Walk off

 LA 8  SF 6

The Dodgers walk off with a win, literally. Tyler Rogers walked two in the 9th with a 6-5 lead before allowing a three-run homer. That's the first time this season he's walked two batters in an appearance. The Giants hit four homers to take a 6-2 lead but couldn't hang on. John Brebbia gave up three runs in the 6th in relief of Alex Wood. Jarlin Garcia and Jake McGee put up zeroes in the 7th and 8th but Rogers couldn't get it done at the end.

Logan Webb gets the start tonight.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

p.s. I'm on the road for the next several days so I won't be posting. I'll be back early next week.

Stinker

LAA 8  SF 1

The Giants played a stinker tonight. They haven't played many of those. Alex Wood looked like Alex Wood for two innings and then the wheels came off. Four walks and a hit batter with a few hits sprinkled in and it was 4-0 Angels. Matt Wisler poured gas on the fire and it was 8-0. Angels southpaw starter Andrew Heaney was tough (6-1/3 IP, 5 H, 1 R 1 W, 7 K) and he also had a hit, a walk, and a run scored.

I thought Curt Casali's struggles on offense (.104/.250/.119) would prompt a change and he was placed on the IL with a wrist strain. (Every MLB catcher has a wrist strain or two!) Chadwick Tromp gets the call-up, not Joey Bart. They like what Bart is doing at AAA and he is also just back from injury. Tromp is the emergency guy. Nick Tropeano, who finished up the win yesterday, goes back down. RHP Dominic Leone gets his shot. He's 29 and has 253 innings of ML-experience over seven seasons. Conner Menez is back. He took Scott Kazmir's spot who is on the "restricted" list for some personal issue. Tromp, Leone, and Menez all saw action tonight. Steven Duggar had two of the Giants six hits and scored their lone run.

Off-day tomorrow. The Cubs come to town for a four-game series starting Thursday night.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Swept

LA 11  SF 5

You know it's bad when the opposing pitcher gets a hit and drives in a run. What's worse is when he does it again. Dodgers starter Julio Urias had a double in the 2nd that drove in two and a single in the 3rd that drove in another. It was that kind of day. Anthony DeSclafani gave up ten runs in his 2-2/3 innings, that's probably his worst game ever, but I didn't bother to research it. The Dodgers had an answer for everything this weekend and gave the Giants their first series sweep of the season and their first three-game losing streak. It's as if Dave Roberts and his players sat down before the three-game set and said "let's give these pretenders a smack upside the head and remind them who the best team is." Even with a shorthanded lineup (no Betts/Seager/Bellinger) and without using Kershaw LA dominated. It's no wonder lots of people picked them to win 110+ games!

On the bright side, this is the first time this season the Giants have looked over-matched. And, as I mentioned, the first time this team has lost three in a row. We've seen them bounce back from some hideous losses already--a season's worth for some teams--and I expect they'll bounce back from this debacle. At least they know better what they are up against and what adjustments they'll have to make to compete.

Tomorrow is an off-day and then they go to Phoenix for two before a four-game set in, you guessed it, Los Angeles.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Not again

PIT 8  SF 6

The Giants bullpen had another meltdown, this time blowing a 6-2 lead and losing 8-6 to the Pirates. It was ugly. It's obviously the Achilles Heel of the team. Maybe they have a plan to fix it. I hope so. I don't really want to cover the particulars, it's a little too painful. For all the good this team is doing, these late-inning disasters, blowing chow in spectacular fashion, are hard to take!

Alex Wood goes tomorrow morning (10:05 Pacific) in the getaway game.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Craziness in Seattle

SEA 8  SF 7 (10)

The Giants combined a superb start from Kevin Gausman with a spectacular late-inning collapse to create a dramatic extra-inning opener in Seattle. Maybe "ugly" is a better word than "dramatic." Perhaps you might accept "weird." It looked like the Giants were cruising, up 6-1 in the 8th, but a whole bunch of bad stuff happened in the bottom half and it was suddenly 7-6 Mariners. Let's rewind a bit.

Kevin Gausman had a fine debut, shutting down the Mariners on two hits and one run over 6-2/3 innings. He had excellent command of his fastball and threw his splitter for strikes. He walked two and struck out six and induced a lot of weak contact. He threw 90 pitches to 24 batters.

