The Giants also had a good night with the bats, scoring three runs in the 6th, two in the 7th, and two in the 8th to seal a much-needed win. All the wins from this point on are "much-needed" so perhaps there's no point in reiterating that. But I don't want to bury the lede: four Giants pitchers combined for a three-hit shutout! Against a team like Tampa Bay that averages over five runs per game that's a particularly impressive pitching feat. And especially after Monday's lopsided loss. Tonight Jakob Junis went the first four frames and was overpowering with seven strikeouts. Sean Manaea whiffed five in 3-1/3 IP, Tyler Rogers got two outs on five pitches, and Luke Jackson struck out the side to end it.
Rookie phenom Wade Meckler got his first two hits. Meckler was drafted in 2022 and his video game minors stats (.335/.441/.469) made it hard not to get a look at him. He's a left-handed contact hitter with a feel for the strike zone but without a lot of power. He's an outfielder and would be a great fit in center but it is hard to know if he's got that kind of glove. He played college ball at Oregon State (he's from Anaheim) and is listed at 5-10 and 178 lbs. I think Tim Lincecum had pretty similar marks on his chart.
Homers from Thairo Estrada and Wilmer Flores got things going. Michael Conforto had three hits and drove in a run. Patrick Bailey had an RBI hit.
The series gets decided Wednesday afternoon (12:45 PT).
Go Giants!
--M.C.
3 comments:
The giants have relied on their bullpen, but with the overuse, I am worried that they will not hold up going down the stretch. I have seen this happen to other teams in the past, and teams that did not stress their pen as much as the giants, and teams that could hit. Yaz can still be out for a while, and it always seems to take him a week when he comes back before he starts hitting, Now that Estrada is back, Davis has stopped hitting. They hardly ever hit behind Webb, and if he loses it seems a bit ominous for a series. His last game should have been his. When he was taken out, Doval induced a weak grounder to short. An alert Crawford could have thrown it home and ended the game. But he went to first where he had no chance. The runner was rounding third at full speed when he caught the ball. A good throw home would have had him by 20 feet. But at least the giants won, but Webb did not get the win, and Doval did not get the save, but he did get the win. Crawford made a similar mistake last year when he had the easy out at third and did not take it, and got nobody. The giants ended up losing that game. Crawford is obviously playing with some heavy injuries and it is severely effecting his game. We see this year with some slightly better health, that Belt has had a bit of a rebound. Giants need Mitch Hanniger back, and hitting like he has in the past.
The Giants need to start winning! The starting pitching has been a problem all year. They just don't have enough. I thought Stripling was turning a corner but then he gives up three homers. The bullpen is worn out because they've only got two starters. And I don't know what to say about the hitting--there just isn't any. This is a bad stretch facing all these good teams. They need to win some games or they will fall out of the wild card race.
Pitching is not the Giants problem. Their hitting has gone from being unable to hit with RISP to being unable to hit. 2 today, total. I fear that the Giants could be looking up at the wild card teams by the end of this weekend. If they survive that, there is Philly and Atlanta again next week.
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