Phils avoid sweep

PHI  6  SF 1

Kyle Harrison gave up twelve hits in five innings of work. Three were doubles and two were homers so it seems a miracle he only allowed four runs. The other two were scored off rookie Randy Rodriguez in the 8th, he had a nice stretch of five scoreless appearances (7-2/3 IP) before that. The lineup managed a mere six hits, two by Heliot Ramos, one of which came in the 9th to score the only run.

It's an off-day tomorrow. The Yankees come to town on Friday night (7:15 PT) with Jordan Hicks getting the start. Saturday night (7:05) features Logan Webb and on Sunday (1:05) it's Blake Snell. 

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

p.s. Looks like LaMonte Wade, Jr. is out for four weeks (hamstring). That's why there's Trenton Brooks on the roster.

Giants get the edge in extras

SF 1  PHI 0 (10)

The home team ought to have the advantage in extra innings and tonight it worked out for the Giants. They had to face Zack Wheeler to start the evening and they couldn't get anything going against him. They managed to run up his pitch count a bit and he left after six scoreless. A trio of relievers kept it that way through nine. The Giants matched zeroes with a bullpen array: Erik Miller opened, Taylor Rogers took the next two frames, FNG Spencer Howard delivered four more, and Tyler Rogers made it through the 8th. Sean Hjelle became the man on the spot and he delivered two more scoreless innings to see the Giants through. That was a big performance from Hjelle and from the whole relief corps. The lineup left eight men on base and was 0-for-9 with RISP. The winning run in the 10th scored on two sacrifice flies. Luis Matos got the winning RBI.

The Phillies are a tough team to beat yet the Giants make it two in a row to take the series. They have a chance for a sweep! Kyle Harrison takes the hill tomorrow—it's the getaway game, start time 12:45 PT. Phils send out Christopher Sánchez.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants snag first win against Phils

SF 8  PHI 4

The Phillies have the best record in baseball and they whipped the Giants four straight in Philadelphia earlier this month. But the Giants got the best of it today in San Francisco despite another poor outcome for The Thirty Million Dollar Man. Lefty Blake Snell lasted only four innings, throwing 90 pitches, yielding five hits, two walks, and four runs while whiffing seven. The Giants wore out Taijuan Walker and then added on later, getting big hits up and down the order. You have to love the Youth Movement: two hits apiece for rookies Luis Matos, Heliot Ramos, and Brett Wisely, and two hits for sophomore Patrick Bailey. The team had twelve total. Also rookie Ryan Walker continues to be Mr. Reliable out of the 'pen. And rookie Randy Rodriguez had another good outing bailing out the starter.

Tomorrow night (6:45 PT) the Phils send out Zack Wheeler so it will be a tall order to score runs. It's TBD for the home squad, probably a bullpen game.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

3rd inning: 12-6

1st inning: 7-11

2nd inning: 8-10

3rd inning: 12-6

27-27, .500, 2nd place, 5-1/2 GB

The Giants had a four-game winning streak last week and with a chance to make it five they blew a 6-2 lead in the 9th. The Giants had a four-game winning streak right after that, and with a chance to make it five today in New York, they blew a 3-1 lead in the 9th.

Logan Webb's strong seven (3 H, 1 R, 1 W, 8 K) was backed by another good inning from Ryan Walker who is the go-to guy for big outs these days. Tyler Rogers couldn't close it out, unfortunately. The Giants hit a lot of balls hard today and had scoring chances they didn't convert. The final game of the road trip was a 4-3 walk-off win for the Mets. Here's how the six games went: blown lead in the 9th, comeback, comeback, comeback, comeback, blown lead in the 9th.

But that's enough about today. The important thing is that the Giants are playing better baseball. They rank 11th of the 30 teams in runs scored with 237, or 4.39 rpg. They get on base at a decent clip (.317, 8th-best) but don't slug much (.387, 15th-best). They are mostly middle-of-the-road: 8th-most in doubles, 18th-most in homers, 12th-most in walks, 14th-fewest in strikeouts. Their .249 BA is 8th-best. They are dead last in stolen bases (19). I think those numbers square with what we've seen.