The lineup delivered impressively as well, racking up ten hits (six for extra bases) and working four walks. Evan Longoria belted a solo homer off Seattle starter Marco Gonzalez in the 2nd, and Buster Posey added his own in the same frame. Wilmer Flores doubled home Donovan Solano in the 4th, Austin Slater popped a solo shot in the 5th, and Brandon Belt added an RBI single three batters later, driving in Solano. Flores scored an unearned run in the 8th after his second double and it was a five-run lead for the visitors.

Back to the horrid debacle. Matt Wisler opened the 8th with a walk. After two hits and a run scored he was out, and in came Jarlin Garcia. He made a mess of it with two more walks sandwiched around a strikeout. In came Tyler Rogers who gave up a double to the first man he faced and it was suddenly a 6-5 nail-biter. He then hit the next batter which loaded the bases. On the next play Brandon Belt made a throwing error on a ground ball that could have been an inning-ending DP. The Mariners, impossibly, had a 7-6 lead.

But, the Giants have a deep bench. Alex Dickerson, pinch-hitting for Slater, bopped a homer in the 9th to rescue the evening and make it 7-7. At least it gave us all hope. Jake McGee put up a zero but the Giants, despite the automatic runner in the top of the 10th, failed to break the tie. That gave the Mariners a shot against Jose Alvarez with their automatic runner and they pushed across the winner without swinging the bat. Alvarez walked the three batters he faced! Seven walks and a hit batsmen for the bullpen tonight, not to mention seven runs allowed. My goodness, that's as bad as it gets. I'm going to focus on the good stuff, like the start by Gausman and the strong attack by the hitters. Tomorrow is another day.

Johnny Cueto at 7:10 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Missed opportunity

COL 9  SF 6

I have a near-religious belief that a team must score at least eight runs in order to be competitive in Coors Field. I have seen too many leads evaporate in that park over the years. Today the Giants jumped to an early lead, 6-1 in the 4th, but the Colorado bullpen suddenly stiffened and threw five consecutive scoreless innings. Meanwhile the Giants bullpen had an epic meltdown. Logan Webb was solid through five, allowing only two runs, and with a low pitch count manager Gabe Kapler let him start the 6th. He got Charlie Blackmon with a strikeout, but gave up a single to Kevin Pillar* and a bunt single to Trevor Story. Kap replaced Webb with Jarlin Garcia who allowed both runners to score on a single and a sacrifice fly. Sam Coonrod came out for the 7th with a 6-4 lead but retired no one, giving up three runs on three hits and a walk. Tyler Rogers finally put the fire out but not before three more hits (including a homer) and two more runs. The Rockies flipped the game over and went to the 8th with a 9-6 lead and that's how it ended.

I was really hoping the Giants would take both games and come home with a .500 record. I felt like the early runs were only going to work if the Giants could tack on a couple more in the final third of the game. I figured the Rockies to chip away at the 'pen but I did not expect a five-spot, especially with the way Coonrod and Rogers had performed lately. A frustrating loss, to be sure. The Giants are 2-4 against the Rockies and have four more games with them (at home) in the final week of the season. I would really like to see the Giants pass these guys in the standings!

Off-day tomorrow. Arizona comes to San Francisco for four starting Friday night. The Diamondbacks are the team the Giants have beat up on the most this year, with the good guys taking five of six. Let's hope that continues.

--M.C.

 

*Pillar was picked up at the deadline by the Rockies from the Red Sox. He was in last night's game and was 0-for-3 but had two hits (including a 2-run triple) against his old team this afternoon. His current .274/.323/.476 slash line (over 30 G and 134 PA) is the best mark of his career.

It can't get any worse . . . right?

 LAA 7  SF 6

They say "third time's the charm" but for beleaguered Trevor Gott the third time just might be "the farm." The Giants blew another 9th-inning lead when Gott surrendered another walk-off home run. He's not fooling anyone at this point and it's hard to know what's next for him. Manager Gabe Kapler did what a manager is supposed to do, at least in my book, which is show faith in his guy and "have his back" if the shit hits the fan. Unfortunately his faith has not been rewarded and the Giants continue their losing ways.

On the good side, the bullpen did deliver three scoreless frames (one apiece for Jarlin Garcia, Tyler Rogers, and Tony Watson) to give the team a chance. The lineup had ten hits including a homer from Brandon Belt, a triple from Evan Longoria, and a double from Mike Yastrzemski. Mauricio Dubon had two hits. Tyler Anderson started and gave up five runs in five innings but also had eight strikeouts.

