20 wins!

SF 4  AZ 2

Johnny Cueto had to work hard this afternoon, throwing 109 pitches to 26 batters to get through 5-2/3 innings. He gave up two runs right away in the top of the 1st but kept the Arizona hitters off the board into the 6th. He left with the bases loaded but Caleb Baragar got the final out. The Giants got two in the bottom half of the 6th on a homer by Donovan Solano to take the lead and the bullpen did the rest. Jarlin Garcia loaded the bases in the 7th but struck out two to escape unscathed. Tony Watson (8th) and Tyler Rogers (9th) each struck out two in their brisk, dominant frames to finish off the Diamondbacks. Chadwick Tromp hit a solo shot in the 3rd but otherwise lefty Alex Young frustrated the Giants until Solano's big hit. Brandon Belt, pinch-hitting for Tromp in the 7th, added a solo shot off Yoan Lopez to make it 4-2 and that's how it finished.

The Giants get their 20th victory in their 41st game with some excellent defense, timely bombs, and superb relief work. Cueto deserves a nod for his veteran savvy clutchness, getting some big strikeouts (he had seven overall) against a patient lineup, and keeping the lid on things when it seemed ready to fly off.

Kevin Gausman takes the hill tomorrow against Zac Gallen at 5:05 p.m. PDT.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Cueto and Giants get it done

 SF 4  AZ 1

Johnny Cueto had some command issues early in the game but settled down to retire, at one point, 13 in a row. The Giants had a 1-0 lead thanks to an Alex Dickerson homer in the 1st but did not get another hit until the 8th inning. Meanwhile the Diamondbacks tied it up in the bottom of the 6th with a solo shot of their own. Cueto delivered a splendid 6-2/3 yielding three hits and three walks on 106 pitches. Fine bullpen work from Tony Watson, Tyler Rogers, and Sam Coonrod (who closed it) gave the Giants a chance. They responded with four hits in the top of the 8th to plate three runs and come away with a tidy win. The Giants improve to 8-11 on the road and 17-19 overall.

So far no news from Giants HQ regarding the trade deadline which is 4 p.m. ET tomorrow.

Monday is an off-day and then the Giants go to Colorado for two, with Tuesday at 5:40 and Wednesday 12:10 (p.m. PDT).

--M.C.

Giants Win Slugfest

 SF 10  LA 8  (11)

The San Francisco Giants have four wins against the Los Angeles Dodgers, a team that has lost only nine games. Last night the 3-4-5 hitters, Evan Longoria, Brandon Belt, and Donovan Solano, went 9-16 with 7 runs scored and 8 RBI while the rest of the lineup went 5-for-30 (three by Brandon Crawford) with 11 whiffs. The team was 3-for-22 with runners in scoring position! It was a crazy game: Giants used nine relievers after Johnny Cueto went four innings and overall the ten pitchers threw 199 pitches (122 strikes)!

It was more like a heavyweight boxing match with the Giants as the upstart contender and the Dodgers as the veteran champion. In fact, last night was merely the opening rounds of what promises to be a great three-game fight. In the opening frame, Max Muncy blasted a 3-run homer on a 3-0 pitch (I wonder if pitchers will stop grooving 3-0 pitches now that batters swing at them) but the Giants counter-punched with a 3-run homer of their own in the bottom half. That was the first of two for Brandon Belt, the other was a solo shot off Kenley Jansen that tied the game in the 9th! The Giants trailed in the 9th, 10th, and 11th but still won the game. Donovan Solano had just one hit but it was the game-winning two-run homer, only his second home run of the season.

Seven wins is a row. Kevin Gausman and Clayton Kershaw tonight at 6:45 p.m. PDT.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Kicking Ass, part two

SF 7  LAA 2

The Giants played another outstanding ballgame tonight, besting the Angels behind some formidable pitching (13 strikeouts!) and a relentless attack (10 hits, two homers, two doubles). Johnny Cueto had to work hard (112 pitches) for his 17 outs, yielding four hits, a walk, and two runs, but he also whiffed eight. Andrew Suarez allowed the hit that drove in the second run, and Caleb Baragar had to come in to finish the 6th which he did with a strikeout. He added a clean 7th and Tyler Rogers struck out both Mike Trout and Albert Pujols to take care of the 8th while Tony Watson closed out the 9th on 13 pitches.

