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SF 3  FLA 1

It was The Veteran Savvy Clutchness Show last night in San Francisco. Starter Blake Snell threw a great game and team MVP Matt Chapman delivered the winning hit. Snell was unscored upon through six frames but came out for the 7th and gave up a run. The home squad didn't get anything going against Marlins righty Adam Oiler but managed to load the bases against reliever Mike Baumann in the 8th. Chapman knocked in all three with a double to left-center. Tyler Rogers and Ryan Walker got the last six outs.

The website says 24-year-old Mason Black is the starter tonight (6:05 Pacific). He hasn't pitched in the bigs since his debut in May when he had three starts and a relief appearance. He's a 2021 third-round pick from Lehigh and has been pitching for the River Cats in the meantime.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

"Waiving" the flag

The Giants waived three players yesterday: Thairo Estrada, Taylor Rogers, and Tyler Matzek. Matzek came in the Soler trade has been on the IL. Seems like they are waving the white flag on 2024.

Here's MLBTR:

Estrada, Rogers and Matzek were not designated for assignment. They can continue to play for the Giants pending resolution of the waiver process. If they go unclaimed, San Francisco can (and quite likely will) simply keep them on the roster for the rest of the season. However, waivers are irrevocable. If another team places a claim on anyone, the Giants do not have the ability to rescind the placement.

There's more to come, I expect. Take a look at Cot's Contracts. Veterans still in the arb-process like Yaz ($7.9M this year) and Wade ($3.5M this year) might be looking over their shoulders at the large crop of youngsters behind them.

This is that cruel time where teams like the Giants have to think about next season. Who will stay and who will go? There are 28 games left and the odds of being a Wild Card team are increasingly long. Nothing a ten-game winning streak wouldn't cure of course, but this team has not managed even a five-game winning streak this year!

Today's game is 11:10 Pacific. Birdsong gets the start.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Yaz' late homer lifts Giants

SF 5  MIL 4

This was a big win on the road against a tough club. The Giants are clinging to the edges of the race--ESPN gives them a less than 3% chance to make the playoffs. Just this week Randy Rodriguez, Jordan Hicks, and Robbie Ray have all landed on the injured list!

Tonight it was homers that made the difference. Logan Webb uncharacteristically gave up two homers, plus three walks, and couldn't get out of the 6th inning. The lineup bailed him out with the big blasts. Mike Yastrzemski's came in the 7th and that finished the scoring. The bullpen delivered four scoreless innings: Camilo Doval (1), Landen Roupp (2/3), Tyler Rogers (1-1/3), and Ryan Walker (1) for the save.

Tomorrow night (5:10 PT) Kyle Harrison gets the start. Balls were flying out of the yard tonight so let's hope he can keep a lid on the home runs and have his strikeout stuff working.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

p.s. Giants picked up local boy (Granite Bay) and former Cal star Andrew Knapp to play catcher. He had a short stint with the team in 2022.

A win!

SF 4  SEA 3

It was another close one--the Giants almost blew a lead late in the game, but this time they held on for the win. Just-recalled Camilo Doval was very effective in his 1-1/3 IP spanning the 7th and the 8th, and Ryan Walker kept his new closer job with a scoreless 9th. Starter Blake Snell walked six guys in three frames and had to be bailed out by Spencer Bivens. The lineup tagged George Kirby for nine hits and three runs over the first five. Mike Yastrzemski's solo shot in the 7th provided the winning margin. The Mariners had only four hits but still scored three runs.

Tomorrow is another day game (1:10 Pacific). Wouldn't it be great to have an entirely West Coast schedule? It's so civilized to play a ballgame at one in the afternoon! There are certainly enough teams: SF, SEA, OAK, SD, LAA, and LAD. And Arizona is on MST all summer which is the same as PDT. To hell with traveling and to hell with the East Coast. Ah well, a guy can dream.

Robbie Ray is listed for tomorrow. Go Giants!

--M.C.

Webb gets Cained

CHW 6  SF 2

The Giants lost to the worst team in baseball despite another great start (8 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 W, 6 K) from Logan Webb. He was efficient, too: 93 pitches to 27 batters. Once he was pulled from the game the two guys in the 9th (Erik Miller and Spencer Bivens) combined to give up four runs. The Giants had their chances, of course. And they squandered them, of course. It's hard to believe a team can hit this badly in run-scoring opportunities!

It's an off-day tomorrow, thank goodness. I need a break! This team is maddening.

