SF 5 PIT 3
The Giants complete another sweep, this one on the road, and notch their sixth straight win. A two-run homer in the 8th by Brandon Belt was the difference, but a three-run 7th was the key to the comeback victory. Hunter Pence, not known for his patience, walked to start the rally and Buster Posey followed with a double. Belt's single plated a run, as did Brandon Crawford's, and pinch-hitter Kelby Tomlinson's sacrifice fly finished it. The Giants are suddenly looking like a real team. Jeff Samardzija gave up a two-run homer in his six innings but he also struck out five and walked, you guessed it, none. Another strong outing by the big righty; the team is now 7-10 in his starts. The only blip for the relief crew was Steven Okert giving up a solo homer to make a 5-2 game 5-3, but Cory Gearrin had already delivered a stalwart 1-2/3 and Sam Dyson's 1-2-3 9th (comebacker-comebacker-whiff) was outstanding.
I'm happy the team finally looks good. We knew they could play like this but it's been a rare sighting since last season's ASB. They get these spurts of superior baseball but can't sustain it. Maybe that will change. Did you see that Christian Arroyo got hit by a pitch and broke his hand? Bummer. Looks like next year for The Kid.
--M.C.
Showing posts with label Christian Arroyo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian Arroyo. Show all posts
Sunday, July 2, 2017
Saturday, May 20, 2017
Giants Win . . . Again!
3-1 win (13) in StL
The Giants win in extra innings on the road. I'll say that again: the Giants win in extra innings on the road. That makes two wins in a row. I'll say that again: that makes two wins in a row. Jeff Samardzija had to match up with a nearly unhittable Carlos Martinez and wouldn't you know he delivered eight scoreless frames and kept the Giants in the game. The game, like last night, featured a rain delay, but the Giants prevailed thanks to a big hit from Christian Arroyo in the top of the 13th. I have to say I like this version of the 2017 Giants a lot better than what we were seeing last month.
--M.C.
The Giants win in extra innings on the road. I'll say that again: the Giants win in extra innings on the road. That makes two wins in a row. I'll say that again: that makes two wins in a row. Jeff Samardzija had to match up with a nearly unhittable Carlos Martinez and wouldn't you know he delivered eight scoreless frames and kept the Giants in the game. The game, like last night, featured a rain delay, but the Giants prevailed thanks to a big hit from Christian Arroyo in the top of the 13th. I have to say I like this version of the 2017 Giants a lot better than what we were seeing last month.
--M.C.
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
0-134 no more
6-5 win in NY
Christian Arroyo crushes a bases-clearing double in the top of the 9th against Mets closer Jeurys Familia to lead the Giants to a come-from-behind victory! That breaks a streak of 134 consecutive losses when trailing after eight innings. Naturally the Giants were without $62M closer Mark Melancon in one of their very few save chances, but Derek Law managed to get it done despite almost giving it all away (with a little help from Justin Ruggiano). Just add it to the list of crazy unbelievable shit that's happened in 2017.
Matt Cain bounced back from a horrid start in Cincinnati and pitched effectively today in New York. Did I mention that the Giants WON the game? The team is 4-3 in his seven starts. Ideally, you want your guy to do one thing: pitch better than the other guy. It was close today, Cain allowed three runs on four hits (one HR) and two walks in five innings. Tommy Milone gave up two runs on six hits (one HR) and two walks in his five innings. Matty's job is 5th starter, I daresay he has fulfilled that role so far. But today's story, believe it or not, is the lineup and the bullpen. Like Cain, the bullpen wasn't exactly dominating or pretty, but they were effective. The lineup, in grand 2017 style, had a solo shot and a sac fly to go with eight singles and two walks before the 9th inning. They finally got an extra-base hit with men on base, something they've seemed genetically unable to do in this young season.
