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.
5 comments:
Giants have a nice streak going. One way to not have to see our bullpen blow these games is for the starters to be efficient with their pitches.
Lovullo complained after the game that his hitters were too aggressive and didn't adjust in the later innings.
Hey, it's that old adage: throw strikes! Anderson had 22 called strikes but only four strikeouts. If you keep putting it on the black they have to swing at it.
This team is still finding itself and will probably drive us all crazy. At least the starting pitching has been strong, especially since they figured out what was wrong with Smarja. A reliable rotation is crucial.
I think the shortened pre-season has been a big part of the injuries and inconsistency. The older guys needed the time to get into playing shape and the younger guys needed more reps and more instruction.
Five starts each from Anderson and Gausman, six apiece for Cueto and Webb, maybe they can get into a groove and eat some innings, keep a good roll going.
Hunter Pence DFAd. That's big news. I mean, it is not a shock, but his emotional connection to the franchise and fanbase is hard to overstate. I saw Pence as a Kap ally in the clubhouse. So I'm guessing the skipper feels like he's starting to win over his team and gain their faith. Nothing like a five-game win streak to improve everyone's mood!
Also the Giants acquire IF Daniel Robertson from the Rays for cash (they let go Yolmer Sanchez). Robertson is from Upland CA and was a 1st round pick in 2012. He had an excellent 2018 in a part time role playing 2B, 3B, and SS. RH hitter, 26 years old.
Post a Comment