Giants take series with win

The Giants bounced back from last night's 5-1 loss with a well-played 4-1 win this afternoon to take two of the three games from the Braves. Carlos Rodón started and was his usual dominant self. What was unusual was that he was pulled after five innings and only 71 pitches (2 H, 1 R, 0 W, 8 K). Apparently they are just being careful with him--there was no report of injury or other physical issue. The Giants led 2-1 at that point due mostly to the bottom of the lineup. Austin Wynns got a two-out hit to plate the first run in the 2nd and David Villar and J.D. Davis had back-to-back doubles in the 4th for the second run. Solid relief pitching from Tyler Rogers and Scott Alexander kept the Braves off the board in the 6th and 7th. Meanwhile the Giants got two more in the bottom of the 6th on another clutch hit from Wynns. John Brebbia took care of the 8th and that left the 9th for Camilo Doval.

He did not disappoint. The young flamethrower was overpowering and whiffed the three batters he faced on twelve pitches. Doval has the stuff to be one of the best late-inning pitchers in MLB. Let's hope he continues to grow and refine his game.

The Braves are a good team. They are the defending champs and they've been really hot after the All-Star Break. Taking a series from that club is a bright moment in a dark season! The Giants are off tomorrow and then the Dodgers come to town for three starting Friday night at 7:15 Pacific. Logan Webb will get the start.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants slip past champs

SF 3  ATL 2

Alex Cobb led the way with a great start: seven scoreless innings with six hits allowed and no walks against seven whiffs. His ERA is finally a respectable 3.48 after peaking out at 6.25 at the end of May. His 2.90 FIP tells a better story--that number peaked at 3.27 in June. Cobb is signed for next year and the team has an option for the following year. His sinker/splitter combo can get a lot of swinging strikes (18 last night) and ground balls (8 last night) when it's working.

The Giants lineup was not intimidated by Spencer Strider and they jumped on him for a two runs in the 2nd. Brandon Crawford hit a single with one out and Thairo Estrada followed with a double. Both runners scored on hits by FNG Willie Calhoun and Luis González. The Giants added another in the 5th on an error on a grounder from Estrada. (Thairo is slashing .264/.321/.411 after his three-hit night.) The Giants worked a lot of long counts and rapped out nine hits against Strider and he was pulled after five frames (102 pitches, 9 K).

Zach Littell got into trouble in the 8th and the Braves closed the gap to one run but a four-out save from FNG southpaw Scott Alexander sealed the win. Jakob Junis goes tonight (6:45 PT).

Go Giants!

--M.C.

p.s The Giants obviously added OF Calhoun to the roster but they also promoted a young pitcher named Cole Waites. (Austin Dean went back to AAA and Tommy La Stella went to the IL.) Waites has 134 strikeouts in 71-1/3 innings over three seasons in the minors. Across three levels this season he's whiffed 75 of the 169 batters he's faced. He's 24 and played college ball at West Alabama and was drafted in the 18th round in 2019. I hope we get to see him soon!

Giants nip Cubs, take series

SF 4  CHC 2

It was a bullpen game in Chicago yesterday. John Brebbia opened with a scoreless 1st and Tyler Rogers followed with a scoreless 2nd and 3rd. Thairo Estrada drove in J.D. Davis in the 4th for a 1-0 lead but the Cubs tied it up with a run in the 5th off Yunior Marte (who also pitched a scoreless 4th). Estrada's homer in the 7th gave the Giants a 2-1 lead and Wilmer Flores hit a two-run shot in the 8th to make it 4-1. Zach Littell pitched the 6th and got two outs in the 7th. Scott Alexander got the final out and the next two outs in the 8th but gave up a homer to Seiya Suzuki. Closer Camilo Doval got the last out of the 8th and pitched the 9th for the save.

Overall six pitchers gave up 12 hits but only three for extra bases. They allowed one walk and struck out five on 153 pitches. Bullpen games aren't very sexy but they can certainly work. The Giants are only listing four starters (Rodón, Webb, Cobb, Junis) these days so expect more games like this one.

Good news! The Giants are extending Wilmer Flores for two more years. No financial details yet. Everyone loves Wilmer.

The Giants are at home tonight (6:45 PT) and face the Braves and rookie phenom Spencer Strider. He has 183 strikeouts in 120-2/3 IP. He got knocked around for six runs in 3-2/3 when the Giants played the Braves back in June but has been dominant in his last four starts (26 IP, 3 R, 41 K). Alex Cobb will take on the Braves lineup.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Webb, Bart lead Giants

SF 5  CHC 2

I hope I get to type that title a lot from here on out. Battery mates Logan Webb and Joey Bart combined for some excellent baseball and the Giants snapped their losing streak. Webb did not look like the stopper when he gave up a run in the 1st but the lineup responded with four runs in the top of the 2nd. The highlight was Bart's two-run homer, his 11th. Webb gave up a run in the bottom of the 2nd but then reeled off five scoreless frames. He finished the 7th with back-to-back whiffs. Bart added two more hits on the day, a double in the 4th and a single in the 9th. It was a tight game until the end. Leading 4-2 in the 8th David Villar added a solo shot and things looked good. John Brebbia walked the first batter in the bottom half but then got three straight outs. Camilo Doval gave up a line drive hit to open the 9th, but then got lucky on another line drive that turned into a double play. Lady Luck has not favored the Giants this year so I think they deserve every break they get! He struck out the last guy to seal the win.

Logan Webb continues to kick butt. He's established himself as one of the top pitchers in the game. Joey Bart had about as bad a start to a season that a player can have yet he's looking better and better at the plate lately. He's making more contact and hitting the ball hard. If he can establish himself as a major-league hitter in these final months that would be the best thing to come out of this disappointing season. I suppose I overlooked another rookie, David Villar. I mentioned his clutch homer but he also got the scoring started in the 4th with his RBI double. He's another guy that I'd like to write more headlines about. I'm glad the youngsters (Webb's 26 in November, Bart's 26 in December, Villar's 26 in January) got to strut their stuff today. Let's see some more!

Game time 5:08 PT tomorrow.

Go Giants!

--M.C.