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.
2 comments:
D-Rod has been a puzzlement to me. At times he seems so talented and at other times he looks like he is in way over his head. But it appears that he doesn't get rattled easily which is a great trait in a pitcher. This season, after a slow start, continues to be entertaining.
I am also excited to see Buster hitting again.
He certainly has the grit and moxie you want to see in a major-leaguer. But it also seems like he has to be perfect to get his stuff to work. Maybe he needs a new pitch, or a better repertoire, or something, I don't know. That's why they have pitching coaches and video analysts and etc. At this point the team needs guys who can give them five or six innings without imploding. They don't have to be overpowering, just reasonably competent. We'll see if D-Rod can build on this start and start to resemble the pitcher he was last season.
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