Friday, June 27, 2025

Giants squeak past Sox

SF 3  CWS 1

So the right fielder misplayed Patrick Bailey's blooper into a triple and that was the difference in the game. If he'd played it safe and let it drop in front of him for a single we might be in extra innings right now! But who's complaining? A win is a win. Landen Roupp worked hard for 5-1/3 IP and only allowed one run. Great relief, once again, sealed the deal. Ryan Walker (2/3), Randy Rodriguez (1), Tyler Rogers (1), and Camilo Doval (1) got it done. The White Sox are really bad (26-56) so maybe the Giants can conjure up a couple of whuppin's.

Robbie Ray tomorrow at 1:10 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Thursday, June 26, 2025

Oh, yuck

What the hell did the Giants do on their off-day? They kicked ass on Sunday and after a break on Monday they came out and got bitch-slapped by the FloMars. Did they all go to a ketamine workshop and get in touch with their inner suckitude? Did they forget how to play baseball? Because it sure looked like it. The lowly Fish beat the Giants at every facet of the game. It was a complete and total smackdown.

I think the Giants are going to struggle to score runs the rest of the way. The Devers addition isn't going to improve the lineup all that much. He's just ballast. That is, he's there to make sure the lineup doesn't collapse completely. He's the finger in the dike. Without Devers, the Giants regress and regress and score less and less. With Devers, they stay at a minimum competence level. He had a good day today.

So, now we get to see if the team is resilient and will bounce back. They go on the road to Chicago and face the White Sox. Tomorrow's game is at 4:40 Pacific; Landen Roupp gets the start.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

p.s. My nephew (Damien Verrett aka So Much Light) is a recording artist and he has a record entitled "Oh, Yuck." The cover is below. I feel just like that.

 


 

Sunday, June 22, 2025

Wild win caps weekend

SF 9  BOS 5

The Giants made two errors in the 1st inning that led to a run. But they made up for it—the fielders executed some big plays later in the game. And the Red Sox made two errors of their own that really helped out. Six homers flew out of the yard this afternoon, three by each club. Casey Schmitt hit his fourth as part of a four-hit day that saw him score three times. Mike Yastrzemski tied the game in the 5th with his sixth, and Wily Adames padded the lead in the 8th with his ninth. Heliot Ramos had a two-out, two-run single, and a two-out, two-run double. It was an 11-hit attack overall.

Robbie Ray got stung by the long ball in the 5th and came out at the end of the inning having thrown 88 pitches and the game tied at four. Spencer Bivens gave up a solo shot in the 6th for a 5-4 Boston lead but Erik Miller had a scoreless 7th. The Giants responded with a four-run outburst in the bottom of the frame. Tyler Rogers handled the 8th and Randy Rodriguez the 9th and that sealed the series win.

Good show by the lads in front of another crowd of 40,000+. It was an entertaining affair. Tomorrow is an off-day and then the nine-game homestand wraps up with three against the Marlins. Justin Verlander takes the hill Tuesday night at 6:45 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Saturday, June 21, 2025

Roupp, Devers lead Giants

SF 3  BOS 2

Landen Roupp threw six scoreless innings this afternoon in San Francisco and with a little help from his friends that was enough to get a win. Roupp allowed three hits and three walks and struck out seven. His Game Score of 70 was his highest of the season. Heliot Ramos hit a solo homer (his 13th) in the 1st and FNG Rafael Devers clubbed a two-run blast (his 16th) in the 3rd to take care of the scoring. The Devers bomb was opposite field and it was his first for the Giants.

Randy Rodriguez (7th) and Tyler Rogers (8th) both pitched superb innings in relief. FanGraphs rates RandyRo at 1.4 WAR and TyRo at 0.7, while Baseball-Reference says 1.3 and 1.4 respectively. Regardless, both guys have been studs and are a big reason the Giants have been a contending team. They kept the score 3-0 until the 9th.

Camilo Doval did his best to make a mess of his save chance and he got some help from catcher Andrew Knizner as well. Doval gave up hits to the first three guys which brought in a run. Then a bad throw on a stolen base attempt led to another. Finally our mercurial closer decided 3-2 was close enough and he finished them off. The 43-34 Giants stay four back of LA and two ahead of SD.