Wilmer Flores was the hitting star, Kap sat Brandon Belt to get the righty in against the lefty starter (Patrick Sandoval) and it paid off with two hits (one a 3-run homer) and four RBI. Austin Slater is not 100% and can't play the field so he led off tonight as the DH and chipped in two hits (one a two-run homer) and two runs scored. I especially enjoyed the late rally with the meat of the lineup (Solano/Yaz/Longo/Flores) carving out two runs in the 7th to make it 7-2 and take the pressure off the bullpen.

Kevin Gausman goes tomorrow at 6:45 p.m. Angels beat reporter Rhett Bollinger tweets that their starter for tomorrow is lefty Jose Suarez (that fact was re-tweeted by Andrew Baggarly, which was in the sidebar, which is why I have that feature there). The Giants came into tonight's game with a .268/.331/.455 line against southpaw starters and then they racked up six hits and five runs against another one! So, I think they like facing lefties.

--M.C.

Giants get gut-punched

OAK 8  SF 7 

The Giants got a great start from Johnny Cueto and slugged past the A's lefty starter Jesus Lazardo to the tune of a 7-2 lead in the 9th inning. Alas, Trevor Gott finally lost his mojo and blew the save big time. The Oakland lineup scored five runs off him--a solo homer and a grand slam--to crush the Giants hopes of an easy win. The sequence was particularly galling: a walk, a fielder's choice that got no one out (a mental gaffe by Wilmer Flores), and a hit batter before the slam. Tyler Rogers came in to get the final two outs and almost gave it away before getting it done. It was really too bad as they had played a clean, strong game until that point. But the A's have a really good team and have been playing well so giving them extra chances in the 9th was a recipe for disaster.

Besides the fine work by Cueto (7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 104 pitches, 26 BF) the lineup showed some spunk with 13 hits, at least one by every starter except DH Pablo Sandoval (0-for-5 with 2 K). Mike Yastrzemski was 0-for-his-first-4 before connecting for a solo shot in the 8th off lefty reliever T.J. McFarland.

Jarlin Garcia got the call in the 10th and the A's pushed their magic runner across for an 8-7 lead. The Giants had Austin Slater on in their half but were overpowered by Liam Hendricks who struck out three to end the game. It was a brutal loss. Let's hope they can do better tomorrow.

Kevin Gausman gets the start against Frankie Montas at 4:07 p.m. PDT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants chase Kershaw

SF 5  LA 4

It's not often the Giants get the better of Clayton Kershaw but they did just that in LA tonight. In the 3rd inning Austin Slater and Mike Yastrzemski hit homers off the big lefty to make it 2-0 Giants. In the 5th, Slater hit another bomb and doubles by Donovan Solano and Yaz made it 4-0 and that was it for Kershaw. Meanwhile Johnny Cueto no-hit the Dodgers through five. In the top of the 6th, Hunter Pence got a hit (only his second of the season!) and came around to score later on a sacrifice fly by Mauricio Dubon. That would be a crucial run. Pence blew a routine fly ball (lost in the lights?) to open the bottom of the 6th. It turned into a triple and the next batter drove in the run with a ground out. Cueto then lost it, walking the next two batters. He probably should have come out then (his pitch count was up to 90) but with a 5-1 lead and an over-worked bullpen Kap let him pitch to Justin Turner. A 400-foot 3-run homer ended Cueto's night but Tony Watson got the last out of the inning and the bullpen did the rest. Tyler Rogers got the next six outs and Trevor Gott held his nerve against the heart of the order in the 9th to get the save.