One major positive of this series is three homers from Buster Posey. That big fly stroke has been absent for a while, it's nice to see it back. He has been making hard contact but has also been hitting ground balls, it seems, at an alarming frequency. Maybe he made an adjustment, or maybe he was a bit unlucky earlier. Perhaps with Brandon Belt really struggling these last two weeks we'll see more of him at first base (even though he did make an error that led to a run) and Nick Hundley behind the plate.
Thursday is Game 36. Doesn't it seem like the season has been a lot longer than just two innings? That was the Giants longest road trip of the season, and the longest losing streak. They come home to face the Reds and Dodgers.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
p.s. You might be interested in this piece from FanGraphs called Jeff Samardzija is the Best and Worst He's Ever Been. I should note that, with 0.8 fWAR, he's by far our best pitcher (excluding Madison Bumgarner who still clocks in at 0.9!). But for the enigma that is The Shark, this is an illuminating article, even if it might be a little too saber-y for most folks.
Christian Arroyo crushes a bases-clearing double in the top of the 9th against Mets closer Jeurys Familia to lead the Giants to a come-from-behind victory! That breaks a streak of 134 consecutive losses when trailing after eight innings. Naturally the Giants were without $62M closer Mark Melancon in one of their very few save chances, but Derek Law managed to get it done despite almost giving it all away (with a little help from Justin Ruggiano). Just add it to the list of crazy unbelievable shit that's happened in 2017.
Matt Cain bounced back from a horrid start in Cincinnati and pitched effectively today in New York. Did I mention that the Giants WON the game? The team is 4-3 in his seven starts. Ideally, you want your guy to do one thing: pitch better than the other guy. It was close today, Cain allowed three runs on four hits (one HR) and two walks in five innings. Tommy Milone gave up two runs on six hits (one HR) and two walks in his five innings. Matty's job is 5th starter, I daresay he has fulfilled that role so far. But today's story, believe it or not, is the lineup and the bullpen. Like Cain, the bullpen wasn't exactly dominating or pretty, but they were effective. The lineup, in grand 2017 style, had a solo shot and a sac fly to go with eight singles and two walks before the 9th inning. They finally got an extra-base hit with men on base, something they've seemed genetically unable to do in this young season.
One major positive of this series is three homers from Buster Posey. That big fly stroke has been absent for a while, it's nice to see it back. He has been making hard contact but has also been hitting ground balls, it seems, at an alarming frequency. Maybe he made an adjustment, or maybe he was a bit unlucky earlier. Perhaps with Brandon Belt really struggling these last two weeks we'll see more of him at first base (even though he did make an error that led to a run) and Nick Hundley behind the plate.
Thursday is Game 36. Doesn't it seem like the season has been a lot longer than just two innings? That was the Giants longest road trip of the season, and the longest losing streak. They come home to face the Reds and Dodgers.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
p.s. You might be interested in this piece from FanGraphs called Jeff Samardzija is the Best and Worst He's Ever Been. I should note that, with 0.8 fWAR, he's by far our best pitcher (excluding Madison Bumgarner who still clocks in at 0.9!). But for the enigma that is The Shark, this is an illuminating article, even if it might be a little too saber-y for most folks.
Friday, May 5, 2017
I'm glad I skipped this one
Reds 13 Giants 3
You read that right, thirteen runs allowed, nine charged to starting pitcher Matt Cain. He had a nice run going with only three runs allowed in his last 23 innings but the Reds took care of that straight away on a wet night in Cincinnati. Not much else to say, rookie Christian Arroyo got a homer off grizzled vet Bronson Arroyo, Buster had three hits, and Nick Hundley got another double which makes eight two-baggers out of his twelve hits. The nightmare continues. It seems they can't put together back-to-back good games. And it's alarming that two starters both allow nine runs in the same turn through the rotation! In fairness, not much was expected of Cain, he was listed as the fifth starter for a reason. Two stinkers in six starts, and the Giants won three of the other four, he's been holding his own at the back end, I have to say. I've held out hope that he would "find it" again and it seems he might have. Let's hope tonight is the aberration and not the trend. Cain I feel OK about. The team, not so much.