After that it's a weekend series in Seattle. The rotation has not been posted on the website but it looks like Birdsong-Snell-Harrison.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Three in a row

SF 4  CHW 1

A strong start from Robbie Ray and two RBIs from Heliot Ramos pushed the Giants past the White Sox and kept the dream alive for another night. At 65-63 the Giants are a game behind the Mets and 3-1/2 behind the Braves for the third and final Wild Card spot. They still have a legit shot to make the post-season--they just have to keep winning! Right now the Padres (72-55) and the Diamondbacks (71-56) have a grip on the first two spots and are actually threatening the Dodgers for the division title.

Tomorrow Logan Webb starts the getaway game at 12:45 Pacific. Then it is a weekend series in Seattle starting Friday night.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants hang in there

 SF 5  CHW 3

It went from a comfy 5-1 lead to a nail-biting 5-3 edge but they got the job done and won a game they needed to win. At this point they need to win every damn game. Kyle Harrison got through six with minimal damage and was well supported by the lineup's four-run outburst in the 5th. Things got a little shaky with the relief corps but they held on. Jordan Hicks was tossed into the closer role after Ryan Walker's two-inning effort yesterday and he delivered despite two hits and a blown double play.

Robbie Ray gets the start tomorrow night (6:45 PT). 

Go Giants!

--M.C.

7th inning: 10-8

SF 4  OAK 2 (10)

The Giants got a much-needed win this afternoon in Oakland after a wild and perilous finish. Blake Snell threw another great game (7 IP, 1 R, 10 K) but was matched by the A's JP Sears (7-2/3 IP, 1 R, 9 K). Once again the lineup couldn't get anything going. Finally in the 10th they got a leadoff homer on the first pitch from Jerar Encarnacion and Michael Conforto followed with another bomb. Adding in the Manfred Man that's a 4-1 lead. An error from Brett Wisely let in a run to start the bottom half, and Ryan Walker walked the next batter and then gave up a hit to load the bases. No problem--he struck out the next three guys.

Next the team travels back across the Bay to play the White Sox who are historically bad (.240 win percentage). This is without doubt the best opportunity for a sweep that the schedule presents. The Marlins come to SF at the end of the month and that's the second-best chance.

It's Harrison-Ray-Webb for the three-game set. Tomorrow night and Tuesday are at 6:45 and the getaway game on Wednesday is at 12:45 (PT). Thursday's an off-day before a weekend series in Seattle.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

p.s. This was Game 126, the end of seasonal inning number seven. The Giants are exactly .500 (63-63). There are 36 games left to play and they are ten games back in the division and four games back in the wild card.

1st inning: 7-11

2nd inning: 8-10

3rd inning: 12-6

4th inning: 8-10

5th inning: 9-9

6th inning: 9-9 

7th inning: 10-8

Giants snap losing streak

SF 6  ATL 0

The Giants really needed a win today and fortunately ace Logan Webb was up to the task. He dominated for seven scoreless frames and was finally chased from the game with two outs in the 8th. He gave up only four hits and one walk while striking out seven (104 pitches). The lineup backed him with a ten-hit attack that featured rookies Grant McCray's first hit and first homer. Rookie Casey Schmitt made an error at second base but had three hits including a two-run blast. It was a 2-0 nail-biter until a three-run rally in the bottom of the 7th. Tyler Rogers got the final out in the 8th and Spencer Bivens had a three-up, three-down 9th.

Tomorrow is an off-day. Then they go to Oakland for two: Saturday and 4:07 and Sunday at 1:07 (PT). Hayden Birdsong and Blake Snell are listed.

Go Giants

--M.C.

Giants take two from Tigers

SF 3  DET 2

Friday night went according to plan--FNG local boy Mark Canha had the game-winning RBI in his home debut. Alas, closer Camilo Doval was sent to AAA. It's not a surprise. He's been walking too many guys and giving up too many hard-hit balls. Seems like he can't command his pitches. I hope they can fix him!

SF 3  DET 1

Saturday featured Logan Webb. He fashioned another fine ace-like start: 7 IP. 4 H, 1 R, 1 W, 8 K. Number nine hitter Brett "Maverick" Wisely got the big hit, a two-RBI double in the 5th that proved to be the difference. Tyler Rogers had a quick 8th, getting the side on 11 pitches. Ryan Walker put two on in the 9th but got the save by whiffing the last two hitters.

The Giants are now 61-58 after a nice 7-2 August surge. This is the time. This is the moment. If this club wants to play in the post-season they need to keep winning. There's one more against the Tigers tomorrow (1:05 PT) and rookie Hayden Birdsong gets the ball. Then it's four against the Braves before on off-day Friday.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Winning ways

SF 9  WSH 5 (10)

The Giants got a big win yesterday on the road and in the rain. They have a winning record (59-58, .504) for the first time since the end of May.

