacramento River Cats, the Giants Pacific Coast League affiliate, won the AAA national title tonight with a win over the Columbus (Ohio) Clippers. The Clippers are the International League affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. So, a bit of good news for the Giants organization. It's a remarkable accomplishment when you consider the roster turnover. The B-R page lists 65 players for the River Cats this year.

Current Sacramento manager Dave Brundage led the Richmond Braves to the AAA championship game in 2007, and that team lost to the River Cats! Brundage is from Oregon and played for the OSU Beavers before turning pro. He never made the bigs but did play in nearly 800 minor league games over ten seasons. At age 54 he has 22 years of managerial experience, 14 at AAA.

The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes of the Northwest League (A-), the Augusta Green Jackets of the South Atlantic League (A), the San Jose Giants of the California League (A+), and even the Orange Giants of the Arizona League (rookie ball) made the playoffs this season. Not bad!

In other news, the major league club played a game in Boston at Fenway Park. Mike Yastrzemski hit a homer with grandpa Carl in attendance, which was pretty cool. The game lasted 15 innings. The Giants looked good early, then they looked bad and let the Red Sox back in the game in the 6th, but hung on to scratch out a run and take a 6-5 lead in the 13th which was around midnight Eastern Time. The ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth Giants pitchers, Sam Selman, Burch Smith, Wandy Peralta, and Kyle Barraclough could not get the job done and the Sox tied it up and sent it to the 14th inning. But Dereck Rodriguez, the lucky thirteenth pitcher, got the next six outs, and the Giants finally finished it off 7-6. D-Rod gets the win, but shouldn't he get the save as well? If you are going to pass out credit, I think you should go all the way!

Next year we won't likely see thirteen-pitcher games (Boston used eleven guys) as the September rosters will only be increased to 28 players instead of 40.

Jeff Samardzija tomorrow. GO GIANTS!

--M.C.


p.s. Number 1999 for Boch. First SF Giants win--ever--in Fenway.

Dubon Debut

SD 5  SF 3
Middle infielder Mauricio Dubon made his Giants debut last night and collected his first fielding chance and first hit. (He was 0-for-2 for Milwaukee earlier this season.) He also flashed some leather taking a hit away and turning a double play pivot.  Dubon will likely get most of his work at second base but he is primarily a shortstop, having logged 4000 innings there in his minors career.

Otherwise there wasn't much to get excited about last night. Dereck Rodriguez continues to struggle and the offense continues to avoid the big, run-scoring hit.

Bumgarner tonight, 7:15 Pacific.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

D-Rod Dazzles D-Backs

SF 7  AZ 0
The Giants have seen a lot of ups and downs from their young pitchers. Literally. Dereck Rodriguez has bounced back-and-forth from AAA this season, trying to find the success he had last season. He opened the season as a starter but was demoted to the bullpen. Tonight he delivered a sensational performance, stifling the Arizona lineup for seven innings, allowing only three hits, one walk, and zero runs. After rookie Tyler Beede had another meltdown yesterday it was nice to see a big effort by a young starter. The team really needs some consistency from the starters not named Madison Bumgarner (and lately Jeff Samardzija) in order to compete the rest of the way.

The lineup supported the young righty with thirteen hits and seven runs. Evan Longoria was the big stud with three hits and four batted in. Donovan Solano hit leadoff and had two hits and scored two, and Austin Slater, batting second, had three hits, two walks, and two runs scored. Kevin Pillar made another great diving catch. Two hits and an RBI from Buster, and a double and an RBI from Belt, it was a real team effort. Sam Coonrod and FNG Fernando Abad finished up.

The Shark takes on Mike Leake tomorrow at 6:40 p.m. PDT. GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Giants slip past Rockies

SF 2  COL 1
Dereck Rodriguez survived some shaky defense and gave the team five strong innings, leading the way to another win at Coors. Brandon Crawford's ridiculous day continued with another homer, this one a solo shot following a solo shot by Stephen Vogt in the 4th. Those two runs were enough. Reyes Moronta, Tony Watson, Sam Dyson (struck out the side!), and Will Smith made those runs stand up. The Giants play two in Denver and allow a total of three runs. That's crazy!