The Giants have had really poor starting pitching so far this year and it looked like JohnnyC was going to fix that problem. He did just that for five innings but the "third time through the lineup penalty" bit him on the ass. The unfortunate misplay by Pence that ended the no-hit bid was a gut punch and certainly did not help. But the walks have been an issue so far for Cueto (9 in 18-1/3 IP) and they hurt him tonight. He does appear to be getting stronger and starting to look more like his old self and that is certainly good news. Slater's emergence as a hitter is also good news. He's slashing .310/.394/.586 so far!

Kevin Gausman tomorrow afternoon (1:10 PDT).

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Giants Blast Past Padres

SF 7  SD 6
I was so wrong about this team! They CAN come back! They CAN hit the big home run! Wow, I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around tonight's game. Let's see if we can hit the highlights: Johnny Cueto got hammered. Not much of a highlight--he threw 87 pitches to get 11 outs. Trailing 6-2 after four innings, the Giants used Tyler-power (Anderson and Rogers) to put up zeros from the 5th through the 9th. Meanwhile Alex Dickerson hit a solo homer in the 6th and Donovan Solano hit a three-run game-tying bomb in the 8th to set up Mike Yastrzemski to be the hero. Yaz had homered in the 3rd inning and he wasted no time in launching the game-winner leading off the bottom of the 9th. I did not think this team was capable of such a power surge and I did not think this team could fight back from an early deficit. It is especially gratifying to win a game in which the putative ace of the staff got knocked around. (Let's hope JohnnyC finds his mojo!) Not to mention the Padres threw their ace and he only lasted five innings.

What a great win! It was nice to see Brandon Crawford break out with three hits. He kept the rally going in the 8th before Solano's homer. That blast is the clutch-iest clutch hit of the young season. What a great win. Did I say that already?

The Giants have not announced a starter for tomorrow. The Padres are going with RH Dinelson Lamet who won his last start with five strong innings against the D-Backs on Saturday.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.


update: AmyG says Kevin Gausman is starting tomorrow.

Giants get their butts Kike'd

LA 8  SF 1
Dodgers second baseman and Giants arch-nemesis Enrique "Kike" Hernandez got four hits and drove in five runs to bury the Giants on Opening Day. It was a good game for six innings but in the 7th it all fell apart. The Giants got MVP'd  with back-to-back hits from Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger that put runners on second and third. Giants pitcher Tyler Rogers got the infield grounder he wanted but the 2018 AL MVP (Betts) slipped in past the tag and broke the 1-1 tie. Justin Turner was safe at first on the play. The next batter, Corey Seager, hit a grounder to Rogers but he misplayed the rundown, getting the out on the 2019 NL MVP (Bellinger) but allowing the other runners to advance. They both scored on Hernandez' hit and it was a rout after that. The Giants looked shaky on defense and the late inning pitchers (after Rogers it was Dany Jimenez and Conner Menez) got pounded.

Johnny Cueto started and got through four innings with one run allowed. Drew Smyly and Rico Garcia covered the 5th and the 6th but the Giants lineup could only produce one run. Clayton Kershaw was a late scratch and young flamethrower Dustin May got the call and he threw a lot of nasty strikes in 4-1/3, giving up seven singles but no walks.

It was real baseball. It was ugly. It was weird. But weird baseball and ugly baseball are both better than NO baseball!!

Giants have not announced a starter for tomorrow. The Dodgers are going with Ross Stripling. Game time is 6:40 p.m. PDT.

GO GIANTS!!

--M.C.

An ugly win is still a win!

SF 2  MIA 1
The Giants put on a display of offensive ineptitude again today but they managed to prevail over the equally-pathetic Marlins. Good work from the bullpen saved the home squad from embarrassment, with Tyler Rogers getting three outs on ten pitches, and Will Smith returning to close it out. Mauricio Dubon gave the Giants early hope with a solo shot, but an Evan Longoria throwing error led to the tying run against hard-luck reliever Burch Smith. The winning rally featured singles by Yaz and Belt who both moved up on a wild pitch. After a walk to Longo and a whiff from Vogt reliever Ryan Stanek threw another wild pitch and Yaz scampered home. It's a win, I'll take it, but damn it is a discouraging thing to watch. The Giants have scored 254 runs at home in 75 games (3.39 rpg) and that's why they are 33-42 there. Johnny Cueto pitched well again (5 IP, 0 R) and that feels good.