Getaway game today at 1:10 p.m. Trevor Cahill gets the start.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

The Giants don't have a bullpen

OAK 15  SF 3

It looked like there might be the makings of a 'pen a little earlier in the season, but the A's made it clear this weekend that the Giants relievers throw what amounts to batting practice. I remember writing before this series with Oakland that the Giants really needed better work from their starters. They got that. Unfortunately the bullpen imploded, collapsing upon itself in a firestorm of home runs.

We knew the Giants had a chance of playing even worse baseball in 2020 than they had from 2017 to 2019. We also held out hope they could get some surprise performances from the youngsters and some bounce-backs from the veterans and maybe take a run at a .500 record. Breaking even in the win-loss department would have been, in my mind, a terrific season.

Alas, the worst-case scenario has struck, and struck with a vengeance. The Giants don't have a bullpen. They have a reasonably effective lineup. They can score some runs. They are still a little weak, but they aren't useless. They are starting to show some effectiveness in the starting rotation. They might even get a front-line pitcher from the group, someone like today's starter Logan Webb. Johnny Cueto and Kevin Gausman are pitching like major-leaguers again. But they don't have a bullpen.

I don't know what they are going to do about it. This goofy season is getting goofier. I suppose the thing to do is treat it like a bad acid trip. I mean, once you gobble the tabs there's no going back, so you just have to ride it out. The team might be in a shit-hole right now, but there's always a shiny bauble to find now and again so you have to enjoy those moments when they happen.

Monday (6:40 p.m.) and Tuesday (1:10 p.m.) they are in Anaheim to take on the Angels.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

p.s. The A's are good. I'd like to see them knock off one of the big powerhouse teams (like the Yankees) this post-season. Assuming we get the full season in, of course. That's still an open question.

Oh, well

OAK 7  SF 6

The Giants are determined to lose games they should win. Last night's wretched loss was one thing, to have it repeated tonight was too much. Once again a veteran player (this time Hunter Pence) gave away an out in the 9th inning on a routine play. When a rookie or other youngster makes a gaffe in the field I can usually let it slide, but when an experienced player makes that kind of mistake you have to really wonder why they are on the roster. Gabe Kapler tried to give Trevor Gott another chance and it blew up in his face. The knives will be out for sure after this one. I have no issue with Kap and I have no problem with his bizarro approach to things. I'm patient. It's a young team, lacking the talent to compete, and I'm OK with that. And this is a goofy season. The lack of a proper Spring Training has really hurt the Giants and most likely any team in a re-build. Player development is the theme for this 60-game sprint and it will be the theme next year, too. But I wonder if the fans will put up with it for much longer. That's too bad as the Giants really are a couple of years away from any serious contention NO MATTER WHO THE MANAGER IS, but I don't think that will make a difference. I hope ownership will stick to the plan and suffer the indignities that go along with it because I don't see an alternative. The Giants are who they are. Oh, well.

Kevin Gausman didn't make it through the 6th inning but he once again flashed some electric stuff getting ELEVEN strikeouts from the 25 batters he faced. Maybe the best thing that can happen is he gets traded at the deadline for a youngster or two.

--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.

At least it wasn't a no-hitter

HOU 6  SF 4

Or a shutout. Lance McCullers, Jr. carried a no-hitter into the 7th inning in Houston tonight. Donovan Solano broke it up with a two-out double. In the 8th Austin Slater hit a homer off reliever Josh James to end the shutout bid. Otherwise it was just another wacky night of Giants baseball. Solano, the man they call "Donnie Barrels," kept his 15-game hitting streak alive but made two poor plays in the field in a goofy 3rd inning with the Giants trailing 1-0. With one out he let a grounder under his glove at third base for a single. Chadwick Tromp was then called for catchers interference to put on another runner. Starter Logan Webb, who deserved better, walked the next batter. A pop fly that fell, barely fair, in front of left fielder Alex Dickerson (who didn't really have a play on it) went for a double with two runners scoring. Next was a grounder to Solano who tried to throw the runner from third out at home and wound up hitting him! Another grounder was too slow to turn two and a run scored. Another grounder ended the inning and it was 5-0. Solano hit a double and drove in a run in the Giants valiant comeback attempt in the 9th, and he's of course absolutely raking, but it is frustrating when the veteran players make mistakes in the field. I expect some from the raw youngsters (like the two catchers!) but the fielding miscues have hit everyone on the team, even the older players.

