10 for 30

SF 10  COL 4

The Giants rapped out a team-record eight doubles and also drew eleven walks to thump the Rockies and win their 30th game. It was a bullpen effort with rookie Ryan Walker getting the "W" and Sean Manaea doing the bulk-innings role. The full lineup was on display as both Thairo Estrada and Joc Pederson were back from the IL and Michael Conforto had his first start since last week. LaMonte Wade, Jr. continues to shine in the leadoff spot. He had three hits, three walks, three runs scored, and two RBI. His .429 OBP is second only to Miami's Luis Arraez who is currently batting .401! Wade's 41 walks put him 6th in MLB (Juan Soto is #1 with 56).

Logan Webb starts tonight (5:40 PT).

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Cobb, Giants blank O's

SF 4  BAL 0

Last night the Giants wrapped up a tidy win behind a dominant outing from Alex Cobb. He got thirteen ground balls in 7-2/3 IP and backed it with seven whiffs and no walks, allowing just five hits. The lineup scored early and added on late with LaMonte Wade, Jr. (2 H, 2 BB) and Wilmer Flores (3 H, 2 RBI) leading the way. Cobb left with two on and two out in the 8th and Scott Alexander came in to get lefty Adam Frazier. Camilo Doval threw twelve pitches in the 9th.

Cobb has gone 7+ IP with 2 or fewer runs allowed five times in 12 starts. He had another 7 IP start where he gave up three runs (a win in Minnesota), and two 5 IP starts, giving up one run in a win and three runs in a loss. And he's had four stinkers. He gives up a lot of contact (74 hits in 69-2/3) but only six homers. He keeps his walks down (2.3 per 9) and has strikeout stuff (8.3 per 9) when he needs it. He certainly makes a nice 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation with Logan Webb. That was a frustrating loss Friday night--the Giants have to win when Webb pitches!

But last night was about Cobb who at 35 is pitching his best baseball and played "stopper" when the team really needed it.

Anthony DeSclafani starts this afternoon at 1:05 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Webb, Giants fall short

BAL 3  SF 2

Logan Webb pitched another great game but a late home run from Gunnar Henderson tipped the scales in the Orioles favor. Webb had gone seven straight starts without giving up more than two runs before last night. The Giants had a 1-0 lead in the 1st on a LaMonte Wade, Jr. splash hit (the team's 100th) but Baltimore came right back with two in the 2nd. Mike Yastrzemski's double tied it in the 3rd and it stayed that way until Henderson's blast to lead off the 7th. The Giants put two on with one out in the bottom of the 8th but Yaz' double play grounder ended the frame. That was a big play. They got another chance in the 9th when Casey Schmitt doubled with two outs but Michael Conforto (pinch-hitting) struck out to end it. The Orioles are a strong team. This lineup could use Joc Pederson.

That's three losses in a row and the team is back to below .500 (28-29). Alex Cobb is listed as the starter tonight (7:05 PT) with Anthony DeSclafani getting the ball Sunday afternoon (1:05).

Go Giants!

--M.C.

3rd inning: 12-6

1st inning: 6-12

2nd inning: 10-8

3rd inning: 12-6

And they start off the 4th inning 0-2 with back-back-losses to the Pirates (2-1 Tuesday and 9-4 yesterday) and are thus a .500 team once again.

Let's look at the league wide statistics (Baseball-Reference). The MLB average team slash line is .248/.320/.409 and that's good for 256 runs or 4.57 per game. The Giants have slashed .249/.320/.419 and scored 257 runs for 4.59 rpg. If you measure offense with FanGraph's wOBA the Giants are 12th at .323 and if you use wRC+ they are 13th at 104. They are 11th in total bases with 802. I think our eye test says they are a little above average offensively.

On the pitching side our eye test tells us we have three reliable starters with Logan Webb, Alex Cobb, and Anthony DeSclafani. The bullpen has put itself together (and now have a new weapon with Luke Jackson) after a poor start. But the 4th-5th starter problem remains a problem. Statistically they allow 4.54 runs per game and that is as middle-of-the-pack (15th) as it gets. Their 4.07 FIP is 9th-best and that reflects the fact that as a team the Giants induce a lot of weak contact (especially ground balls) and limit walks. They've given up a league-average (64) number of homers.

If you drew it up on a piece of paper—league-average hitting plus league-average pitching—you'd probably get a league-average team! The Giants 28-28 record is the 18th-best in MLB. The Giants are within one game of six of those teams and are currently the only team with an exactly .500 record.

bWAR leaders: Webb 2.2, Wade, Jr. 1.9, Estrada 1.9, Cobb 1.8, Davis 1.2, DeSclafani 1.2

fWAR leaders: Estrada 2.0, Davis 1.6, Webb 1.5, Wade, Jr. 1.4, DeSclafani 1.2, Cobb 1.0

The high-flying Orioles come to town tomorrow for a three-game set. Logan Webb starts on Friday night (game time 7:15 Pacific) and Anthony DeSclafani on Saturday night (7:05 PT). Sunday's game is at 1:05, no starter listed but I hope it will be Alex Cobb. He pitched this past Sunday.

Go Giants!

--M.C.