It is a blessed travel day tomorrow and--another blessing--the boys go on the road, this time to Boston. They'll have to hit better there. Logan Webb gets the ball on Tuesday at 4:10 p.m. Pacific.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Johnny Joy

SF 5  PIT 4
Johnny Cueto pitched beautifully in his return to action. The flashy righty threw a first-pitch strike to 12 of the 17 batters he faced. One hit, one walk, and four strikeouts in five innings (69 pitches) made for a tidy night's work. The Giants put up three runs right away against Pirates starter Mitch Keller and added two more in the 5th. It was just enough. Kyle Barraclough started the 6th but had to be bailed out by former starter Andy Suarez. He got through the 7th as well but Sam Coonrod and FNG Wandy Peralta made a mess of the 8th, giving up four runs. Former starter Shaun Anderson stepped up and got the final four outs, an impressive effort considering last night's ugly loss.

Speaking of last night, that was Game 144, the end of the 8th seasonal inning. It was ugly. The team went 6-12, nuff said. Here's the big picture:

1st inning: 8-10
2nd inning: 8-10
3rd inning: 5-13
4th inning: 10-8
5th inning: 11-7 
6th inning: 13-5
7th inning: 8-10
8th inning: 6-12

Giants get their 70th win and are now 70-75, and more importantly 1-0 in the 9th seasonal inning. There are 17 games left!

Logan Webb goes tomorrow night, 6:45 Pacific. GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

SF 1 LA 0

It took seven pitchers to get the shutout, but the Giants 1-0 victory over the Dodgers tonight in LA has to be one of the most satisfying wins of the season. Eking out a run in the 1st on a bases-loaded Kevin Pillar ground out, the Giants made it stand up against the best offense in the NL. The Dodgers have 253 homers in 143 games, an average of 1.77 per game or roughly seven homers every four games. Not tonight!

In the 5th inning starter Tyler Beede, who had looked great through four, loaded the bases with two outs and had to face Cody Bellinger. In a pennant race there's a good chance he gets pulled (76 pitches), especially with his youth and recent history. Bring in a LOOGY there and go after the putative MVP. But this is a rebuilding team and there is an opportunity to develop a young pitcher, so Boch left in Beede to face Bellinger. Four pitches later he got a fly out to left field and walked off with five of the best innings of his rocky rookie campaign.

With Reyes Moronta on the IL, Tony Watson recovering, and Will Smith unavailable, it took a fresh bullpen approach for the late innings. Shaun Anderson, a closer in college, threw a scoreless 6th with two strikeouts. Tyler Rogers got two outs in the 7th and Andrew Suarez closed the inning and got the first out of the 8th. There was a tense moment when Sam Coonrod hit Justin Turner with a pitch but Fernando Abad induced a double play from Bellinger to finish the 8th. In the 9th Jandel Gustave gave us tooth-gnashing moments with a walk and a scary line out but Kike Hernandez obliged with a double play grounder and the Giants had their win. You have to love the creative use of the pitching staff, and the fact that they executed--in new roles--against a very tough opponent. It was torture, of course, I would have preferred a 10-0 lead, but it all worked out. That's back-to-back one-run wins!

Bruce Bochy has the most wins (107) of any visiting manager in Dodger Stadium. That's only the fifth time this season the Dodgers have been shut out.

Dereck Rodriguez gets the start tomorrow afternoon at 1:10 PDT.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.


p.s. Johnny Cueto starts Tuesday night at home against the Pirates.

Home field disadvantage

AZ 6  SF 4
AZ 3  SF 2
The Diamondbacks take two from the Giants who can't seem to hit at Oracle Park. The team played poorly overall with some egregious baserunning in both games as well as some disappointing relief appearances. Day off tomorrow and then the Padres come to town for four. Let's hope the bats wake up real soon.

