Sweep!

SF 6  AZ 1

The Giants designated Hunter Pence for assignment today, the halfway point in the 2020 season. It's not a surprise given his performance but it says a lot about the state of the team. There's just no room for him! Pablo Sandoval can swing a lefty bat and still back up at third base in a pinch so he hangs on to his job, at least for now. But Hunter was just too low on the outfield depth chart. We were privileged to root for this unique, accomplished, and lovable ballplayer. I wonder if he'll find his way back to San Francisco after his playing days are done.

But today was about the team on the field. They won again behind a strong start, a patient lineup, and a bend-but-don't-break bullpen. Two big homers, a solo shot by Mike Yastrzemski in the 6th and a three-run blast by Alex Dickerson in the 7th, were the difference-makers. Trevor Cahill went 5-1/3, throwing 88 pitches and striking out eight. Caleb Baragar allowed an inherited runner to score in the 6th to make it 1-1 but that was it--the Giants took the lead in the bottom half and didn't look back.

Halfway through 2020 I did not expect the Giants to be on a roll (six wins in a row!) and sniffing (14-16) a .500 record. My expectations for this season were low. When they were 8-12 after the first twenty games I thought the .400 percentage was a fair measure of their ability. Shortly after that they had a nightmare stretch of blown games and really bottomed out. To their credit they turned it around and in the six straight wins they've scored 42 runs and allowed only 13!

I'm glad I was wrong about this team. I'm not sure what they are capable of but it is certain they are not as bad as they were predicted to be. The pitching staff seems to be stabilizing behind the resurgent starters and I think we'll get a better picture after this next series. The high-flying Dodgers come to town for three (Tues/Wed 6:45, Thu 5:05 p.m. PDT) and it should be a real test. Johnny Cueto pitched Wednesday so I suspect he'll get the ball in the first game. They have a well-earned off-day tomorrow.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Complete Game!

SF 5  AZ 1

Southpaw Tyler Anderson pitched his best game of the season so far, and in fact his best game in years, perhaps his best ever. Tonight's three-hitter was his first career complete game in his 76th career start. He pitched the best game of the season so far for the Giants, that's for sure. The Giants had one complete game last season, a five-inning rain-shortened outing from Derek Holland which they lost 3-1 to the Pirates. The last time they had a real complete game was in 2018 when Chris Stratton threw a two-hitter and beat (believe it or not) Tyler Anderson and the Rockies 2-0.

Anderson took a one-hitter into the 7th with the Giants up 1-0, but a throwing error by Brandon Crawford put Ketel Marte on and he eventually scored the tying run. It was a frustrating moment as Arizona starter Zac Gallen was putting up zeroes of his own. Gallen walked the first three batters he faced but got a double play grounder from Brandon Belt (that scored a run) and then struck out Evan Longoria. You know those blown chances always come back to hurt the team. But Belt got a big hit in the bottom of the 7th in a weird inning that saw the Giants grind out four runs, the highlight a booming double by Joey Bart that was almost a homer.

Gabe Kapler deserves a lot of credit for sticking with Anderson in the 9th. The first batter hit a double (Ketel Marte again) but Kap stayed in the dugout and let his starter go. Anderson finished with 103 pitches so he'd worked efficiently all game long. Kap also started Chadwick Tromp at catcher and he obviously got in a good groove with Anderson and even got a base hit. Bart pinch-hit in that crucial 7th and that paid off, he also wound up scoring, and of course he caught the final six outs. Mauricio Dubon also pinch-hit in that inning and walked and scored, then took over center field from Steven Duggar (who was 1-for-2). So, a couple of smaller moves worked as well, it seems that Kap is getting into a better rhythm with his players and his substitutions.

But it all goes back to Tyler Anderson who really performed superbly tonight and that meant the Giants could be patient and wear down the other side, which they did with another fine team effort. Despite the BCraw error the Giants also got excellent defense with a great catch by Mike Yastrzemski in RF and a fine play from Alex Dickerson in LF. This lineup is showing a lot of patience (8 walks, 148 pitches) and fortitude lately, and I keep thinking "who are these guys?"

They are the San Francisco Giants, that's who, winners of five in a row. Tomorrow at 1:10 p.m. PDT it is Trevor Cahill with a rested bullpen and an off-day on Monday.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Ouch

LA 6  SF 2

Tyler Rogers had one job: keep the ball in the yard. He hadn't allowed a homer in 2020, despite inconsistent work, but streaks like that don't last. I wonder if the Rogers experiment might need re-thinking. It was certainly an intriguing idea, that a submariner could work both sides of the plate, get a lot of ground balls, and do multiple-inning stints. I was all for it, in fact. Unfortunately the results haven't been there for Rogers. Today he gave up a hit, got a strikeout, and then got tagged with the big three-run bomb. Overall for 2020 he's faced 43 batters in 8-1/3 IP (9 appearances), yielding 12 hits and 11 runs with two walks, three hit batters, and six strikeouts.