On the pitching side, the Giants have allowed 256 runs (24th-most) or 4.74 rpg. Over this stretch of 18 games they've allowed 78 runs (4.33 rpg) and ten of those were in one of the losses to LA. The Big Three of Webb, Harrison, and Hicks are all doing well. It's worth noting that Blake Snell (19) and Keaton Winn (29) have given up almost 19% of the team's runs. One expects Snell will improve but a fifth starter remains elusive. Winn is on the IL and will likely rehab in the minors. Mason Black (14 runs) is not quite ready, it seems. Injured pitchers Alex Cobb, Robbie Ray, and Tristan Beck are still far away.

Other than Ryan Walker the bullpen is shaky although Randy Rodriguez seems to be coming along nicely. Tyler Rogers, other than today, has been solid, and brother Taylor looks a lot better. As does Sean Hjelle who seems to be finding himself. Maybe he'll get some starts. Camilo Doval is walking too many people and he needs to tighten that up.

On the fielding side it's clear that Matt Chapman is a huge upgrade and a run-saving, out-generating machine. His hitting is much better these days as well. The outfield looks a lot better despite losing Jung Hoo Lee. The youngsters (Matos and Ramos) have really brought a lot of energy to the club. Losing SS Nick Ahmed was a blow as Marco Luciano is still struggling at the position despite swinging the bat well. Overall the Giants rate last in defensive efficiency and still make way too many errors. I think that fits our eye test. The team is more athletic with the youth infusion but there are still a lot of blown plays and missed chances. I'm happy to see Patrick Bailey behind the plate again and it looks like youngsters Wisely and McKenna might have some fielding chops.

One-third of the season is over. Lots of baseball (108 games) left. The Phillies are in San Francisco tomorrow (2:05 Pacific). Blake Snell is back, he gets the start. Two more games follow on Tuesday (6:45) and Wednesday (12:45). Thursday's an off-day and then it's the Yankees for three over the weekend.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Late game magic, again

SF 7  NYM 2 (10)

It was a seesaw battle this afternoon in Queens. Mets starter Luis Severino had a no-hitter through five. Jordan Hicks struck out eight in his five frames and only allowed two hits. One was unfortunately a solo shot from Starling Marte. Brett Wisely's single with one out in the 6th gave the Giants an opening and Patrick Bailey drove him home with two outs to tie the game at 1-1. Brett Baty hit a homer off reliever Sean Hjelle in the 7th to make it 2-1 and put the pressure on. The Giants responded with one in the 9th when Late Game LaMonte drove in the tying run. Ryan McKenna, pinch-running for Wilmer Flores (who'd singled as a pinch-hitter), stole second base to set up the scoring chance.

Luke Jackson pitched the 9th and put up a zero but he had to work around another error from shortstop Marco Luciano. Brett Wisely led off the 10th with a single that scored the Manfred Man. The Giants then loaded the bases and a walk to Patrick Bailey made it 4-2. With two outs Mike Yastrzemski cleared the bases with a triple and blew the game open. Camilo Doval had a 1-2-3 9th with two strikeouts.

Who are these guys? That's eight wins in nine games with the only loss being a blown 6-2 lead in the 9th! They are a game over .500 (27-26) and suddenly in second place in the NL West.

Like I said yesterday, it makes me happy to see the team playing better. You knew they were better than what we saw in April and in the first part of this month. They were 15-21 after getting trounced in Philadelphia and have gone 12-5 since then.

Logan Webb gets the start tomorrow (10:40 a.m. Pacific) in the finale against our old pal Sean Manaea. I'd like to see them get the sweep, of course. They need all the momentum they can get—their next two opponents are the two best teams, the Phillies and the Yankees.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

.500

SF 8  NYM 7

For the second game in a row the Giants scored five runs in the 8th inning to turn around a 6-2 deficit and go on to win. Miraculous late-inning comebacks aren't usually a sustainable winning strategy but they sure are fun. And this win brought the 2024 Giants back to a .500 record for the first time since March 31st.

Rookie shortstop Marco Luciano had three hits (including a triple) and is now hitting .409 but he also made two errors, one of them in the 9th. Camilo Doval struggled once again but managed to pull off the save thanks to an exceptional 5-3 final play from Matt Chapman and LaMonte Wade, Jr. Doval has walked 15 in 20-2/3 IP and add in the 16 hits and the bases have been crowded with him on the hill. Patrick Bailey's grand slam was the big blow in the five-run rally but homers from Jorge Soler and Mike Yastrzemski helped as well. That's three games in a row where there's been a four-run homer.