Robbie Ray matches up with Lucas Giolito tomorrow. Game time same as today, 1:05 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Thursday, June 19, 2025

Go with the Flo

SF 2  CLE 1

It was a day for VSC. Veteran Savvy Clutchness snapped the Giants skid and spared them from a sweep. The Guardians were pesky in all three games and had the look of a contender. The Giants looked like pretenders by comparison. They were 1-for-7 today with RISP, and the one was a big one, but that is still lame. Not just 1-for-7 (.143), but only seven chances in all. They had five hits and four walks, and Christian Koss reached on an error.

Logan Webb gets the first VSC star. He pitched a great game in LA last Friday which the Giants won. Then they lost the next two plus the first two back at home. So Webb knew he had to play stopper and he delivered the goods with seven strong innings. The Cleveland lineup rapped out seven hits (three by Steven Kwan), but a couple were dinkers. Two were doubles, both by Angel Martinez, and he scored the one run. But Webb whiffed nine and didn't issue a freebie so that was it for them. He left with the team trailing 1-0 and it looked like another Caining.

The second VSC star goes to The Maestro of Clutch, Mr. VSC himself, Wilmer Flores. After Casey Schmitt opened the bottom of 7th with a single, Jung Hoo Lee walked. Patrick Bailey bunted them over. Wilmer pinch-hit for Koss and he stroked a double down the line that scored both runners. That's 53 RBI for Flo, 10th-best in MLB. FNG Rafael Devers is 5th-best with 59 (Pete Alonso is #1 with 63).

Speaking of our FNG, Raffy had 13 PA in the series and was 3-for-11 (.272) with a double and an RBI. He added two walks and four strikeouts. Let's hope our $250 Million Dollar Man goes nuts against his former team this weekend.

A little over 40,000 fans were at the ballpark this afternoon and after the Giants took a 2-1 lead they saw a couple of dominant relievers (Randy Rodriguez and Camilo Doval) close the door and wrap up the win. Boy, did they need that one! This hitting and scoring drought is really hard to take. Webb actually has two wins in his last two starts (14 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 W, 13 K) and is now 7-5. There are 13 MLB pitchers with seven wins, five with eight (Robbie Ray among them), and two with nine (Carlos Rodon and Max Fried of the Yankees). Webb leads everyone with 12 Quality Starts, is second with 101-1/3 IP, and his 2.58 ERA is the third-lowest. Today was his 16th start and his 159th overall in his 7th season, fifth in a full-time  starter role. He turns 29 in November and is signed through the 2028 season. I hope we all appreciate what a beast this guy is!

Hayden Birdsong goes tomorrow night against the Red Sox at 7:15 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Monday, June 16, 2025

4th inning: 10-8

 1st inning: 13-5

2nd inning: 9-9

3rd inning: 9-9

4th inning: 10-8

The Giants had a nice little seven-game win streak and that got them back in the race with the Dodgers and the Padres for the NL West title. The 41-31 (.569) Giants are two games behind LA and one game ahead of SD.

The pitching has been stellar. By any measure (8.2 WAR, 10th; 3.46 FIP, 3rd; 3.30 ERA, 3rd) the Giants have suppressed run-scoring at a better-than-average rate. It's a big reason they have 41 wins (8th-most in MLB). The bullpen has been particularly good, especially Randy Rodriguez, Camilo Doval, Erik Miller, and the always-underappreciated Tyler Rogers. Two starters have put up All-Star work so far, and that would be Logan Webb (2.8 fWAR, 1.9 bWAR) and Robbie Ray (1.8 fWAR, 2.0 bWAR). With Kyle Harrison now on the Red Sox AAA squad in Worcester, the team will have to get big performances from Landen Roupp and Hayden Birdsong. Justin Verlander comes off the IL and pitches on Wednesday.

The offense has been barely competent. They are 20th in WAR (7.2) and 21st in wOBA (.305). They've scored 309 runs (the league average is 308) for a 4.3 rpg mark. Their .232 BA is 24th, their .311 OBA is 21st, and their .377 SLG is 23rd.

I think we can see why Buster Posey took a "big swing" and got Rafael Devers to bolster the lineup. Ray goes tomorrow night against Cleveland at home (6:45 PT) with Verlander on Wednesday night and Webb going Thursday afternoon (1:05). Boston comes to town for the weekend and we'll see Birdsong, Roupp, and Ray. That should be interesting!