In other news, I'm happy to be posting. My ancient (2010) desktop finally crashed! I'm not really set up to run the blog from my laptop so future posting will be compromised. I'll do my best. Meanwhile, does anyone have a spare 475W PSU for a Dell XPS 9000?

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Home runs lift Giants

SF 7  WSH 4

Blake Snell delivered a quality start on the heels of his no-hitter and the Giants bats awakened and powered past the Nationals to get the team back to a .500 record. Camilo Doval loaded the bases with one out in the 9th but got a double play to earn the save and seal the win. The Giants really need to beat up on teams like Washington and tonight they scored in four straight frames. They pounded out ten hits with five going for extra bases. Mike Yastrzemski had a triple and a homer, Matt Chapman had a double and a homer, and Heliot Ramos had a homer.

The getaway game tomorrow is at 9:05 a.m. Pacific. Kyle Harrison takes the hill.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

.500

SF 4  WSH 1

Tyler Fitzgerald led off the game with a homer and Matt Chapman hit a 3-run dinger in the 3rd and that was enough to edge the Nationals. Logan Webb cruised through the first five but ran out of gas in the 6th after a spirited 13-pitch plate appearance from Keibert Ruiz that resulted in a walk. A balk and two hits later a run was in and Webb was out. Ryan Walker finished the inning and put up a scoreless 7th. Taylor and Tyler Rogers managed the 8th, and Camilo Doval struck out the side in the 9th for the save.

The Giants had men on second and third with no outs in the 8th with a 4-1 lead and failed to add on. In the bottom half the Nationals pulled off the same routine, failing to score with runners on second and third and no outs. The Giants wound up with a 1-for-7 mark hitting with RISP and left five men on base. Washington's lineup fared worse, going 1-for-8 with RISP and stranding nine. Patrick Corbin went six, fanning six against one walk, but gave up the two homers. Webb walked three and whiffed four in his 5-2/3, allowing just the one run.

The team gets back to .500 (57-57) for the season. The last time was May 31st (29-29). The website still lists Birdsong as the starter tomorrow (3:45 PT).

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants thump Reds

SF 8  CIN 2

It seems that August will be the make-or-break month for this 2024 Giants ballclub. Today's win gave them a series victory and starts the month with a winning record. There was a solid start by Robbie Ray, great bullpen work, and a superb offensive explosion (3 doubles and 3 homers) with a late-inning rally, all the ingredients for a big win. If the Giants are to make a move in the Wild Card race they'll need to do more stuff like that over the remaining 48 games.

This is a poor road team: 23-34 (.404) after today. They are 33-23 (.589) in San Francisco. There are four more away games on this trip, all against the Nationals, before they return home. Washington ought to be a team they can beat up on. The rotation looks like Webb-Birdsong-Snell-Harrison. Monday's game is 3:45 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Snell says NO!

SF 3  CIN 0

Blake Snell had four starts in July and ran out a nice looking line: 24 IP, 8 H. 2 R, 5 W, 30 K. The Giants won three of those games. Tonight against the Reds he surpassed all of that with a no-hitter. That's right, a complete game shutout without allowing a hit. It's the third no-no in MLB this season and the 18th in Giants history. Even better: it's the first complete game of Snell's career! Obviously it's also his first no-hitter and his first shutout. In fact he had never gone eight full frames--7-2/3 IP was his career high.

Snell threw 103 pitches in his last start where he struck out 15 in six innings. Tonight he reached 114 with 11 whiffs. He got nine fly ball outs and two on the ground. All this after the game's start was delayed by an hour due to rain.

The lineup struck out 14 times but the rookies saved the day. Homers by Tyler Fitzgerald (who also had an RBI double) and Casey Schmitt backed up Snell.

Back-to-back shutouts by the team's aces are a good way to "serve notice" to the rest of the league. Congratulations to Blake Snell for an historic accomplishment. And a pat on the back to the ball club for pulling out the win. Let's get some more! 4:15 PT tomorrow.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Lucky 13

SF 1  OAK 0

Logan Webb threw a complete game shutout and the Giants edged the A's to split the series. The Giants have six total shutouts this season but this was their first by one guy. It's the 13th complete game shutout in MLB this season (there have been 210 team shutouts). It was Webb's third complete game in his career and his second shutout.

Greg Maddux (1986-2008) had 109 CGs and 35 were shutouts. Baseball's active CG leaders are Justin Verlander (26) and Clayton Kershaw (25). They are also the active shutout leaders, Kershaw with 15 and Verlander with 9.

Webb leads MLB in innings pitched with 144-1/3.

The team travels to Cincinnati today for a weekend three-game set. Friday is 4:10 PT. The starters have not been listed but it looks like Harrison-Snell-Birdsong.

Go Giants!

--M.C.