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.
3 comments:
One cannot know the minds of the baseball gods: that itself, the mere attempt, is hubris. Best to be a good fan, cheer for your team, and say your rosary at night.
Today was a GREAT game. Wow! The Giants were relentless. They scored in the 2nd, the 4th, the 6th, and the 9th. That's showing some spunk. MadBum, considering it was his bete noire Joe West behind the plate, did superbly. The Padres have some serious young talent--Bum got burned with the long ball, so did Smith, but that's the way it goes.
Great game, great series win by the bhoyos. The 16 hits today is a good sign. They are going to need lots of big bats for the trips to Philly and Denver. I love it that Yaz is "serving notice." Keep it going!
Nick Vincent DFA'd. I believe that frees up a spot on the 40-man.
We are just dropping guys like flies. It may bode well for out minor league talent level. Perhaps our minor league system at this time is not as bad as the writers have been saying over the last couple of years. Perhaps it is turning around. What I like so far about Yaz, is that he is just as good in the majors as he was in the minors. Many giants prospects who come up, just cannot make the adjustment to the majors, and are often much worse in the majors. Not the pitchers but the hitters. Not just because of the Pacific Coast league. He seemed to have no problem adjusting to the speed of the game, and his triple A, and major league talent seem similar. I wish I could say the same about Belt, and an entire bunch of prospects that the giants had over the last 20 years.
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