--M.C.

Sunday, June 15, 2025

The Devers Trade

The 2025 Giants are (mostly) Farhan Zaidi's team. Buster Posey added Willy Adames in the off-season, a big move to be sure, but also a move that was a near-consensus prediction by baseball's punditry. In other words it wasn't shocking or surprising. It was actually the safe, non-controversial play, perfect for a rookie at the helm.

Trading for Rafael Devers in mid-season is something else entirely. This is Buster Posey donning his Superman cape! Just kidding, but it is more like something A.J. Preller of the Padres would do. It's what the scribes like to call a "blockbuster."

But this is life in the NL West. Look at the Diamondbacks—they signed Corbin Burnes in the off-season to a mega-deal and now he needs Tommy John surgery. But it was the right move at the time. They needed to beef up their rotation if they wanted to stay competitive. The Giants have to beef up their lineup if they want to stay competitive.

Buster and the Giants send four players to Boston: Kyle Harrison (who was supposed to start tonight), Jordan Hicks, James Tibbs (A+, OF/1B), and Jose Bello (Rk, RHP). Devers will be 29 in October. He's a legit star. He came up as a third baseman but when the Red Sox got Alex Bregman Devers moved to DH. He'll likely DH with the Giants. He's a lefty slugger with a career .279/.349/.509 slash line in 1052 G (4545 PA). He's tallied 273 doubles and 214 homers in his nine seasons (he debuted as a 20-year old in 2017).

Devers signed a huge deal (10 yrs, $313 M) before the 2023 season that covers the 2024-2033 seasons. The Giants are taking on the whole enchilada. I've been saying for years that the team can afford this stuff so it is OK with me if they want to spend some of those gigantic piles of moolah they've been sitting on. Funny that the Red Sox are parting ways with a guy who signed a "face of the franchise" kind of contract. But that's baseball—it's a business, after all.

Devers comes with a media tagline of "disgruntled star" because he wanted to play third base and not move to DH. But then he was fine and accepted the role and has hit well this year (.271/.400/.494). When the Red Sox talked about him playing first base, he balked. So, he got the "disgruntled" label. As long as he disgruntles to the tune of 30 HR and 100 RBI or something along those lines I'll be happy.

Anyway, it's a big price to pay for a big bat, and it is a big commitment. But Buster Posey is not just a ballplayer and a PoBO, he's a finance major. He understands all that accounting rigamarole. I'm sure the books will be balanced and they'll have more heaping piles of moolah to spend later. That is, this is MLB. Stud players cost money. If the Giants want to be a playoff-caliber team, then "spend money on quality players" is a really good plan.

This trade is possible because (1) the Giants are doing well in the standings and (2) they have a bit of a surplus in the pitching department. It's too bad they have to give up on Harrison, him being a local boy and all that, signed out of HS, etc. But you have to take risks and give up talent to get talent. The two prospects traded included the Giants #1 pick last year (Tibbs) and a flame-throwing 20-year old (Bello).

The Giants needed hitting and the Red Sox needed pitching. Let's hope it works out!

And by the way the Giants lost 5-4 tonight in LA.

Off-day tomorrow, then home for three with Cleveland and then Boston on the weekend.

--M.C.

Friday, June 13, 2025

Webb and Schmitt lead the way

SF 6  LA 2

Logan Webb kicked ass tonight in Los Angeles and subdued the Dodgers with seven innings of two-hit ball. He got a big lift in the 3rd when Casey Schmitt hit a grand slam. Yoshinobu Yamamoto walked three batters—Jung Hoo Lee, Heliot Ramos, and Wilmer Flores—and with two outs Schmitt blasted one deep into the left field bleachers. THAT was a big hit!

Tyler Rogers had an easy 8th and with Camilo Doval unavailable Ryan Walker got the call for the 9th. He walked Mookie Betts to open the frame but got the next three outs to nail down the save. The Giants got a huge win to open the series and shove themselves into a tie for first place in the NL West.

It was a good night for baseball.