Ty Blach tomorrow. I'm excited that the rookie's getting his chance even though it came about in a shitty way. Skipped the broadcast tonight and went out socializing. You gotta pull the damn needle out of your arm now and again, eh?
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
You read that right, thirteen runs allowed, nine charged to starting pitcher Matt Cain. He had a nice run going with only three runs allowed in his last 23 innings but the Reds took care of that straight away on a wet night in Cincinnati. Not much else to say, rookie Christian Arroyo got a homer off grizzled vet Bronson Arroyo, Buster had three hits, and Nick Hundley got another double which makes eight two-baggers out of his twelve hits. The nightmare continues. It seems they can't put together back-to-back good games. And it's alarming that two starters both allow nine runs in the same turn through the rotation! In fairness, not much was expected of Cain, he was listed as the fifth starter for a reason. Two stinkers in six starts, and the Giants won three of the other four, he's been holding his own at the back end, I have to say. I've held out hope that he would "find it" again and it seems he might have. Let's hope tonight is the aberration and not the trend. Cain I feel OK about. The team, not so much.
Ty Blach tomorrow. I'm excited that the rookie's getting his chance even though it came about in a shitty way. Skipped the broadcast tonight and went out socializing. You gotta pull the damn needle out of your arm now and again, eh?
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
Saturday, April 29, 2017
Giants Fall Apart, Again
SD 12 SD 4
Matt Cain labored a bit but had good results over his abbreviated outing. The pitcher's spot came up just after the Giants had tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the 5th and Kelby Tomlinson got the nod and that was it for Matty. He'd thrown 86 pitches to 21 batters to get the 15 outs, walking no one and getting seven swinging whiffs. Tomlinson got the pinch-hit, by the way, and wound up scoring on Brandon Belt's two-out single and the Giants turned it over to the bullpen for the final four frames with a 3-1 lead. Chris Stratton got the 6th and unfortunately made a mess of it, giving up four hits and two runs and leaving with the bases loaded and only one out. Neil Ramirez came in and poured gasoline on the fire and the Padres wound up scoring eight in the frame and three more in the next to make it a laugher. Another bullpen collapse! And I thought it couldn't get worse. That was just a wretched performance, the lack of execution has me speechless. The Giants have won two games in a row only ONCE this season!
SF 4 SD 3
Friday night the Giants got a strong effort from Jeff Samardzija (7 IP, 3 R) and a clutch late homer from The Kid, Christian Arroyo, to prevail 4-3 over the Padres. Brandon Belt had three hits and a walk and scored two. Derek Law and Mark Melancon finished up and the Giants sewed up a big win. They're all big at this point as there are way too many losses so far this season. It was an exciting and dramatic evening, but the joy was quickly dissipated by the disaster that followed the next night.
The Giants lifted themselves out of the cellar with the win on Friday but the loss on Saturday landed them right back on the bottom. Let's hope the team wins the rubber game tomorrow behind the other rookie, Ty Blach. This has been an embarrassing month of baseball--one of the worst ever--and I'm getting ill having to endure it.
--M.C.
p.s. Buster and other catchers have a lot to say to Jerry Crasnick about life behind the plate in this article for ESPN. Check it out.
Matt Cain labored a bit but had good results over his abbreviated outing. The pitcher's spot came up just after the Giants had tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the 5th and Kelby Tomlinson got the nod and that was it for Matty. He'd thrown 86 pitches to 21 batters to get the 15 outs, walking no one and getting seven swinging whiffs. Tomlinson got the pinch-hit, by the way, and wound up scoring on Brandon Belt's two-out single and the Giants turned it over to the bullpen for the final four frames with a 3-1 lead. Chris Stratton got the 6th and unfortunately made a mess of it, giving up four hits and two runs and leaving with the bases loaded and only one out. Neil Ramirez came in and poured gasoline on the fire and the Padres wound up scoring eight in the frame and three more in the next to make it a laugher. Another bullpen collapse! And I thought it couldn't get worse. That was just a wretched performance, the lack of execution has me speechless. The Giants have won two games in a row only ONCE this season!