They are now 9-2 in July and have improved to 45-49 on the season.

Drew Pomeranz goes tomorrow at 5:40 Pacific.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Buster Busts Out!

After a disappointing rain-shortened 3-1 loss on Saturday the Giants bounced back this afternoon to edge the Pirates 3-2 and snap their four-game skid. Dereck Rodriguez allowed four hits in his 5-2/3 but one of them was a two-run homer from Josh Bell that put the Bucs up 2-0 in the 4th inning. Buster Posey responded in the very next frame with a three-run blast to straightaway center field off Chris Archer to give the Giants the lead. Reyes Moronta and Tony Watson held on through the 8th and turned it over to Will Smith in the 9th. He walked catcher Francisco Cervelli with one out and then induced a perfect double-play grounder from Jung Ho Kang to Brandon Crawford who, shockingly, bobbled it and only got the lead runner. Former Giants farmhand Brian Reynolds (part of the McCutchen deal) roped a double into the right field corner that looked like it would tie the game. But Steven Duggar and Joe Panik teamed up to get the ball to Buster who made the final putout on Kang trying to score from first and the Giants left town with a win. It was a little close for comfort but I think we'll take it. The Giants were 31-50 (.383) on the road last season, this year they are 4-9 (.308). Let's hope they pick up the pace.

Jeff Samardzija goes Tuesday in Toronto at 4:07 PDT.

--M.C.


p.s. D-Rod led off the 5th with a single and Duggar's bunt single put the two runners on that Buster brought home with his homer. Posey also doubled in the 3rd inning.

Giants can't get it done

SD 3  SF 1
The Giants waste a strong start from Dereck Rodriguez who faced 27 batters in his seven innings of work. He allowed only four hits and one walk and struck out five (101 pitches). One of the hits was a solo homer by Manny Machado. The offense managed seven hits (by seven guys) but scored just one run on a solo shot by Kevin Pillar. Reyes Moronta pitched a scoreless 8th and Will Smith gave up a run in the 9th.

The Rockies come to town for four games starting tomorrow. Both teams have scored a paltry 38 runs, but the Giants have given up 47 compared to the Rockies 69. That minus-31 difference is the worst in MLB. They have lost five in a row and are one-half game behind the Giants for last place. Jon Gray is listed for Colorado but the home team starter is still TBD on the website. It's Jeff Samardzija's turn as he last pitched on Saturday.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Rays Spoil Opener

TB 5  SF 2
Dereck Rodriguez got the first two outs in the 1st inning and then had a nightmare sequence: double, double, homer, homer. Suddenly it was 4-0 Rays and the home team never quite recovered. They did conjure up a couple of runs and had the bases loaded with no outs late in the game but responded with a strike out and double play to erase that chance. And so it goes.

Jeff Samardzija takes on Ryne Stanek at 1:05 Pacific tomorrow.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

8th inning: 6-12

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

That brings the team to 68-76 (.472), fourth place in the NL West, 11 games off the pace. The Giants are winless (0-8) in the month of September. They had already taken themselves out of the race and now they've fallen off a cliff. Starting tonight there is one seasonal inning--18 games--remaining in 2018: six three game sets; four at home (39-30, .565) and two on the road (29-46, .387). The Braves are in San Francisco this week and the Rockies visit this weekend. The Giants then go to San Diego and St. Louis, and finish the season at home with the Padres and Dodgers. There are three Thursdays left in September, all are off-days. The one tiny flickering hope is that LA will need to win those final three games (Sep 29-30) and the Giants can somehow prevent that. But that's a small consolation in a frustrating and ultimately disappointing season.