Luis Matos hit in the leadoff spot and went 0-for-5 with an RBI but also made a great catch in center to save an extra-base hit. Kyle Harrison started and struggled through five but was bailed out by Nick Avila and another good inning from bullpen workhorse Ryan Walker.

Apparently three comebacks in a row of four runs or more is a team record. It's nice to see them winning. Let's hope they can sustain it. Jordan Hicks starts tomorrow at 10:40 a.m. PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

p.s. Giants picked up lefty Drew Pomeranz and added him to the bullpen. This is his second stint with the club.

Giants take 2 of 3 from Bucs

After that ugly, excruciating 7-6 loss in extras on Tuesday, things did not look good for the good guys. Luke Jackson and Camilo Doval blew a four-run, 9th-inning lead that looked like a cinch and denied the team their fifth win in a row. An error at shortstop by rookie Marco Luciano (he had another 9th-inning error today) helped out, too. Logan Webb delivered a solid six with six whiffs and just two runs allowed. Good work by Ryan Walker and Tyler Rogers kept it that way until the mess at the end. Erik Miller was the sacrificial lamb—he threw one pitch, gave up a hit, and the Manfred Man scored to end it.

The Giants counter-punched 9-5 on Wednesday despite the unusual strategy of giving up a grand slam to the other team. The Pirates loaded the bases in the 4th against Blake Snell and then he hit Andrew McCutchen with his 87th pitch to force in the game's first run. Sean Hjelle was summoned and he promptly surrendered the salami to former Giants prospect Brian Reynolds. The lineup chipped away with a run in the 6th, two in the 7th, and one apiece in the 8th and 9th. A four-spot in the 10th was a nice touch! The young players have really added a spark to the lineup. Seems to have fired up Matt Chapman and Jorge Soler, don't you think? Randy Rodriguez threw a dandy two in relief with four strikeouts. Zeroes from Tyler Rogers and Ryan Walker and a scoreless 10th from Doval evened up the series.

That grand salami strategy was so cool the Giants did it again today in an impressive 7-6 comeback win. This time former Giants prospect Joey Bart got to the swing the big stick. Mason Black was victimized in a bullpen game against big-time prospect Paul Skenes. The Giants were undaunted by their early setback. They chipped away at Skenes, getting six hits and three walks while striking out just three times, but could only score once (on a force out). They also hit into two double plays. The 21-year old righty phenom was done after six (93 pitches) and his team leading 5-1. It was his third ML start. He's 6'6" and 235 lbs. and was the overall #1 pick in last year's draft. There's a lot of buzz about this guy. Regardless, the Giants added one more run in the 7th and then had a happy time in the 8th with a five-run rally. The go-ahead run was a nice liner to center by lefty Brett Wisely off lefty Aroldis Chapman. It was a 13-hit attack today. Great relief work from Randy Rodriguez and Tyler Rogers (who got the save) sealed the series win.

The next stop is New York for three against the Mets this weekend. Kyle Harrison gets the start tomorrow night (4:10 PT). They are home Monday (Memorial Day) against the Phillies.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

A sweep and a streak

SF 4  COL 1

The Giants win their fourth game in a row (one against the Dodgers, three against the Rockies) behind some solid team pitching. Jordan Hicks gave up a solo homer in the 1st but only two hits after that and put up four straight zeros. He was pulled after five frames (72 pitches) and the team down 1-0. He wasn't throwing as hard as usual and I wonder if that was a red flag. They are being very careful with his workload. He's at 53 IP now and his career high is 77-2/3 in 2018. He had 65-2/3 last year. It seems like the right thing to do. Today it worked as four pitchers each pitched a scoreless inning: Sean Hjelle, Luke Jackson, Taylor Rogers, and Camilo Doval.

In the bottom of the 5th Marco Luciano walked and Curt Casali singled. Jorge Soler struck out but LaMonte Wade Jr. drove in a run with a single. Thairo Estrada grounded out but Matt Chapman singled in the go-ahead run. An error put Luis Matos aboard and allowed another run to make it 3-1 Giants. Heliot Ramos hit is first homer in the 6th to add insurance. It wasn't a double-digit extravaganza like the first two games but it was a crisp, workmanlike win and there hasn't been enough of those. Let's see some more.

