2nd inning: 11-7

1st inning: 11-7

2nd inning: 11-7

Raise your hand if you saw this coming. You did, right? You foresaw that the San Francisco Giants would be tied for the best record in baseball, didn't you?

NOT!

You did not. I did not. No one did.

But after 36 games, two full seasonal innings, the Giants are 22-14 (.611) and tied for the best record in baseball.

It's a beautiful thing, man. The Giants are playing well and playing especially well at home. They are 14-4 in San Francisco and 8-10 on the road. They go on the road for eight games starting tomorrow, four in Pittsburgh and four in Cincinnati. When they return home on the 21st they get their first showdown with the Dodgers.

I say bring 'em on!!

--M.C.

 

p.s. 18 games is 1/9 of the season (18 x 9 =162). So 18 games is one "seasonal inning" and 36 games is two innings, etc.

Posey, Slater ding Pads

SF 5  SD 4

The Giants parlayed four hits into five runs and edged the Padres tonight in San Francisco to take the first game of the three-game weekend set. Buster Posey got it started with a two-run bomb to right field in the 3rd off Blake Snell, and Evan Longoria drove in two with a bases-loaded single in the 5th. Snell walked six in 4-2/3 IP. Anthony DeSclafani ran into trouble in the 6th, yielding a two-run blast to Trent Grisham, and reliever Sam Selman was burned by a second two-run homer from Eric Hosmer in the same frame. But Austin Slater bopped a solo shot in the 7th (also to RF) to give the Giants the lead and they held on for a huge win. Tyler Rogers was dominant once again, shutting down the Padres on 14 pitches in the 8th. Jake McGee walked the first batter in the 9th, but struck out the final three hitters to record the save. It took 25 pitches, but he got the job done!

Willie Mays turned 90 today and the team conjured up a victory to celebrate the occasion. The Giants hang on to first place with their 19th win. I should note that Camilo Doval was impressive in a scoreless 7th, shutting down the heart of the order, and he was awarded the win. Mike Yastrzemski helped him out with a nice running catch.

Tomorrow and Sunday are both day games, start times 1:05 Pacific. Kevin Gausman and Johnny Cueto are slated to start.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

p.s. I'll be AFK  ("away from keyboard") for the next several days and won't be blogging. I'll be back some time next week.

Six-runned

COL 6  SF 5

For the second straight game the Giants gave up six runs in an inning. Today it was the 4th inning, not the 9th, but the results were the same. Jon Gray, the Rockies starter, is a good pitcher and he kept the Giants in check. They had a chance against the bullpen in the final three innings but could not quite get there. It seems only the home team gets miracle comebacks at Coors Field. A promising series in Colorado instead leaves a foul taste.

Ah well, it's a day off for the lads tomorrow before a home series with San Diego starting Friday. Let's hope home cookin' is still best. Buster Posey had two hits but left the game for reasons yet to be determined. Please, no more injuries. The Giants are banged up enough.

--M.C.

p.s. I posted the above yesterday. Today is the 6th which is Willie Mays' birthday. Happy Birthday, Willie! He turns 90. He was born in 1931, the same year both of my parents were born. My mom will be 90 in September. (Her favorite player was Ted Williams--sorry, Willie.)

Ten spot

SF 12  COL 4 (7)

On June 29th, 1967 in St. Louis, the Giants scored 11 runs in the first inning. Nine of those were charged to Bob Gibson who exited without getting the third out. Bob Gibson! The Cardinals won the World Series that season. No one is going to confuse German Marquez for Bob Gibson, or the '67 champs for the '21 Rockies, but the Giants scored 10 runs in the first inning in Denver today. Marquez only lasted 2/3 of an inning, too.

Brandon Belt launched a no-doubter for a grand slam, and had an RBI single as well, giving him a 5-RBI inning. Let's just say there were lots of offensive highlights, but we do have to mention Buster Posey yanking one immediately following Belt's bomb, which is way cool. Buster had three hits and is now slashing .382/.440/.735 for an OPS of 1.175!

Is ten runs enough in Coors Field? Maybe. The Giants tacked on two more in the 6th with a two-run homer from Brandon Crawford, so apparently they weren't sure, either. Way to go, greybeards! Seriously, you never know in that accursed place, and I admit to some irrational worrying that the Giants would make a mess of things and blow the lead. That's because "Coors Field, man." Do I have to say more?