Gabe Kapler will likely take some heat for pulling Kevin Gausman with one out and one on in the 7th. He dominated a tough LA lineup with a sizzling fastball through six innings and then gave up a long fly out to Mookie Betts to start the next frame and a single to Cody Bellinger. Kap had seen enough even though it was only 80 pitches (Gausman had thrown 83 in Colorado in his last start). You have to figure they are being really careful about stretching out their starters. Gausman is one of those guys who seems to have all the parts but the sum hasn't always been there. The Braves dumped him after a very poor start last season and the Reds gave him a shot but kept him in the bullpen. The Giants took a chance on his live arm and, I think today, tried to protect him from that "third time through the lineup penalty." It didn't work out. Like I said Kap will get some heat for sticking to his saber-script instead of going with his gut but it was a defensible move. Rogers needed to execute in that situation and unfortunately did not. Gausman records the Giants first "quality start" (6-1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K) of 2020.

The Giants offense couldn't really get anything going against Walker Buehler and the Dodgers relief corps. Mike Yastrzemski got a clutch two-out two-run single, but that was it. The Giants bullpen fell apart in the 8th and LA cruised to a win in a game that looked like the Giants might sneak away with.

Giants head for Houston tonight and play tomorrow at 6:10 p.m. PDT.

--M.C.

 

p.s. I should note that Yankees manager Aaron Boone had a similar decision today, his starter James Paxton had a 3-0 lead over the Rays after six and he let him come out to pitch for the 7th. Result? Double, out, homer, homer and a 3-3 tie! Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Giants Blast Past Padres

SF 7  SD 6
I was so wrong about this team! They CAN come back! They CAN hit the big home run! Wow, I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around tonight's game. Let's see if we can hit the highlights: Johnny Cueto got hammered. Not much of a highlight--he threw 87 pitches to get 11 outs. Trailing 6-2 after four innings, the Giants used Tyler-power (Anderson and Rogers) to put up zeros from the 5th through the 9th. Meanwhile Alex Dickerson hit a solo homer in the 6th and Donovan Solano hit a three-run game-tying bomb in the 8th to set up Mike Yastrzemski to be the hero. Yaz had homered in the 3rd inning and he wasted no time in launching the game-winner leading off the bottom of the 9th. I did not think this team was capable of such a power surge and I did not think this team could fight back from an early deficit. It is especially gratifying to win a game in which the putative ace of the staff got knocked around. (Let's hope JohnnyC finds his mojo!) Not to mention the Padres threw their ace and he only lasted five innings.

What a great win! It was nice to see Brandon Crawford break out with three hits. He kept the rally going in the 8th before Solano's homer. That blast is the clutch-iest clutch hit of the young season. What a great win. Did I say that already?

The Giants have not announced a starter for tomorrow. The Padres are going with RH Dinelson Lamet who won his last start with five strong innings against the D-Backs on Saturday.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.


update: AmyG says Kevin Gausman is starting tomorrow.

77

SF 8  COL 3
The Giants take the rubber match with the Rockies this afternoon with a team-wide effort. Tyler Beede looked good at the start, whiffing seven and walking none in his 3-1/3 IP. He did not allow a hit or a run. Unfortunately he had to come out of the game in the 4th inning with the Giants up 1-0. Apparently he injured himself but I've seen no details so far. Nice to see him throw well regardless. The Rockies tied it against Burch Smith, the Giants went ahead 2-1, Smith gave up another run, then the Giants went up 3-2, then 4-2, then the Rockies came back to make it 4-3 in the top of the 8th. The home squad then scored four in the bottom half and it finished 8-3.

Mauricio Dubon was the hitting star with two doubles and a homer. Mike Yastrzemski had pinch-hit homer plus another RBI hit later. Kevin Pillar had two hits, and clutch doubles from Alex Dickerson and Aramis Garcia added more runs to the tally. Smith had a rough time in his stint, and Enderson Franco gave up a run, but Sam Coonrod, Fernando Abad, Jandel Gustave, and Ryan Barraclough (who closed it) were unscored upon. Like I said, it was a team effort.