They are off tomorrow and then play three in Pittsburgh starting Tuesday (3:40 Pacific). Logan Webb is listed as the starter.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

p.s. Giants claimed OF Ryan McKenna

Luis Matos: serving notice

SF 14  COL 4 (today)

SF 10  COL 5 (yesterday)

Twenty-four hours ago I found out that Jung Hoo Lee's season was over. He needs surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. In the interim the Giants scored twenty-four runs against the Colorado Rockies. That's over two games of course but as the Giants were averaging fewer than four runs per game it's a big deal. They've now scored 193 runs on the season (47 games) and the 24 runs from the previous two games represents 12% of their seasonal output. They now average 4.1 rpg!

I'm really upset about Lee getting hurt. I know he wasn't doing much but I think he will be an impact player once he gets acclimated to MLB. Alas, we'll have to wait until next year. Meanwhile Luis Matos is claiming the vacant center field spot with a jaw-dropping weekend: three hits and five RBI on Friday, three hits and six RBI today. The youngsters (Heliot Ramos, Marco Luciano, Kyle Harrison, etc.) are certainly getting their chances. Regardless of the outcome of the season that's an exciting development.

Jordan Hicks gets the start tomorrow (1:05 PT). The Giants have won three in a row for the first time all year. Let's see if they can keep the bats going and pull off a sweep.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Webb leads Giants

SF 4  LA 1

Logan Webb has not had an easy time against the Dodgers. Other than his memorable performances in the 2021 playoffs (2 GS, 14-2/3 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 W, 17 K) his career line coming into tonight's start was a modest 3-6 in 13 starts with a 4.41 ERA (67-2/3 IP, 70 H, 38 R, 20 W, 56 K). Webb labored in the 1st, throwing 30 pitches while wriggling out of a bases-loaded jam. He added another 23 in the 2nd but settled down after that, needing only 50 pitches to throw another four scoreless. He finished with just three hits allowed (all singles) in his six innings but added an uncharacteristic three walks (with five strikeouts). Sean Hjelle and Erik Miller combined for another zero in the 7th and Tyler Rogers gave up a run in 8th. Camilo Doval put two on in the 9th but closed it out for a tidy win.

Mike Yastrzemski hit a two-run homer in the 3rd, driving in the just-acquired Curt Casali. Luis Matos made a great play in center field in the 4th to save a home run and he also added a two-out RBI hit in the 8th. Heliot Ramos also had a two-out RBI hit, this one in the 6th, as the Giants added on late to secure their first win against the Dodgers this season. It's an off-day tomorrow and then the Rockies come to town for three on the weekend.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Early lead holds up

SF 8  COL 6

Nothing is ever for sure at Coors Field. The Giants had a nice 7-0 lead after three but the Rockies chipped away at Jordan Hicks and he left after five with a 7-3 cushion. Sean Hjelle gave up a run in the 6th but the Giants countered with one in the 7th. Camilo Doval entered the 9th with a 8-4 lead and he gave up a two-run homer after two were out but that was it. The Giants make it two in a row. It seems they've found a team that's worse than them.

It was a well-rounded thirteen-hit attack with Michael Conforto and Blake Sabol getting three apiece. Jorge Soler was put on the 10-day IL and Heliot Ramos was called up to take his spot. He had an RBI hit in the 2nd and scored a run in that big six-run rally.

Keaton Winn is coming off his worst start (2/3 IP, 5 R in Philly) which ballooned his ERA from 3.18 to 4.41. Like us I'm sure he's hoping for something better in the getaway game tomorrow at 12:10 Pacific. The Giants come back to San Francisco for a nine-game homestand starting Friday. I'll be away from my desk for a few days so I may not get a chance to post, so keep up the talk in the comments.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants snap skid

SF 5  COL 0

Coors Field is a tough place to pitch but Kyle Harrison made it look easy. He mowed down the Rockies over seven scoreless frames. It took him 86 pitches to get the 21 outs, giving up only four hits and two walks. He whiffed just two but eleven ground outs made up the difference. All the hits were singles. That's three nice starts in a row from Harrison: 18 IP, 12 H, 1 R, 7 W, 16 K. That was his fifteenth career start and he turns 23 in August. I think he's coming along just fine.