The team's 557 runs scored (3.87 rpg) is the 5th-worst in MLB and their 613 runs allowed (4.26 rpg) puts them right in the middle of the pack. One of the few bright spots of the season, rookie right-hander Dereck Rodriguez (1.8 fWAR in 97 IP), gets the ball tonight at 7:15 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

D-Rod Does It Again

SF 4  PIT 3
The best story of the Giants 2018 season is the excellent work from rookie right-hander Dereck Rodriguez. For the third straight start the 26-year old from Arlington, Texas finished seven frames and allowed three or fewer hits and one or fewer runs. Today it was 7/2/1, and both times before that it was 7/3/0; he logged Game Scores of 72 (today), 78 (August 6th) and 71 (July 31st). Today he gave up just TWO HITS, and has given up a mere 61 hits in 80 innings pitched. Whatever he is doing it is working.

The bottom of the lineup got it done this afternoon, with Nick Hundley's (#8) two hits and two RBI, Steven Duggar's (#7) two hits and a run scored, Joe Panik's (#6) two RBI, and Gorkys' (#5) two runs scored. Reyes Moronta and Tony Watson combined to give up two runs in the 8th in relief of D-Rod, making a 4-1 game a 4-3 game, but Will Smith closed it out on 15 pitches (and two whiffs) in the 9th.

On June 9th Dereck Rodriguez' ERA was 5.25 and after today--ten starts and one relief appearance later--it is 2.25! You have to like that.

It's Bumgarner vs. Kershaw tomorrow night in LA. GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Cained

HOU 3  SF 1
Dereck Rodriguez made the best start of his young career last time out, a seven-inning, three-hit, one run effort against the Padres on July 31st that resulted in an extra-inning win for the Giants. D-Rod got an ND, of course. Tonight the rookie righty topped that performance with a seven-inning, three-hit, zero-run effort against a much better club, the Astros. Brandon Crawford backed him with a solo shot in the 6th and the Giants went to the 9th with a 1-0 lead. Alas, closer Will Smith was not sharp and gave up a two-out, three-run homer to Marwin Gonzalez that tipped it for Houston. It was Smith's first blown save, he's been a rock in the 'pen otherwise. D-Rod, of course, had another ND.

It was a tough loss for the team especially because it was so close to being one of the best wins of this frustrating season. Charlie Morton, having a great year, delivered seven strong and the Astros 'pen did the rest. The Giants never got anything going on offense, BCraw's blast was the only breakthrough. The takeaway from tonight of course is the fine work, once again, by Dereck Rodriguez. I'm sure you all remember the many heartbreaking losses and no-decisions accumulated by Matt Cain in his early seasons. D-Rod has enjoyed a little more success (he's 5-1, after all), but his two best starts have resulted in two "atta-boys" and that seems particularly Cain-esque. The Giants are back to .500 and seem determined to stay there, but at least we can get excited about a new young arm no matter what else happens.

--M.C.

Giants Edge Padres in Extras

SF 3  SD 2 (10)
The Padres touched rookie Dereck Rodriguez for a run in the 1st on a two-out double by veteran Eric Hosmer. It would be all they'd get off the Giants starter who threw perhaps his best game of the season, and boy would the team need it. In a thoroughly Giants-y inning they tied it up in the 4th with a six-batter, three-hit attack: out, single, single, infield single, sacrifice fly, out. The extra-base hit with men on base has so eluded the team in 2018, and the theme would continue. In the 5th Andrew McCutchen, subject of much media interest, led off with a homer to make it 2-1. Note the extra-base hit but with no one on base. Of course the Giants had a chance to break it open and in an even more Giants-y sequence in the 8th and doom was foretold, it seemed, by the outcome. Single, single, walk--bases loaded and no one out. But a chance was blown as ball four went to the backstop and the runner at third (Evan Longoria) inexplicably failed to score. That was followed by a strike out, a grounder with the force out at home, and a fly out. The Padres tied the game up in the bottom half off Reyes Moronta, who has been awesome but, like the entire 'pen, over-used. Fortunately the Giants kept it together and gave themselves a chance with another spectacular Giants-y rally. Longoria led off the 10th with a triple which was quickly followed by a Nick Hundley strike out and an Austin Slater fly out. Brandon Crawford finally gave the club a run-scoring hit with a single and it was 3-2 Giants. They loaded the bases after that but got no more. Will Smith, for the third straight game, closed it superbly.