That's 77 wins for the season with three to play. Last year they won 73 and the year before 64. Johnny Cueto goes tomorrow night at 7:15 against the Dodgers.

GO GIANTS!

--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.

An ugly win is still a win!

SF 2  MIA 1
The Giants put on a display of offensive ineptitude again today but they managed to prevail over the equally-pathetic Marlins. Good work from the bullpen saved the home squad from embarrassment, with Tyler Rogers getting three outs on ten pitches, and Will Smith returning to close it out. Mauricio Dubon gave the Giants early hope with a solo shot, but an Evan Longoria throwing error led to the tying run against hard-luck reliever Burch Smith. The winning rally featured singles by Yaz and Belt who both moved up on a wild pitch. After a walk to Longo and a whiff from Vogt reliever Ryan Stanek threw another wild pitch and Yaz scampered home. It's a win, I'll take it, but damn it is a discouraging thing to watch. The Giants have scored 254 runs at home in 75 games (3.39 rpg) and that's why they are 33-42 there. Johnny Cueto pitched well again (5 IP, 0 R) and that feels good.

It is a blessed travel day tomorrow and--another blessing--the boys go on the road, this time to Boston. They'll have to hit better there. Logan Webb gets the ball on Tuesday at 4:10 p.m. Pacific.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Dubon Leads Giants

SF 5  LA 4
The Giants survived a three-homer game from A.J. Pollock, all solo shots, and hung on to win in Dodger Stadium. Closer Will Smith struck out LA phenom Will Smith to end it. It was an agonizing 9th, in contrast to the brisk work from Tyler Rogers in the 7th and Fernando Abad and Jandel Gustave in the 8th. Jeff Samardzija delivered a solid six (5 H, 3 R) to keep the Giants close against Clayton Kershaw. I often joke that Kershaw is the greatest pitcher in San Francisco Giants history. We have all watched his exceptional dominance against our favorite team, but they prevailed over him this time. They worked counts and ran up his pitch total in the first few innings but were unable to capitalize on some big chances. Finally after a 12-pitch walk to Kevin Pillar to open the 5th Dave Roberts came out for his super southpaw and the Giants were able to crack it open against reliever Dylan Floro. The big hits were from Yaz, pinch-hitting for Joey Rickard, and young Dubon.

Speaking of Mauricio, he doubled and homered off Kershaw, his homer tying the game in the 4th. His single in the 5th off Floro scored the final two runs that proved to be the difference. I like watching him in the field, he is very smooth and he makes everything look easy. Looks like he has a great arm as well. Big night for the rookie. Giants need infielders who can hit, let's hope he can be a fixture on the 2020 club.

That's only the 19th loss at home for the Dodgers this season. Tyler Beede goes tomorrow night at 6:10 Pacific. GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

1st September Win - It Wasn't Easy

It is my good fortune to post something when Madison Bumgarner pitches.  He gets wins and that makes me post in a much better mood than when the Giants lose.  You, in turn, benefit by being spared my vitriol.  At least some of it.

Madison Bumgarner pitched for the Giants tonight and the Giants beat the Cardinals by a score of 9 - 8 in a wild game.  40 different players made appearances in this game.  The Giants went up 4 - 0, then the Cardinals caught up, then the Giants went up 7 - 4, then the Cardinals went up 8 - 7, and finally Kevin Pillar hit his 21st home run of the year with Brandon Crawford on base for the GWRBI in the 8th inning.

The Cardinals have been playing excellent ball, they had won 20 of their last 25 games.  OMG if only the Giants could put together a run like that.  Last night, if you recall, Derek Rodriguez pitched superbly but came away with the loss and the Giants gave up 1 solo home run but were held scoreless by Jack Flaherty.  They said that August was the best month of pitching for a Cardinal since Bob Gibson, one of my childhood heroes.  Madison was not nearly so good, nor anywhere near as good as he can be.  He gave up 9 hits in 5 innings, walked 1 and struck out only 2.  1 of those hits was a home run and he gave up 6 total.  The Giants were charged with 1 error, on a Corban Joseph bobbled grounder, but there were a couple of other near misses that led to runs.  Jaylin Davis had one clang off his glove at the wall and Mike Yastrzemski missed one at the fence in left.  Both of those would have been spectacular catches, but on another night, that might have prevented Cardinal runs from scoring.  The Cardinals also erred once, on a bizarre 3rd-out ground ball in the 6th.  DeJong at shortstop picked up the ball, started to throw to 1st to retire Longoria and then choked and tossed the ball to Wong at 2nd, who was totally surprised and off the bag when he snagged it to allow Posey to reach base.  That put 2 men on for Brandon Crawford who homered for 3 runs to make the score 7 - 4.  Yaz also homered, a solo shot in the 3rd.  Kevin Pillar has had 8 4-hit games in his 6-year career, 4 of them have been as a Giant.  The Giants used 6 pitchers, the Cardinals 7.  So that's Bochy win # 1993.  1 win out of their last 5, 2 out of their last 9, 4 of their last 14.  Please, please, please don't go into the final weekend needing a sweep against LA to give him 2000. 