6:10 p.m. PDT tomorrow.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

p.s. LHP Jarlin Garcia made his Giants debut in the 7th with an inning of relief. He walked two and gave up a hit but no runs. Garcia is 27 and has 170 IP (150 G) over three seasons with the Marlins, who waived him in the off-season.

Not today

TEX 9  SF 5
Jeff Samardzija became the first Giants starter to log five innings. Unfortunately he gave up two extra-base hits with men on base (a two-run double and a two-run homer), much like his last start (a two-run homer and a three-run homer), and the result was the same in both cases--the team lost. The Giants clawed their way back to a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the 6th, but the bullpen let them down in the 7th. Andrew Triggs, activated today when Drew Smyly went on the IL, walked three to open the frame. Tyler Anderson gave up a sacrifice fly and a three-run homer (Joey Gallo) and suddenly it was 9-5 Rangers. I have to like that the Giants battled back. And that Chadwick Tromp hit his first ML homer! The pitching stunk today and that ruined the chance for a sweep.

They go to Colorado for four starting tomorrow, and follow that with three in Los Angeles (Dodgers) and three in Houston. That's a tough ten-game stretch. They have an off-day on the 13th.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Eew

LA 9  SF 1
That was yucky. No hitting, no pitching, no fielding. Jaylin Davis hit a homer--that's some good news. The Giants called it Spring Training 2.0 instead of Summer Camp. This opening series in LA looks like Spring Training 1.9 and it hurts to write that. I suppose you can tell a lot about a team by how it faces adversity. You lose, you look bad, what do you do? You put your big boy pants back on the next day and play some goddamn better baseball, that's what you do.

The Giants are going with TBA again. The Dodgers have Alex Wood. The game is part of the Fox Saturday broadcast and it starts at 1:10 p.m. PDT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

9th inning: 8-10

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
9th inning: 8-10

FINAL RECORD:  77-85 

If you prefer to look at months:

Mar/Apr 12-18
May  10-16
June  14-13
July 19-6
August 11-16
September 11-16

It comes out the same: three winning innings out of nine, or two winning months out of six, that makes one-third of the season they played .500+ baseball. If you spend two-thirds of your season below .500, you aren't doing well. Note that all the good stuff happened in the middle third. If you go by innings they were 21-33 in the first third and 22-32 in the final third. Bleah. By months it is 22-34 through May and 22-32 in August and September. A poor start and a poor finish means a lot to make up in the middle. 34-20 (or 33-19) is damn good but certainly not enough. But we knew this already.

--M.C.


p.s. I felt bad for the A's (I like Bob Melvin, I think he's a good manager) as they got beat by home runs by the team that--of all ten playoff teams--hit the fewest homers! And I felt bad for that guy in right field for the Brewers who let the ball hit by Juan Soto (who's 20!) turn into the game-winner. He tried to be a hero, a classic rookie mistake, and it blew up in his face. Baseball is full of things, if you are a fan, that twist your guts into knots! Why do we do this to ourselves?

It's Over

LA 9  SF 0
Dereck Rodriguez, bless his heart, had to play the sacrificial lamb this afternoon as the Dodgers took control of the ballgame in the 1st inning. He got burned on a few weakly-hit balls, but the boys in blue are absurdly good (106 wins) and the Giants have had no answers at any time this weekend. D-Rod was hit hard this year and mostly unable to replicate his rookie-year successes. Let's hope he can up his game before next spring and compete for a roster spot. The team needs all the young arms it can gather together. In fact, the team needs to improve everywhere. But that's another post.

Bruce Bochy talked about managing Team France in the next World Baseball Classic (2021). That sounds like a perfect fit. He is the only MLB manager born in France. Competitive guys like Boch probably never really retire, they just find less-stressful ways to keep the juices flowing. I thought it was interesting how many people, in their tributes to Boch, remarked on the same personal qualities like his patience, his tolerance, his loyalty, his genuine concern for their well-being, that sort of thing. He cultivated relationships and maintained them with grace and good humor. Boch comes across as a genuine good guy and living proof that Leo Durocher was full of shit.

Giants made history this season. They used 64 players, the most ever by an NL club. They went 35-46 at home (.432), and I think that may be their worst-ever or tied for their worst-ever home record, including the New York days. I saw that factoid on Twitter, but I am unwilling to do the research to verify it. I understand Timmy was in the house today. He's like Area 51, you are never really sure what's true and what isn't. He's alive and was photographed, that I know. Madison Bumgarner pinch-hit against Clayton Kershaw in the 5th (who was a good sport and kept pumping in fastballs) and lined out to third. Kershaw tipped his hat to Boch, and Bum tipped his helmet to the crowd. I hope that is not the last time we see no. 40 in orange-and-black, but I'm expecting a lot of changes and you just never know how things will shake out. I think I will avoid predicting what will happen as I'm usually wrong.