Roster moves of note: Scooter Gennet was cut loose and Mauricio Dubon was called up. They must think highly of him as they've churned through two accomplished major-leaguers to get to this point. Donovan Solano is covering the keystone well but I expect the youngster to get a long look. Trevor Gott, unfortunately, had to go on the IL with an elbow issue. IF Abiatal Avelino was sent back down and OF Joey Rickard was recalled. Right-handed funky delivery-guy Tyler Rogers was promoted to the bigs for the first time and pitched a 1-2-3 inning in his debut.

Johnny Cueto is getting close to a return. He makes another rehab start this weekend in Sacramento.

--M.C.

Lose Big or Don't Lose at All

Seems like that's the Giants' philosophy, lately.  In the last 6 games, the Giants have been outscored 42 - 30.  The Giants have won 4 of those games.

The Giants won 2 of 3 against the Nationals, dropping the finale 15 - 2.   The Giants won Friday night, 6 - 4.  That game featured a go-ahead balk to give the Giants a 5 - 4 lead in the 7th.

Weird twin bill today.  Joe Panik is on the DL and Mac Williamson is on the concussion DL.  The Giants started new father Chris Stratton, hoping to have a game that saved their bullpen for the night game, followed by 4 straight before a break next Thursday.  Chris lasted 1 1/3 innings.  6 runs were charged to his record.  Ouch.  He was matched against dogger youngster Walker Buehler who also labored in the 1st, giving up 2 runs to the Giants, but hung in through 5 and got a win.  After Stratton, the Giants pitched Roberto Gomez, up from Sacramento; Derek Law and Cory Gearrin for 1 out.  The Giants finally found an effective pitcher for the 9th.  It was Pablo Sandoval.  He threw only 11 pitches to get 3 outs.  The totals: 215 pitches for the Giants, a guy named Alen Hanson, up from the minors to fill in for Panik, hit a 3 run home run, Derek Law got his first major league hit and a final score of 15 - 6. 

In the nightcap, the Giants faced Alex Wood with Johnny Cueto on the mound.  JC started off with 3 hits and 2 runs to the first 3 batters, including a home run to the 2nd, Cory Seager.  After that, though, the doggers did not have a base runner until the 5th when Cueto walked 2.   The Giants scored 3 in the 5th on a bases-clearing double by Austin Jackson.  That gave Cueto, who pitched 6, the win.  Reyes Moronta, normally so dependable, could not get an out in the 7th, but Sam Dyson handily cleaned up the bases loaded threat allowing only 1 run.  The Giants used another newbie, DJ Snelton in the 8th, but he ran into trouble in the 9th and Hunter Strickland bailed him out.  Meanwhile the Giants tacked on rbis by Belt, Longoria and Tomlinson.  The final score was 8 - 3.

So the Giants will not lose this series.  The final is tomorrow, Blach is scheduled against Maeda.  It will be the 10th meeting between LA and the Giants and it is not yet May.  Then the tough Padres come into town for 3 before the Giants take off on a road trip to Atlanta, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.  The Giants are 1 game under .500, but in third place in the NL West, 1/2 game in front of LA.

Two outta three ain't bad

SF 4 LAA 2
The Giants win their first series of the 2018 season by nipping the Angels in the getaway game. Johnny Cueto was excellent again, allowing no hits through the first five innings and finishing with six shutout innings. An error by Brandon Crawford extended the 6th inning and that likely cost Cueto a chance to pitch into the 7th, but it also gave Brandon Belt a chance to flash some leather. He fielded a grounder from Luis Valbuena with the bases loaded and one out and threw a laser beam to BCraw to get the force and JohnnyC hustled over to cover first to complete the 3-6-1 DP. It was a big moment and preserved the 4-0 lead. Good thinking and execution by our southpaw first baseman. The Angels would rally in the 8th with a two-run homer from--who else?--Mike Trout and would put two on in the 9th but the Giants prevailed.