Yaz Hammers Three

SF 10  AZ 9 (11)
The Giants and Diamondbacks combined for TWELVE home runs in an extra-inning slugfest that featured 28 hits and 19 runs scored. Mike Yastrzemski outdid everyone with a sensational three-homer display that included the eventual game-winner in the 11th inning. The not-so-young rookie has "served notice" that he's a power threat to be reckoned with. Currently he sports a .548 slugging percentage, the highest on the team by far, and one of only two Giants above .500 in that metric. The league slugs .437 overall, and the team .404, the fourth-worst in baseball.

Two spectacular bullpen meltdowns were featured, with Tony Watson and Sam Coonrod blowing a five-run lead in the 8th, and Will Smith blowing a two-run lead in the 10th, but the Giants kept fighting back and eventually prevailed. The D-Backs hit six homers, one in the 1st, three in the 8th, and two in the 10th. Brandon Belt hit the first of the Giants six bombs in the 3rd, then Yaz added his first, Kevin Pillar hit one in the 4th, Yaz did it again in the 7th, Pillar again in the 10th, and then Yaz finished things in the 11th with his third. It was a wild night in Arizona.

The Giants are now 7-8 in August and 62-61 overall, a game ahead of the D-Backs for second place in the NL West. 22-year old righthander Logan Webb will make his debut tonight at 5:10 Pacific. Webb is from Rocklin, CA and was signed with the team right out of high school. He has 60 starts in the minors, mostly at A and AA level. In his one start with the AAA River Cats he threw seven scoreless. Webb had to serve an 80-game suspension earlier this year because of a positive PED test. MLB Pipeline rates Webb as the team's number-five prospect.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Malaise Snapped

This is why you don't trade Madison Bumgarner for a hope and a prayer and a PTBNL.

The Giants had not won since the last time Madison pitched, although the last time he did not get a decision.  That was at Curs Field in Denver, when the Giants scored runs in the 8th inning, after Madison was out of the game, to beat the Rockies.  Then came a loss, and 3 more at home to the Nats in which the Giants were simply unable to compete.

Tonight, Madison took a no-hitter into the 6th inning.  He was removed after 7 innings and 85 pitches, having surrendered exactly 1 hit, 0 runs and 1 walk.  Not sure why he was taken out at all, the announcers speculated that it was because they wanted to get Will Smith some work.  Madison had 1 hit in 1 official at bat, and 2 walks and scored a run.  That was primarily because the Phils were simply not going to let him beat them with a home run.

The Giants scored 5 runs, 3 rbi's for Yaz on a double and a home run, Belt had an rbi (and Pillar scored on a wild pitch).  Final score, Giants 5, Phils 0.

Aaron Nola is a serious stud.  That the Giants got to him (he lasted 5 innings) is an accomplishment in itself.  Now, can they act like a winning team again, or was this a one-off?  We'll find out tomorrow.  It would sure help to get a decent start though.  Those have been too rare of late.

4:42 pm July 28: Madison Bumgarner STILL Not Traded

Giants win yet another series in San Diego by a final score of 7 - 6.

This game should not have been a one-run game.  The Giants played their last game of 2019 in San Diego (remember how they finished with Cincinnati on May 12?) and took the series 2 - 1.  They of course play San Diego again at home in August so we can play Boston in September.

Madison Bumgarner on the mound.  His numbers indicate a well pitched game: 7 innings in 86 pitches, 4 runs on 4 hits (1 home run), 6 K and 2 BB.  But there was a fair amount of sloppiness, especially in the early innings.  Maddy started the game with an out on the first pitch, then gave up a single and a walk, threw a wild pitch to advance the runners and then had Hunter Renfroe at 1 - 2 before he let him sacrifice the runner in.   The Giants came back with 2 and held the Padres scoreless in the bottom of the 2nd before a 3 run shot in the bottom of the 3rd by Renfroe, again, put the Pads up 4 - 2.  That was a 3 run shot because of a single and a hit-by-pitch to put 2 men on.