We'll have a lot to talk about over the ensuing months, but for now I think we all need a break!

--M.C.

River Cats are AAA Champions!

SAC 4  COL 0
The Sacramento River Cats, the Giants Pacific Coast League affiliate, won the AAA national title tonight with a win over the Columbus (Ohio) Clippers. The Clippers are the International League affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. So, a bit of good news for the Giants organization. It's a remarkable accomplishment when you consider the roster turnover. The B-R page lists 65 players for the River Cats this year.

Current Sacramento manager Dave Brundage led the Richmond Braves to the AAA championship game in 2007, and that team lost to the River Cats! Brundage is from Oregon and played for the OSU Beavers before turning pro. He never made the bigs but did play in nearly 800 minor league games over ten seasons. At age 54 he has 22 years of managerial experience, 14 at AAA.

The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes of the Northwest League (A-), the Augusta Green Jackets of the South Atlantic League (A), the San Jose Giants of the California League (A+), and even the Orange Giants of the Arizona League (rookie ball) made the playoffs this season. Not bad!

In other news, the major league club played a game in Boston at Fenway Park. Mike Yastrzemski hit a homer with grandpa Carl in attendance, which was pretty cool. The game lasted 15 innings. The Giants looked good early, then they looked bad and let the Red Sox back in the game in the 6th, but hung on to scratch out a run and take a 6-5 lead in the 13th which was around midnight Eastern Time. The ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth Giants pitchers, Sam Selman, Burch Smith, Wandy Peralta, and Kyle Barraclough could not get the job done and the Sox tied it up and sent it to the 14th inning. But Dereck Rodriguez, the lucky thirteenth pitcher, got the next six outs, and the Giants finally finished it off 7-6. D-Rod gets the win, but shouldn't he get the save as well? If you are going to pass out credit, I think you should go all the way!

Next year we won't likely see thirteen-pitcher games (Boston used eleven guys) as the September rosters will only be increased to 28 players instead of 40.

Jeff Samardzija tomorrow. GO GIANTS!

--M.C.


p.s. Number 1999 for Boch. First SF Giants win--ever--in Fenway.

1-5 homestand

SD 8  SF 4
I said the Giants needed a winning streak. More like a team-wide blood transfusion!

Perhaps they'll play better on the road.

Pablo Sandoval, it seems, got his final at-bat of 2019. Was it his last time in a Giants uniform? Probably. His next step is Tommy John surgery. He'll be 34 next August and has logged almost 10,000 innings (9646) in his career.

The Panda is certainly a unique, unforgettable ballplayer. He gets full-page treatment in The Big Book of Giants Lore.

No rest for the weary. Tyler Beede goes at 11:15 a.m. Pacific in St. Louis tomorrow.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Unearned runs still count

ATL 9  SF 2
Jeff Samardzija and the Giants had a nightmare 2nd inning that included a botched double play, a runner safe at first after striking out on a wild pitch, and two homers. Baseball bookkeepers called those six runs unearned but I say the team earned every one of them. Derek Holland gave up a three-run homer in relief. Madison Bumgarner goes today at 12:45 PDT.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Pomeranz Pounded, Pablo Pitches

CIN 12  SF 4
The Panda hit a 3-run homer, too. Sandoval pitched the 8th after Nick Vincent, Pat Venditte, Sam Dyson, and Travis Bergen came on in relief. Pomeranz was responsible for the first seven runs and Venditte for the next five. Giants starters were not ready for this trip to Cincinnati. Let's hope they are ready for Coors Field.

--M.C.

p.s. Venditte hit three guys in one inning and Dyson made it four in the same frame, tying a record. Sandoval hit a guy, too, but then induced a double-play grounder.

p.p.s. Game was delayed because of bees. That happened before to the Giants and Reds but at Riverfront Stadium in 1976.

Not-wow

CIN 9   SF 2
The Reds pounded another Giants starter--this time Dereck Rodriguez--and took an 8-1 lead in the 5th inning. This time there was no miraculous comeback. Kevin Pillar made a superb leaping grab to rob a homer from Nick Senzel. Steven Duggar is hitting better. Jeff Samardzija goes tomorrow at 1:10 Pacific.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.