Tomorrow night's game is also at 7:10 Pacific. Landen Roupp gets the start against Clayton Kershaw.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

10-spot subdues Rockies

SF 10   COL 7 

It was a Coors Field kind of game—both teams had 13 hits including a homer and a triple, scored runs in four different innings, grounded into a double play, and committed an error. The Giants were 4-for-10 with RISP, the Rockies were 3-for-11. The Giants left 7 on base, the Rockies 8. Once again a late outburst against the Colorado bullpen, this time in the 8th, decided the outcome. The Giants were trailing 6-3 when they got four runs in the 8th to take the lead. They added three in the 9th as well. Willy Adames is finally hitting the ball: tonight he was 3-for-4 with 3 R and 3 RBI.

Robbie Ray labored and barely made it through four frames. Tristan Beck gave up two runs in three innings and Camilo Doval gave up a run in the 9th. Only Tyler Rogers in the 8th was unscored upon. Tonight the lineup made it academic with a seven-run explosion in the final two frames.

The Giants get their 40th win and stay within a half-game of LA. Tomorrow's game is at 12:10 and Hayden Birdsong takes the hill.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Six in a row

SF 6  COL 5 

The Giants looked absolutely feeble for eight innings and I remember getting really frustrated with their lack of hitting. Then the Rockies young closer walked three in the 9th and it escalated from there. Four runs later the Giants had a one-run lead. Camilo Doval made it exciting in the bottom half but managed to nail down the save.

It was an amazing comeback win in a season of crazy finishes. The Rockies are historically bad (12-54, .182) and a team with post-season dreams needs to whup on bad teams.

Casey Schmitt is the new third baseman as Matt Chapman hits the IL with a forearm injury. He had two hits including a homer. Willy Adames had a homer, a walk, and a sac fly.

Tomorrow's game is  at 5:40 PT and Robbie Ray gets the ball.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Sunday, June 8, 2025

Giants hang on to sweep Braves

SF 4  ATL 3

A gutsy performance from Landen Roupp kept the Braves potent lineup in check and the bullpen did their thing and suddenly the Giants have won five in a row. That keeps them a game behind the LA. Today Mike Yastrzemski, who struggled mightily in May, got the big hit (two-out, two-run double) in the 4th to put the team ahead for good. Yaz also plated the Giants first run with a sac fly in the 2nd. The bullpen took over for Roupp after six. Ryan Walker (7th), Randy Rodriguez (8th), and Camilo Doval (9th) each struck out two batters in their inning of work.

It's a travel day tomorrow. They go to Colorado for three starting Tuesday night (5:40 PT) and follow that with three in Los Angeles on the weekend. This is the first time they will face the Dodgers this season.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

p.s. Looks like LaMonte Wade, Jr. went to the Angels for a PTBNL and/or "cash considerations." Giants GM Zack Minasian is the brother of LAA GM Perry Minasian.

Saturday, June 7, 2025

Back-to-back walk-offs

SF 5  ATL 4 (10)

SF 3  ATL 2

The Giants went to extras on Friday night and won when Braves reliever Pierce Johnson uncorked a wild pitch and Tyler Fitzgerald scooted home. The Giants won this afternoon when Pierce Johnson uncorked a gopher ball to Matt Chapman who parked it over the fence with Heliot Ramos aboard.

On Friday, Hayden Birdsong ran out of gas after being staked to 3-0 lead in the 1st. Ryan Walker gave up the tying runs in the 7th but the rest of the bullpen held firm. The Braves, it seems, are even worse than the Giants at scoring an automatic runner.

Today Logan Webb was great (6 IP, 2 R, 10 K) but Braves starter Bryce Elder was just a bit better (8 IP, 1 R, 12 K). Fortunately for the home fans the team rallied in the 9th off Johnson. Ramos singled with one out and after two were out Chapman homered on a 1-1 pitch. The bullpen of course delivered three scoreless.

With four wins in a row and consecutive losses for the Dodgers (38-27) the Giants (37-28) are now one game back with the Padres (36-26) sandwiched a half-game in between.

Tomorrow afternoon's game starts at 1:05 Pacific with Landen Roupp on the hill.

Go Giants!

--M.C. 

Thursday, June 5, 2025

Split

The Giants bounced back from the two agonizing losses that opened the series with consecutive wins to salvage a split. Last night they overcame a 5-0 deficit to take a 6-5 lead in the 9th that took two pitchers to save, but save they did. Today was also a comeback win, with three runs in the bottom of the 3rd after a Manny Machado two-run homer opened the scoring in the top half of the frame. FNG Dominic Smith got the big hit for the Giants, a two-out, two-strike, two-run double that put them on top for good. Robbie Ray's line in the 3-2 win: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 W, 9 K.

