Skunked

SEA 4  SF 0

Nothing but zeroes last night. Seattle starter Chris Flexen and his bullpen mates stymied the Giants hitting attack and the Mariners prevailed. Donovan Solano had two hits of course, but he also struck out twice, and that was the story as the lineup whiffed a total of 12 times. Logan Webb went 5-1/3 and allowed seven hits, three walks, and three runs on 97 pitches (25 batters). Reyes Moronta gave up the final run, a solo shot to the first batter, but otherwise was sharp, and both Matt Wisler and Jose Alvarez pitched well.

On to San Diego where Anthony DeSclafani gets the start Monday night, 7:10 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Much Better

SF 6  SEA 3

The Giants played a good game for seven innings on Thursday and last night they played a good game for all nine innings and notched their first win of the 2021 season. Johnny Cueto labored into the 6th and kept the ball in the yard and the team in the game. His final line was 5-2/3 IP with 6 hits and 3 walks with 3 runs allowed but it took 107 pitches and 24 batters to get there. It wasn't pretty but it was effective (7 K, 2 DP) and the Giants fought back from their 3-1 deficit to tie it in the top of the 6th and take the lead for good in the 7th. Buster Posey jacked another homer for the team's first run and Evan Longoria knocked a two-run bomb to tie it and added the go-ahead RBI later. Donovan Solano got the big hit, a two-run double that sealed the deal.

Speaking of sealing the deal, Wandy Peralta was summoned with two outs and the bases empty after Kap pulled Cueto in the 6th and he sparkled. He retired the next four batters on 17 pitches with two whiffs and gave the team a big lift. Tyler Rogers scared us all in the 8th by walking the first hitter and going 3-1 on the next guy. Then he got a tricky grounder that Solano made a good play on, followed by a comebacker and a strikeout. We all breathed a sigh of relief. Jack McGee had an effortless 9th: 11 pitches, 9 strikes, two whiffs.

Logan Webb tonight, an hour earlier at 6:10 Pacific.

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.

Final roster

 

The taxi squad will consist of LHP Conner Menez, RHPs Trevor Gott and Nick Tropeano, C Chadwick Tromp, and OF LaMonte Wade, Jr. These players will be available for road trips and can be "called up" for action immediately if someone on the active roster is injured. It does not impact their contract status or count as an option.

--M.C.