It was a grind-it-out win, the only kind the Giants can do with any consistency. There's not enough punch to thump opponents. They have to rely on the pitching and today was D-Rod's day. The final line was 112 pitches to 26 batters over seven innings, three hits, three walks, seven strikeouts, and just the one run. Tony Watson buzzed through a scoreless 9th after Moronta's uncharacteristically labored 8th, and Smith finished. But I have to come back to the rookie's performance, not just today but overall. That was his 10th start--ever in the bigs--and he's had one stinker and one meh and the rest have been at least six innings and two or fewer runs allowed. Check out this guy's game log--he's done a fair impersonation of Johnny Cueto!

Madison Bumgarner is next: Thursday at 6:40 in Arizona. GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

D-Rod Does the Job

SF 5 OAK 1
Rookie Dereck Rodriguez delivered another strong start for the Giants (6-1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 5 K) and stifled the potent A's lineup in Oakland tonight. He got some help from his fielders (notably a few nice grabs from Andrew McCutchen in right field) but mostly kept the Athletics power bats in check. They opened the scoring in the 2nd on a double by Khris Davis and two deep fly balls to make it 1-0 but that was it. The Giants tied it in the 4th with a Cutch double and a nifty two-out wrist-flick single from Buster Posey. Sophomore sub Ryder Jones--on the roster due to Brandon Belt's paternity leave--smacked a deep fly off the foul pole leading off the 5th to give the Giants the lead. Well-traveled veteran Edwin Jackson gave up another solo homer, this one to Pablo Sandoval with one out in the 7th, and was done for the night. The Giants nicked familiar face Yusmeiro Petit for two in the 8th and that finished the scoring. Reyes Moronta, my pick for closer next year, finished the 7th on five pitches. Mark Melancon looked shaky in the 8th but still logged a zero and Tony Watson had an effortless 9th to close it out.

Madison Bumgarner gets the ball tomorrow at 6:05 Pacific. Go Giants!

--M.C.


p.s. Today is the 49th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Neil is still my hero.

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.

Another Win in the Desert

SF 7 AZ 0
The Giants thumped the Diamondbacks with a three-homer barrage that backed up a fine start from rookie Derek Rodriguez. Ty Blach and Cory Gearrin finished up and secured the team's tenth shutout which is tied with the Chicago Cubs for the most in all of baseball. Buster Posey and Andrew McCutchen led the way with three hits apiece and Brandon Crawford, Pablo Sandoval, and Joe Panik each added two RBI. Rodriguez faced 25 batters, throwing 102 pitches to get through 6-1/3 IP. Arizona is a tough club--they are in first place--and the youngster kept the lid on them with eight ground balls and five strikeouts. The boys have won 10 of their last 13 and notch an 18-10 record for the month of June. They are tied for second place with LA and 3-1/2 games off the pace. Derek Holland takes the hill tomorrow at 1:10 Pacific with a chance for a sweep.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Pence Comes Through!

SF 3 SD 2 (11)
Hunter Pence, on a desperation 0-2 swing with one out and the bases loaded, poked a grounder past Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer for a walk-off winner, driving in the tying and winning runs. The home squad squeaked out a win against their toughest foe, San Diego. Derek Rodriguez pitched brilliantly, 99 pitches for 21 outs and only four hits and one run (a solo shot in the 1st) along with six whiffs and one walk. It's exciting to see young players emerge--let's hope he can sustain it. The more competition for spots, the better. In the top of the 11th Boch brought in Ty Blach to get a lefty-lefty matchup with two outs and a runner on third. Alas, Cory Spangenberg spoiled the strategy with a line-drive hit. But I can't fault Reyes Moronta (who'd walked speedster Manual Margot to start the inning) or Blach for that late letdown, the lineup really needed to do better in the first ten innings. Somehow they got it done against the very tough Brad Hand. It was probably a bad idea for Andy Green to walk Buster Posey after Andrew McCutchen's one-out double in the bottom of the 11th. Hand hit the next batter, Brandon Crawford, and you have to think the IBB was in his head. Why put the winning run on base for free? Not that it matters as the Giants won and that's what's up!

Off-day tomorrow, three with the Rockies at home (night-night-day) after that.

--M.C.