The Giants kept plugging away, though.  16 hits in the game, with most players contributing.  Yaz was the hero, 4 hits in 5 at bats, 2 runs and 2 rbi.  He also made a spectacular catch against the wall, possibly pulling back a home run.  It was small, or perhaps, medium ball all day long.  3 hits for Posey, 1 run and 1 rbi; Solano, 2 hits, a run and 2 rbi; Dickerson, 2 hits a run and an rbi; and 2 hits for BCraw, 1 run and an rbi.

Sam Dyson had a 5 pitch 8th and Will Smith allowed a single and a home run to make the score 7 - 6 before he recorded the save.  The Giants hit no home runs.  San Diego is a young team that has a lot of power, even if they need polish, especially in their pitching staff.

So the Giants have now won 19 of their last 24 (.792) and have not lost a series since June 26.  They are now in second place in the NL West again and only 1.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies for the wild card.  They are 6th in overall standings not including the two division leaders, LA and Atlanta, 6th in a race that includes whoever might come out on top in the NL Central, currently tied between the Cardinals and Cubs.  And guess what?  The Giants spend August playing Philadelphia 7 times (starting Tuesday), Colorado in Colorado again, Oakland 4 times, Arizona 6 times, Chicago, and San Diego again, and we still play St. Louis again in September.

June 26 marks almost exactly the three year anniversary of when they got crappy.  And stayed crappy until June 26 2019.  I maintain that the baseball gods, or whatever power to which you wish to subscribe, gave the Giants a three-year time out for the sins visited on them by their fans.  Remember 2016?  That was when the story was that the Giants were going to win the world series again because it was a year that ended in an even number.  Can you imagine?  The incredible hubris!  Had we forgotten the mere inches by which some of those hits missed gloves?  The number of times the Giants were an eyelash away from elimination?  The pitches that, on another day, would have been pulverized?  It seems we have paid for our sins and our players have been allowed to thrive again, at least for now.  Don't make the same mistake again.

Wild, wild life

SF 8  COL 4 (10)
The Giants continue to play utterly relentless baseball. They took a 2-0 lead in the 1st and stretched it to a 4-1 lead in the 9th. Then Mr. Automatic, Will Smith, gave up two homers in the bottom of the 9th and the Rockies tied the game and sent it to extras. Oh, no problem. The Giants ripped out another four runs and took an 8-4 lead into the bottom of the 10th. Mark Melancon then finished it off.

It's a wild, wild life.

Mike Yastrzemski and Alex Dickerson went 7-for-10 with four runs scored and five runs batted in. Kevin Pillar continues to make superb plays in the field to rob hits and save runs. I don't care if his OBP is under .300, man. That's 11 wins in the last 13 games.

Shaun Anderson goes tomorrow at 12:10 Pacific.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Giants Show Spunk But Lose

You would have been forgiven for leaving this game early.  I almost did.

Madison Bumgarner had his worst among 35 starts against LA.  He didn't even face a starter, LA simply used relief (which is not their strength).  He did pretty well for 3 innings, giving up just 1 run.  Then came the 4th.  They batted around + 1.  It went like this: whap, homer, whap, homer, K, single, single, single, fly out, single (for the 5th run of the fucking inning), Bruce Bochy can't take it anymore, changes pitchers.  Out.

LA ran the score to 7 - 1 before the Giants mounted a rally in the 7th.  They scored 3 from a Crawford sac fly and a Yaz home run.  LA got 2 more to again rack up 9 for the game and make it a 5 run lead.  The Giants showed spunk in the 9th.  Longo and Pillar reached, then Crawford doubled them home.  That made it 9 - 6 and brought in Jansen, their closer.  He did not shut down the Giants.  Yaz singled to bring home Crawford (9 - 7); Vogt, pinch hitting, walked; Panik singled (his first hit of the series, 1 more than Brandon Belt) to drive in Yaz (9 - 8).  Austin bunted, and Vogt was out at third.  Maybe.  But Posey lined out and Belt flew out to end it.

Were there bad calls?  Posey, a guy who takes the discretion-is-the-better-part-of-valor view of umpire interactions, made a case because he was called out on a strike that Madbum did not get, just before Barnes' home run.  Vogt may have been safe.  I am sick of hearing about how you have to have sufficient evidence to overturn.  Either make the correct call, regardless of what the on-field umps called, or the hell with it.  In any case, the Giants, so badly over-matched for 2 games after their impressive win way back on Monday, drop the 4th game of the series by a final score of 9 - 8 and head to Arizona.   Where we will see if their recent semi-decent play, Tuesday and Wednesday notwithstanding, are a sign of the team or just a mirage.