Aaron Sanchez gave up a grand slam of his own to Raimel Tapia, but that was it for the Rockies. They got all seven hits in the first four frames. The Giants bullpen--Jose Alvarez and Matt Wisler--split the final three innings, marred only by Alvarez' two walks. Wisler was awarded the win for completing the final 1-2/3. Obviously a starting pitcher has to go five innings in a nine-inning game to get a W, but don't you think it could be changed to four innings for a seven-inning game? (I don't really care, mind you, but it does raise the question.)

That's a great way to start a series, don't you think? Score ten runs first chance you get? Yeah, I like that. Let's see some more of that!

--M.C.

 

update: See? 10 runs is just enough! The Giants lose the second game 8-6 on a walkoff homer. Giants led 6-2 going into the bottom of the 7th but Jake McGee could only get two outs and got pulled after giving up three runs. Camilo Doval then induced a pop-up that shoulda-coulda been the third out but fell for a hit. Then the homer. The Giants wasted a lot of scoring opportunities earlier in the game. Brutal loss. A sweep would have been sweet.

p.s. Logan Webb tomorrow at 12:10 Pacific. Go Giants!

Opener in Denver rained out

The Giants and Rockies will play a doubleheader tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon starting at 2:40 Pacific. Both games will be seven innings. Lefty Alex Wood is listed as the Game 1 starter--Aaron Sanchez was scheduled for today, the starter for Game 2 wasn't posted on the website.

--M.C.

 

UPDATE: looks like it is indeed Sanchez for Game 1 and Wood for Game 2. Tommy La Stella goes to the IL and Jason Vosler gets called back up.

Gausman, Tauchman get it done

SF 7  SD 1

The Giants have relied on their starters so far this year and ace Kevin Gausman did not disappoint. He allowed a short-porch oppo-shot to Fernando Tatis, Jr. (who else?) in the 1st but that was it. He also got a hit and scored two runs! The Giants needed a stopper today and he delivered. His final line was 6 IP, 6H, 1 R, 1 W, and 6 K, throwing 97 pitches to 25 batters. The big blow was a three-run homer in the 3rd from FNG Mike Tauchman. He also drove in a run later on a bases-loaded walk. I should note he was robbed of extra bases in the 1st with a big play from RF Jurickson Profar. Tommy La Stella had two hits including a triple, two runs scored, and two RBI before leaving the game with an apparent injury. The Giants kept the pressure on, scoring two more in the 5th and another in the 9th to take the heat off the pitchers.

The bullpen has been a source of frustration for Giants fans so far this year but today they stepped up with three scoreless in relief of Gausman. Caleb Baragar was a strike-throwing beast last season but has struggled with command in the early going. He went 3-0 on the first batter he saw in the 7th but fought back to get a foul-out. He gave up a two-out infield single to Trent Grisham but then struck out Tatis. Tyler Rogers got two quick ground ball outs, gave up a single to Jake Cronenworth, but got Tommy Pham to ground out. In the 9th Camilo Doval struck out Profar (who'd homered off him last night) and Victor Caratini in succession, then induced a pop-up from Ha-Seong Kim to end it. Good show, lad!

The Giants played a good game when they needed to and avoided a sweep. They've split six games in San Diego so far and get their first chance at home against the Padres this coming weekend. Their 17-11 record keeps them in first place by a half game over the Dodgers.

Aaron Sanchez starts tomorrow night (5:40 Pacific) in Colorado.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants strike out

SD 6  SF 2

The Giants played a good game for seven innings but a three-run outburst by the Padres in the 8th broke things open. Anthony DeSclafani gave up a three-run homer in the 1st, but followed with five scoreless, and left after six for a pinch-hitter. He looked really strong and had only thrown 76 pitches and would have managed at least another inning, maybe two, but the Giants, down 3-2, were desperate for runs at that point. Like last night they loaded the bases twice (in the 4th and 5th) but could not get the big hit. The Giants scored two in the 5th before loading the bases: one a leadoff homer by Mauricio Dubon, the other on an RBI single by Darin Ruf. He drove in DeSclafani who'd reached on an error. Like last night the two runs (both off starter Blake Snell) would be all they'd get.

Caleb Baragar and Zack Littell faced five batters in a scoreless 7th. In the 8th Camilo Doval gave up a leadoff homer and then put two on in between getting two outs. Jose Alvarez was summoned to face lefty Jake Cronenworth who singled home both runners. That was after a double steal--Alvarez did not seem prepared to deal with baserunners. San Diego is a base stealing team, they lead MLB in that category. The Padres bullpen was overpowering, striking out the side in the 7th and 8th. That's 28 strikeouts for Giants hitters in the two games.

Kevin Gausman goes tomorrow afternoon at 1:10 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.