SF 4 SD 3
Friday night the Giants got a strong effort from Jeff Samardzija (7 IP, 3 R) and a clutch late homer from The Kid, Christian Arroyo, to prevail 4-3 over the Padres. Brandon Belt had three hits and a walk and scored two. Derek Law and Mark Melancon finished up and the Giants sewed up a big win. They're all big at this point as there are way too many losses so far this season. It was an exciting and dramatic evening, but the joy was quickly dissipated by the disaster that followed the next night.
The Giants lifted themselves out of the cellar with the win on Friday but the loss on Saturday landed them right back on the bottom. Let's hope the team wins the rubber game tomorrow behind the other rookie, Ty Blach. This has been an embarrassing month of baseball--one of the worst ever--and I'm getting ill having to endure it.
--M.C.
p.s. Buster and other catchers have a lot to say to Jerry Crasnick about life behind the plate in this article for ESPN. Check it out.
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Giants Fail in Finale
LA 5 SF 1
After a couple of poor outings Matt Moore returned to form and pitched impressively against the Dodgers this afternoon in San Francisco. He threw 104 pitches over seven innings and yielded just one run on a solo shot by, you guessed it, Corey Seager. His finest moment was his final two hitters in the 7th, whiffing them both with the go-ahead run on third base. It was 1-1 when he left and both George Kontos and Mark Melancon put up scoreless frames but Cory Gearrin, Steven Okert, and Hunter Strickland combined to ruin the top of the 10th and the Dodgers ran away with it.
The Giants really needed a series win, they've had only one so far this season. They lost 3 of 4 in Arizona to open things, then lost 2 of 3 in San Diego before coming home and winning 2 of 3 from the Diamondbacks. They followed that by losing 3 of 4 to the Rockies and then went on the road and split two in Kansas City and got swept in three games in Colorado. So, yeah, winning a goddamn series had some urgency. Unfortunately they just did not have enough offense to make that happen. It's a scarily bad lineup so far, the lack of scoring (77 runs in 23 games!) is pathetic. You can't win when the hitting is this poor. It's a shame to waste the good pitching. And to see the bullpen collapse--again--just as it seemed they were getting it together is discouraging as well.
Phenom Christian Arroyo continues to be blessed by the gods, he had two hits including the game-tying RBI in the 6th. Keep on rockin', kid, you are the best thing that's happened in this wretched month!
San Diego comes to town for three. GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
After a couple of poor outings Matt Moore returned to form and pitched impressively against the Dodgers this afternoon in San Francisco. He threw 104 pitches over seven innings and yielded just one run on a solo shot by, you guessed it, Corey Seager. His finest moment was his final two hitters in the 7th, whiffing them both with the go-ahead run on third base. It was 1-1 when he left and both George Kontos and Mark Melancon put up scoreless frames but Cory Gearrin, Steven Okert, and Hunter Strickland combined to ruin the top of the 10th and the Dodgers ran away with it.
The Giants really needed a series win, they've had only one so far this season. They lost 3 of 4 in Arizona to open things, then lost 2 of 3 in San Diego before coming home and winning 2 of 3 from the Diamondbacks. They followed that by losing 3 of 4 to the Rockies and then went on the road and split two in Kansas City and got swept in three games in Colorado. So, yeah, winning a goddamn series had some urgency. Unfortunately they just did not have enough offense to make that happen. It's a scarily bad lineup so far, the lack of scoring (77 runs in 23 games!) is pathetic. You can't win when the hitting is this poor. It's a shame to waste the good pitching. And to see the bullpen collapse--again--just as it seemed they were getting it together is discouraging as well.
Phenom Christian Arroyo continues to be blessed by the gods, he had two hits including the game-tying RBI in the 6th. Keep on rockin', kid, you are the best thing that's happened in this wretched month!
San Diego comes to town for three. GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
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