I don't like to make too much of one at-bat but Dom Smith's hit is exactly the kind of hit the Giants got in April on a regular basis. Those hits evaporated in May. Sometimes bringing in new blood works like a charm. Last night FNG Daniel Johnson singled and stole a bag before scoring on Patrick Bailey's single in the 5th. It was the club's first run. He singled again in the 7th behind Willy Adames' walk. Both scored on Heliot Ramos' double to make it 5-3. Welcome to the squad, Dan Johnson! Seriously, those are the hits that have eluded the Giants for some time now. It's great to see the new guys contribute right away.

Sean Hjelle deserves a hat tip for a dandy 2-2/3 IP last night after Kyle Harrison faltered. Ryan Walker fumbled in the 9th but Randy Rodriguez heroically rescued him and preserved the win. That guy is amazing. He pitched a scoreless 8th today, too. Camilo Doval put two on in the 9th today but got it done, sealing the deal with a strikeout. He was popping 100+ mph with his cutter.

The Braves come to town for the weekend. Tomorrow night's game is at 7:15 PT. It's Hayden Birdsong's turn in the rotation.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

p.s. Just to note that bullpen stalwart Tyler Rogers has faced 103 batters this year and walked just three while yielding only 18 hits. This team has a great group of relievers. 

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Shakeup

As expected the Giants parted ways with struggling first baseman LaMonte Wade, Jr. who was DFAd today. Sam Huff got the axe as well. Wade is a free agent after this season. The 31-year old has inexplicably "fallen off a cliff" in his hitting performance. He's been a productive player for the team for the last few years and it is sad to see his decline and departure. "Late-inning LaMonte" is no more.

The Giants desperately need some offense from their backup catcher and Huff has not delivered. He doesn't get to play much, but that's the nature of the job. The Giants desperately need their starting catcher to hit, too.

Former first-rounder Dominic Smith was in the minors with the Yankees but opted out and came to San Francisco on a one-year deal. The soon-to-be 30-year old journeyman lefty has bounced around the bigs for eight seasons and put up roughly league-average numbers as a part-time 1B/OF. He'll be in the lineup tonight, I hope!

Christian Koss and Luis Matos were re-assigned to the minors while C Andrew Knizner and OF Daniel Johnson were promoted. The 30-year old Knizner (KIZZ-ner) has 290 ML games, almost entirely behind the dish. The 29-year old Johnson is a lefty with 95 ML games under his belt. He was, like Jerar Encarnacion, mashing in the Mexican League and got noticed by the Giants.

The team certainly needs something! The two losses to the Padres have been sickening. To waste all that brilliant pitching is a real shame. I forgot to mention that Jordan Hicks went on the 15-day IL. He hasn't had much luck this season. Sean Hjelle takes the spot. Bryce Eldridge was promoted from AA to AAA. That puts him in Sacramento. The 20-year old lefty slugger is on the fast track.

Kyle Harrison tonight (6:45 PT).

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Sunday, June 1, 2025

Four runs!

SF 4  MIA 2

The Giants plated four runs today in Miami and that was enough and they edged the Marlins to take the series. After a crushing 1-0 loss yesterday that wasted a great start by Robbie Ray, the team bounced back with some good work from Hayden Birdsong and a big hit from Luis Matos. Birdsong pitched into the 6th and was pulled with one out after three straight singles. Ryan Walker got the next two outs. Luis Matos extended the Giants 1-0 lead in the 4th with a three-run homer. That came with two outs.

The Marlins got another run in the 7th when still-struggling Jordan Hicks walked three batters. Tyler Rogers saved the inning. Erik Miller got two outs in the 8th but needed Camilo Doval to finish the frame. Doval allowed two baserunners in the 9th but also got a double play. A comebacker ended it.

Wilmer Flores got his 47th RBI in the 3rd on a groundout. That's good for fifth-best in MLB. After going 16-11 in April (and 3-1 in March) the team slipped to 13-14 for May. They start the month of June with a win. The rest of the week is at home. The San Diego Padres (32-24, 1/2 game up on SF) come to San Francisco for four games starting tomorrow night (6:45 PT). It's Webb's turn in the rotation. The weekend will feature the Atlanta Braves.

Go Giants!

--M.C.