Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Bailey's Birthday Bash

SF 14  PIT 4

The Giants had a five-run 2nd inning and a eight-run 8th inning yesterday. Rookie catcher Patrick Bailey turned 24 and hit a two-run double in the 2nd and a 2-run homer in the 8th. It was a crazy game. Anthony DeSclafani threw three pitches in the 1st inning to get three outs: a double, a fly out, and a line out into a double play. He made it through seven innings on only 74 pitches giving up eight hits and three runs with no walks and two strikeouts. It was one of those "here, hit this" kind of outings: only four swing-and-miss strikes! There were ten ground ball outs and seven fly ball outs. Austin Slater was back from the IL and had three hits and four RBI. Brett "Maverick" Wisely pitched the 9th. He gave up a splash hit to CF Jack Suwinski who hit one earlier off DeSclafani. Only Barry Bonds ever put two in the water in one game.

It's a bullpen game tonight (6:45) with John Brebbia listed as the opener.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

p.s. It is the third seasonal inning (54 games). In this latest 18-game stretch they went 12-6 to bring their overall record to 28-26, good for third place in the NL West, 4-1/2 back of the Dodgers and three behind the Diamondbacks. The Giants are tied with the Marlins, Twins, Mariners, and Blue Jays for the 13th-best record in MLB.

1st inning: 6-12

2nd inning: 10-8

3rd inning: 12-6

Saturday, May 27, 2023

Webb, Haniger subdue Brew Crew

SF 3  MIL 1

Logan Webb and Corbin Burnes staged an epic duel this afternoon in Milwaukee. Burnes gave up a run in the 1st with his own mistake (an errant pickoff) a key part of the sequence. He then threw six straight scoreless frames to give his team a chance. They eked out the tying run in the bottom of the 7th on Logan Webb's final pitch (#107) of the day. Webb had his string of six zeros snapped in that inning, but his was a dominant performance nonetheless, 11 strikeouts vs. one walk and only four hits. The Giants capitalized on the pitching change with Mitch Haniger hitting a two-run homer off reliever Peter Strzelecki in the 8th and that's how it finished. Camilo Doval had to really work for his 14th save, giving up a double to start the bottom of the 9th and needing 29 pitches to get the final three outs, but he got the job done.

Webb comes away with the "W" despite leaving with the score tied. He gave up a two-out RBI hit but the batter (Victor Caratini) was out trying to stretch the single to a double. The Giants scored in the next half inning (the top of the 8th) to take the lead. Taylor TYLER Rogers had another great outing with a scoreless bottom of the 8th for his 11th hold. He struck out Rowdy Tellez with a man on for the third out.

The Giants are 5-1 on the road trip, have won 10 of their last 12, and are 16-9 in May. Alex Cobb starts the getaway game tomorrow morning at 11:10 Pacific. They'll be home on Memorial Day to face the Pirates (2:05 PT), the first of a three-game set.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Friday, May 26, 2023

Giants batter Brewers

SF 15  MIL 1

Alex Wood gave up a run in the 1st on a double play ball but then put up zeros until he ran into trouble with two outs in the 6th. Tristan Beck came on to get the final out of that frame and then finished the game. A night after six pitchers shut out the Brewers the Giants use only two to stymie them again. Normally an impressive display by the hurlers would be the game story but tonight belonged to the hitters. They racked up 19 hits and plated 15 runs including a seven-run 3rd inning. J.D. Davis had two doubles, a homer, and 3 RBI, Mitch Haniger doubled and homered and drove in four, Patrick Bailey had four hits and 3 RBI, and Brett "Maverick" Wisely knocked in three with a double and a homer. It was a feast for the lineup. Here's a weird note: LaMonte Wade, Jr. was 0-for-6 with 5 K in the leadoff spot and number two hitter Blake Sabol was 0-for-6 with 4 K (and a run scored after reaching on an error). The Giants were 9-for-20 with RISP!

Logan Webb takes on Corbin Burnes tomorrow at 1:10 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Thursday, May 25, 2023

Six Pitchers Blank Brewers

SF 5  MIL 0

Scott Alexander opened the game and got three outs on eight pitches. Taylor Rogers got the next four outs, three of them via whiffs. Jakob Junis followed with 2-1/3 including a pickoff and four whiffs. Sean "They Call the Man" Manaea finished the 5th and pitched a scoreless 6th. Tyler Rogers had a 1-2-3 7th and John Brebbia pitched the final two frames. He gave up a two-out double in both the bottom of the 8th and the bottom of the 9th but neither mattered. It was a very impressive performance by the much-maligned but lately much better bullpen. Final line: 9 IP  4 H  0 R  2 BB  13 SO.

The Giants scored in the 5th when Casey Schmitt singled and stole second and LaMonte Wade, Jr. singled him home with two outs. In the 8th Michael Conforto homered (he was 4-for-4) on the first pitch of the inning. Mike Yastrzemski singled with one out and after two were out Blake Sabol was hit by a pitch. A Schmitt double scored them both and a double by Patrick Bailey brought him in.

The team's 25th win brings them back to .500 and two games ahead of the Padres in the NL West. Alex Wood starts tomorrow at 5:10 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.