Speaking of Brandon Belt, he had a 21-pitch AB in the 1st against rookie Jaime Barria. Yes, you saw that right: a twenty-one pitch at-bat. That's a major league record. It's Belt, Mr. Hard Luck, so it ended in a line out and not a hit, but it was a great event nonetheless. He had 16 foul balls including 11 straight! And that was a small part of Belt's big day as he singled and scored ahead of Evan Longoria's homer in the 3rd and homered himself to lead off the 5th. He also led off the 7th with a single. I think Belt is one of the most under-rated players in the game. Few are as hurt by their home yard, and his gangly, awkward-looking style doesn't help. He is certainly under-appreciated by Giants fans who I think are put off by his hang-dog mien and fail to appreciate his overall fine play. I'm happy he's making some noise.

No rest for the weary as the Nationals pull in to San Francisco for three games starting tomorrow night. Chris Stratton faces Gio Gonzalez. GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

2:05

AZ 1 SF 0
The Giants got a hit on a check swing and didn't get one on a screaming liner. Brandon Belt took advantage of the shift and half-poked a single to the absent third baseman in the 8th for the Giants only hit against Patrick Corbin. Buster Posey roped one to center in the 7th that had hit written all over it and only a lunging, spectacular play by A.J. Pollock made it into an out. It was that kind of game. Johnny Cueto was brilliant, fanning eleven over seven innings, but it was all for naught as that's all the Giants could get off Corbin--naught. It was the Arizona lefty's first career shutout.

Tony Watson gave up a run in relief of Cueto. He's pitched well so far this season. It was a grounder up the middle by a lefty (David Peralta) with two outs. That's exactly the kind of hit that has eluded the Giants, not that they had any chance of a RISP tonight. At least it was a quick death.

--M.C.

Snakebit Giants Still Prevail!

SF 5 AZ 4
The Giants didn't need more bad news but they got some anyway--starter Johnny Cueto hits the DL with an ankle injury. Rookie Tyler Beede made his ML debut a night earlier than he expected to and had a rough time of it. He gave up two quick runs in the 1st and labored (20 batters, 82 pitches, 5 walks) through four. Reyes Moronta added two scoreless. Down 2-0 in the 6th the Giants rallied against Patrick Corbin who had been overpowering to that point. Up 3-2 a two-out hit by Brandon Crawford sent Andrew McCutchen home with what looked like run number four. The safe call, alas, was overturned by replay and some of the happy buzz from the rally was killed a bit. The Diamondbacks tied it up immediately against Josh Osich but fine relief work from Cory Gearrin and Tony Watson kept it knotted 3-3 into the 8th. In the bottom half, a walk to McCutchen and a single by Buster Posey put men on first and second for Evan Longoria with one out. He struck out, but with the runners going, Alex Avila chucked it into centerfield and Cutch came around to score to make it 4-3. The old double-steal/catcher-error play! Hunter Strickland got the first two outs in the 9th but gave up a bomb to--who else?--Paul Goldschmidt and the game was tied, again.

That crushing blow merely served to set up the winning rally in the bottom of the 9th. A walk to Kelby Tomlinson, a sacrifice bunt by Gorkys Hernandez, a walk to Austin Jackson, and a walk to Brandon Belt loaded the bases for Cutch. He delivered the game-winner on the first pitch and the Giants had a dramatic, hard-fought, much-needed victory.

On the radio Flemm said at the end of the game "in the NL West this year there will be a lot of games like this." I think he's right. This Giants team has a chance to be really good. They are holding their own with three starters and two relievers on the shelf and a team OPS in the bottom third. If they can get the offense warmed up a bit imagine what they could do. The pitching has been very tough overall considering the injuries, and the fielding looks very good. Rookie Andrew Suarez will most likely make his ML debut tomorrow. We wanted the team to get younger, didn't we?

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

¡Adiós, pelota!

SF 10 SEA 1
Johnny Cueto wasn't overpowering like he was in LA but he was effective in his first home start (6 IP, 8 H, 1 R) and the Giants pounded the Mariners with a four-homer barrage. Felix Hernandez is no longer The King and the lineup took advantage of his early wildness, scoring three in the 1st on two walks, two singles, and a sacrifice fly. Gorkys Hernandez greeted his countryman with a homer in the 2nd and the rout was on. Gorkys started due to a late scratch of Hunter Pence and made the most of it with three hits. A Brandon Belt homer in the 5th was followed by two walks and a 3-run splash hit from Pablo Sandoval. That did it for Hernandez, and then Brandon Crawford blasted the team's fourth bomb off reliever James Pazos. Giants got another run off Wade LeBlanc in the 7th to make it double digits. Good work in the field too, no errors or sloppy play. A cathartic outburst and a satisfying win to snap the three-game skid, wouldn't you say?

