How 'bout a little offense?

That's more like it. Let's see some more of that, lads.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Peaved

I was sure the Giants were going to win today. I felt good about Jake Peavy and expected a strong outing from him. I liked the vibe from last night's win. So much for momentum. Brandon Crawford made a crucial error, a bad throw that cost a run when he should have held the ball in the 6th, that broke the scoreless streak. Peavy, who'd been excellent, then got burned by Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom on a hit-and-run in the 7th which led to another run. That was enough as deGrom overpowered the Giants with big-time heat, allowing only two hits and whiffing ten in his eight innings. I can't fault the lineup too much as the 2014 Rookie of the Year looks like the real deal. No sophomore slump for this guy, he's emerging as one of the best in the league. Jean Machi let things get out of hand in the 9th after good work from rookie southpaw Josh Osich in the 8th and it went to the 9th 4-0. Joe Panik and Hunter Pence conjured up a run for the home squad off reliever Bobby Parnell, but it was the Mets all the way today.

I hate the team being at .500 and I want to see them string together some goddamn wins.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Cain, Pence Lead Giants

Things went a little better for Matt Cain this time around as the big righty managed six scoreless with only two hits allowed and seven whiffs. He got some help from surprise starter Hunter Pence who contributed a sterling defensive sequence in the 6th to get Curtis Granderson at home to preserve the shutout. That's the league-leading thirteenth, by the way. The 'pen gave up two hits and two walks in the final three but kept the score sheet clean. Giants had ten hits, all singles, and were helped by sloppy fielding from the Mets. Pence delivered a clutch hit to go along with his clutch catch-and-throw, and Gregor Blanco and Joe Panik had five hits and all three runs scored between them.

The Giants end the losing streak, finally, after seven games. The Dodgers lose in Philadelphia and lead the West by four games. The gap was only half a game on June 20th, but 5-10 tailspin took care of that. Jake Peavy gets the start tomorrow afternoon. Let's hope he shows the same form he had last time out.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.


p.s. On the pre-game Papa asked Laskey for his 'key to the game' and he said "Hunter Pence." When Vida got the same question, he said "Matt Cain."

0-fer-July so far

The Giants continue their slide toward baseball Gomorrah, aka .500, with another loss on the road (0-6 on the trip, 0-5 for the month). I remember thinking before last year's NLCS that the Nationals matched up well against the orange-and-black, that they certainly did not lack for personnel. They had the guys to win the series. Like the Pirates earlier this season the Nats had an axe to grind against the defending champs and served notice on national TV that they were loaded and ready for the showdown. The local fans got their money's worth. Us, not so much. The Giants looked lifeless, and weird stuff happened like Joe Panik made an error. And Ryan Vogelsong and Bruce Bochy got ejected. Ballplayers have short memories--they forget about their last performance and look forward. We fans need to learn that trick.

San Francisco falls to four back of Los Angeles. Chris Heston gets the call against the Mets tomorrow night at AT&T.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Opponents Hit More Homers and Giants Lose Again

This headline works well for every recent game.
The Saturday morning game was especially disgusting.

HRs Sink Giants

The Marlins hit three three-run home runs in the series and won all three games. Rookie Justin Bour feasted on Giants pitching and notched the death blow in today's game off Matt Cain mere hours after his dramatic walk-off against Santiago Casilla last night. I'm happy the Giants are leaving Miami. I'm happy Matt Cain is alive and well. Only time will tell if he is pain-free and cured of his physical maladies. He looked a lot like Matt Cain despite the lousy outcome in his comeback from surgery. He hit 91 mph on the radar gun and looked good at the end of the 4th inning inducing a double play to end a threat. He unfortunately got hammered in the 5th with the long balls from pitcher Jose Fernandez (who hits like MadBum and was making a comeback from surgery as well) and the aforementioned Bour. I could live with the fat one to Fernandez, sometimes you have to bring the gas and see what the guy can do with it. The pitch to Bour was a clear mistake, missing the inside target and right over the middle of the plate. I would have happily walked the lefty there and pitched to the righty Marcell Ozuna with the bases loaded and a chance for a DP. And I thought Rags told Cain to pitch around Bour, but he didn't execute. Clearly that pitch was meant to be a ball and in on the hands--they got him that way on a pop-up in the previous at-bat.

Bit of a disappointment this morning after all the anticipation of Matty's return. Buster Posey hit another home run and Gregor Blanco launched a massive bomb (off Fernandez) as well. I thought the Giants looked good against the flame-throwing phenom, at least the lefties did, Panik, Crawford, and Belt all notching hits. But it was a crappy series, especially with the spectacular blown save last night. They should have come out of that game with a win, and they had a real shot today jumping out to an early lead. A rusty Matt Cain with a few command issues (four walks in his five innings) is still Matt Cain. If he is indeed healthy again I am sure he will start to string together lots of quality innings.

One thing I've learned watching this club is that they are resilient. This three-game tailspin is ugly, but they have a short collective memory and don't let poor performances cast a pall over their next game or series. Jake Peavy makes his own comeback tomorrow in D.C.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

On to July

Ryan Vogelsong wasn't sharp and the Giants got Latos-ed in Miami. They had a chance to un-swoon their June with a win: they finish the month 12-14. This team likes to tease us by inching ever closer to first place and then falling back. The Dodgers win instead and they hike their lead to 1-1/2 games. I say it all the time, but I'll say it again, if you had told me in March that the Giants would be within a few games of LA on the first of July I'd have been happy.

Buster Posey who homered in the 3rd, had a great sequence in the 6th when he hit a ball in the gap and went for two, much to the surprise of the outfielders. It took a spectacular head-first hook slide from our lumbering catcher to avoid the diving tag from second baseman Dee Gordon. Posey went to third on an out and then with beautiful anticipation dashed home on a wild pitch, just sliding under Latos' tag. He looked positively nimble there! It made a 4-2 game 4-3, giving hope, but that was all she wrote for SF. Just a reminder what a great ballplayer Buster is, as if we needed reminding. I was surprised Gordon's inside-the-park homer was his first. That guy should get one of those every month.

MATT CAIN PITCHES THURSDAY!!

Go Giants!

--M.C.