The Giants used five pitchers to blank the Marlins in the first game of the homestand. Aaron Sanchez allowed two hits and that's all the Florida lineup could muster. Leadoff hitter Jazz Chisolm roped a single to open the game and the next batter Miguel Rojas was hit by a pitch. But Jesus Aguilar hit a comebacker that turned into a double play and that was the only threat of the night. The Giants responded in the bottom half with a double by Mike Yastrzemski, a walk to Evan Longoria, a double by Darin Ruf to score Yaz, and a single by Curt Casali to drive in two more. That was it for the scoring.
Sanchez was pulled after five having thrown only 67 pitches. He appeared to be fine and was cruising along so I don't know why Kap had the quick hook. Maybe that was the plan all along. I thought they'd push him to save the bullpen but it all worked out. Sanchez wasn't throwing very hard, perhaps there was something off with him. He certainly got a lot of called strikes and ground balls and kept the Marlins off balance. 21-year old rookie Gregory Santos (who came to the Giants in the Eduardo Nunez trade in 2017) worked a perfect 6th with two strikeouts. Matt Wisler had a scoreless 7th and Tyler Rogers got three outs in the 8th on ten pitches. Jake McGee struck out the side in the 9th for the save.
It was a chilly night in San Francisco. Evan Longoria was taken out with a tight hamstring but the word from Kap after the game was "it's not too bad." Let's hope that's true as the team is a bit banged up. Once again the deep, versatile roster pays off. Ruf played LF and 1B, Mauricio Dubon played both SS and 2B, and Wilmer Flores handled both corners, 1B and 3B. The infield turned two DPs: Sanchez-La Stella-Flores (1-4-3) in the 1st and Flores-La Stella-Ruf (5-4-3) in the 7th. And Dubon handled all four chances at short cleanly.
I should note that Curt Casali has done an amazing job behind the plate. He's the FNG but got up to speed quickly this spring and has a good thing going with all the pitchers. He's caught all five shutouts!
Alex Wood tomorrow night, 6:45 Pacific.
Go Giants!
--M.C.
6 comments:
Kapler commented after the game that Sanchez is "not at his physical best right now." Let's hope that means no IL time, just a short leash.
The same backup catcher for all the shutouts? Interesting. Just a coincidence? Maybe, but if it happens a couple more times then something is going on.
Well, Casali came in to Saturday's game in the 7th and the Giants lost when the bullpen gave up 2 in the 9th and 2 in the 10th! So, he's not perfect. His "streak" is not consecutive. But he's doing a great job, especially when you consider how many pitchers the Giants have been using, and how new he is to the team.
Sanchez reminds me a little bit of a right handed Woody. The injuries are a bit ominous but the Marlins are in similar shape with their injuries. Wisler must have a rubber arm because he keeps throwing him out there. Five shutouts caught with 5 different starting pitchers and a whole bunch of relievers.
apparently before the series in Florida lefties were hitting a little over .060 vs alacantra. He seems to struggle more vs righties. Although wasn't it Belt that got to him in Florida?
Yeah, it was Belt. Two walks off Alcantara tonight. Yaz with two hits and a homer. The Giants can get a lot of good match-ups and the lefty-righty thing doesn't seem to hurt them too much.
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