That's three straight posts with exclamation points! The fans in San Francisco got another treat this afternoon as the Giants won their fourth straight, finishing the sweep of the Rockies with a team shutout. Anthony DeSclafani put together a second impressive start, recording the first six zeroes and once again notching two big strikeouts to end a threat in his final frame. He faced 25 batters (94 pitches), allowing six hits and a walk versus eight strikeouts, and showed a lot of calm determination with men on base, keeping them from scoring.
It was a good script for a win: score right away, get a good start, score some insurance runs late, and rely on the deep bullpen to finish it. Alex Dickerson hit a long homer to center with two out in the 1st, and Brandon Belt followed with a walk and--get this--a stolen base! He took everyone by surprise as the Rockies didn't make a play. Evan Longoria got a clutch hit to drive him in and make it 2-0 off German Marquez. Belt, looking rejuvenated, hit a solo shot in the 6th to pad the lead, and walked again in the 7th to keep a rally going. That gave Longo a second chance for a two-out RBI and he delivered.
Jose Alavarez got two outs but put two on in the 7th. Tyler Rogers loaded the bases with a walk but then got a comebacker for the final out. He went back for the 8th and retired the side. Wandy Peralta was called on for the 9th. He got two quick outs, then walked two, but got a grounder to end it. Reyes Moronta was placed on the 10-day IL and they didn't replace him, so it is good to see the bullpen depth emerging. It should be a strength of the team. Speaking of a team strength, is it too soon to hope it will be starting pitching?
Aaron Sanchez takes on the Reds tomorrow night, 6:45 Pacific.
Go Giants!
--M.C.
p.s. LaMonte Wade, Jr. was called in from the taxi squad to take Moronta's spot. He got two hits and a walk in his Giants debut. Jaylin Davis was moved to the 60-day IL and the Giants picked up a middle infielder, Thairo Estrada, to take the spot on the 40-man roster. Estrada is from Venezuela and was purchased from the Yankees. He's 25, right-handed, and has 121 PA in the big leagues.
4 comments:
Belt stealing second.......REALLY? When will we ever see that again? Nice start to the season gents and I look forward to the offense continuing to evolve, producing runs consistently and taking a little pressure off of the pitching staff. I like what I'm seeing so far in this young season and bring on the Red's. Go Giants!
Great start to the season, indeed! Much better than expected.
Seems as if the first game of the season was more of a wake-up call than an omen. Thankfully.
Hey, we have a starter named Sanchez again! Jonathan Sanchez was my boy, partly because he had one of my favorite first names. Sadly, his career didn't prove to have legs, although he did give us one lovely no-hitter. I hope our new Sanchez is good.
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