Ryan Walker struck out all three of the batters he faced in the 8th. Camilo Doval, who did not appear in the four losses in Philadelphia, walked two but also whiffed two in his inning and the Giants had a shutout. He benefited from a nice play from Thairo Estrada to get the first out in the 9th. Harrison got backing early when the Giants put up a four-spot in the 4th with a slew of singles. They had ten hits total, nine singles and a double (Yaz).

Jordan Hicks tomorrow, 5:40 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

2nd inning: 8-10

PHI 6  SF 1 

1st inning: 7-11

2nd inning: 8-10

The just-completed four-game set in Philadelphia turned out to be a showcase for the Phillies. The Giants provided a bit of competition, but the show was all about the powerhouse local squad who rocketed to the best record in baseball with an emphatic sweep. There were two close games, Friday's 4-3 loss behind Jordan Hicks and Sunday's 5-4 loss behind Logan Webb. Neither starter was effective—that's the second straight poor outing by Webb. Saturday is not worth mentioning and today rookie Mason Black's debut was spoiled by Bryce Harper. He hit a three-run homer off Black today and also hit one off Webb yesterday. He had a ridiculous series: four hits, six walks, five runs, six RBI.

There was a stretch where it seemed the rotation was coming together but then Blake Snell went on the shelf, the aces wilted, and the rookies got hammered. Kyle Harrison had a decent start in Boston and he'll get the start in Colorado tomorrow (5:40 PT).

The league averages 4.34 runs scored per game. The Giants don't score enough (3.67 rpg) and don't prevent scoring (4.81 rpg) well enough, either. They actually have a better record than their run difference (-41) suggests but that's not reassuring. This series in Philly was very discouraging. I realize they are really good but that's no excuse for such a pasting. I thought the problem with the last few years of Giants teams was the manager and the players. So they got a new manager and new players and yet they have the same results. Their 15-21 record is good for a .417 percentage. Only five teams are worse. Good thing there are a lot of games (126) left.

Like I said, they go to Colorado. Wednesday is also 5:40 (Hicks) and the getaway game Thursday is 12:10 (Winn). They are back home Friday where they are at least a decent team (9-7).

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants avoid sweep

SF 3  BOS 1

After a couple of feeble losses the Giants put together a great pitching performance and added just enough offense to win the getaway game at Fenway. Kyle Harrison walked five but also struck out seven and allowed just three hits and one run in his five innings. Two of the hits were doubles but none left the yard. A 3rd-inning homer by Mike Yastrzemski was all the Giants could manage until the 7th. Three singles to start the frame plated the go-ahead run and a sacrifice fly added the other. Four innings of stellar, one-hit relief pitching made the difference. Ryan Walker needed 16 pitches for the 6th, giving up a single but also getting a strikeout. Erik Miller got three outs, one a strikeout, on 15 pitches in the 7th. Tyler Rogers got two groundouts and added a strikeout and only needed 8 pitches in the 8th. Camilo Doval went 3-and-2 to the first batter but then got a groundout, struck out the next guy, and closed it with a lineout, 14 pitches in all. Nice work—only one batter over the minimum.

Tuesday's shockingly poor start from Logan Webb was supported by four hits, all singles. Even if he'd pitched well they would have lost the game. Wednesday's bullpen game wasn't much better, only five hits, but at least there was one double and one homer and thus a couple of runs. This offense should be better. Right now it's all on the pitchers.

It's a tough road ahead: they go to Philadelphia for three four starting tomorrow. The Phillies are 21-11, the third-best record in MLB, just behind the Braves (20-9) and Guardians (20-10). Like the Red Sox the Phillies pitch really well. The Giants will have to match it. Jordan Hicks goes tomorrow against Aaron Nola (3:40 PT), Keaton Winn faces Ranger Suarez on Saturday (3:05 PT), and Logan Webb matches up with Tijuan Walker on Sunday (4:10 PT). Monday (1:05 PT) is TBD. It was encouraging to see a big game from the relief corps, don't you think?

Go Giants!

--M.C.