Off-day tomorrow and the Dodgers (who were swept in Arizona) come to town to face Derek Holland on Friday at 7:15 p.m. Go Giants!

--M.C.

Joltin' Joe and a near-perfecto

SF 1 LA 0
The Giants have scored only two runs so far this season. Both have come on Joe Panik solo homers. Yesterday he took Clayton Kershaw deep. His long ball was the difference in a 1-0 win. Tonight he took Kenley Jansen deep. His long ball was the difference in a 1-0 win. Joe Panik homers in back-to-back games against arguably the best starter and the best closer in baseball! That's some serious VSC! And some serious craziness--consecutive 1-0 games to start the season? Have the Giants ever won the first two games of a season 1-0? Have the Dodgers ever lost the first two games 1-0? Has any team had either happen? Crazy!

Speaking of VSC, Johnny Cueto was brilliant tonight. He retired the first 18 batters he faced and lost his perfect game to the leadoff hitter (Chris Taylor) on a single to right-center in the 7th. But Corey Seager obliged with a double-play grounder and Yasiel Puig flew out to left and that was 21 hitters and 21 outs. Tony Watson was perfect again in the 8th and new closer Hunter Strickland followed with a perfect 9th. Giants pitchers faced the minimum! You could argue that Dodgers starter Alex Wood was even more dominant, giving up only a weak infield grounder (to Brandon Crawford in the 5th) over eight innings. It should have been an out but the infield was in a shift. He pitched through some wretched fielding, too. Alas, it went for naught with Panik's heroics in the 9th.

Two games, two nail-biters, two wins. Giants pitchers have thrown 18 scoreless frames. On the road. Against the defending NL champs. That's not a bad way to start the season, I must say.

FNG Derek Holland tomorrow. GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

64 and Done

SD 4 SF 5 

Well, this cesspool of a season is finally over and the amount of happiness that gives me is quite disturbing.  Today ended with the flash of a walk off homer ( by Pablo Sandoval, no less ) and some loving speeches for a great departing Giant; but there is nothing that can take away the stink and scars from of this year.  It started in April really.  And by May it was a done deal.  Amazing in a sick way.  This team is different than any of the other big losing squads of my youth and it has affected me more than I ever expected.

After years of genuine contention, all bets are now off and we all start from scratch.  Truthfully, I'm not sure I'm up for it any more.  One thing I learned from this horror of a team is that there are times to walk away from it.  I regained some of my life by getting away from this team and I liked it.  So, all I can say is that I will let you know about next year and just how much I want to jump in again.

Time for me to pull the plug on baseball for awhile.  Maybe I'll check out the Indians for Mom's sake but I doubt it.  Enjoy the post season, but if the doggers do well, please don't tell me.

Hangover Win

 SF 9 ARI 2

Even with a lopsided win, this team still makes me feel like I wasted my evening watching them.  The Diamondbacks, fresh off clinching a post season berth, played like it.  All their stars had the day off and the rest of them had apparently partied all night.  Four errors and a bunch of bad pitching later, the Giants had meaningless win #62.  Yippee!

Cueto (8-8) gave the Giants another solid outing (game score 64, 6 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 7 K).  He sure has had a hard time getting easy outs since coming back.  I guess that is a small criticism...but his pitch counts have been crazy lately.  Not sure that it means anything.

Our boys made a bit of noise with the bats tonight.  They scored 5 runs in an inning for the first time in 5 weeks.  Hundley had a big 4 RBI night, including the game breaking 3 run homer.  Parker got three hits, including a couple doubles.  He hit it hard to all fields and looked good doing it.

What a shame it meant not a thing.  Only a few more meaningless games left!  Thank Willie.