Giants bounce back

SF 5  STL 2

Giants starter Alex Wood gave up a two-out RBI hit to Nolan Arenado in the 1st, and that drove in Paul Goldschmidt, who had walked. But before you could say "here we go again" Wood got in a groove and the lineup clawed back and the team took a 3-1 lead to the 8th. Tyler Rogers got into trouble with one out, giving up an RBI hit to Paul Goldschmidt, and Nolan Arenado strolled to the plate. Before you could say "here we go again" he hit into a double play and the curse was lifted. No disrespect to Wood, who played stopper tonight, but that was the biggest pitch of the game. Rogers gives up a lot of contact and sometimes it gets him in big trouble. Darin Ruf then hit a two-run homer in the bottom half and Jake McGee had a stress-free save. Big win against a tough foe. The Cardinals really took it to the Giants in this series but the home team showed some fight-back and nailed down a win.

Off-day tomorrow and then a three-game set against the Nationals with the All-Star Break following. Friday night's game starts at 6:45 PT. Logan Webb is scheduled to start.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Cardinals keep the heat on

STL 6  SF 5

Nolan Arenado continued his Giants-killing ways with three hits including a first-inning homer. He got help from another Giants-killer, Paul Goldschmidt, who had two hits and two RBI. That was almost enough just from those two alone. A late two-run surge against reliever John Brebbia was too big of a hole to climb out of and the Giants lost their second straight game. Johnny Cueto gave up nine hits and four runs in his six innings and the lineup went 3-for-16 with RISP. Jason Vosler almost hit the game-winner in the 9th, but his opposite-field fly ball was caught on the wall for the final out. Adam Wainwright started for St. Louis and gave up three runs in his five innings. Brandon Crawford had four hits and drove in three and Mike Yastrzemski had three hits and scored two.

Alex Wood tonight at 6:45 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Cards spoil homecoming

STL 5  SF 3

Nolan Arenado may not be on the Rockies but he's still a Giants-killer. He broke up Kevin Gausman's no-hitter in the 7th and scored on Matt Carpenter's triple to spoil the shutout as well. Gausman allowed only three hits in seven frames and struck out eight, but gave up two runs and came out on the wrong end of the duel with St. Louis starter Kwang-hyun Kim. The Giants failed to score against Kim, mustering only three hits and pounding out twelve ground balls in his seven innings. The Cardinals bullpen faltered and gave up three runs in the 8th and 9th, but the Giants bullpen beat them to it and also gave up three runs in the 8th and 9th. The Giants got a great start from their ace but could not solve the veteran Korean lefty. Kim has over 1600 innings of KBO time with the SK Wyverns. He was their league MVP in 2008 and is among their all-time top ten in wins and strikeouts.

Johnny Cueto, that old vet, takes on another old vet, Adam Wainwright, tomorrow night at 6:45 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Three in a row

SF 5  AZ 2

The Giants used some right-handed pop and a dandy start from Anthony DeSclafani to subdue the Diamondbacks. Happy Fourth of July! Austin Slater and Darin Ruf each had a big fly, and Ruf added an RBI double as well. Buster Posey had an RBI hit and also walked in front of Ruf's homer. Buster got dinged in the 6th on a foul ball and had to leave but it seems nothing is busted and he'll be available off the bench tomorrow. DeSclafani had a shot at his third CG but gave up a run on two hits in the 9th and Tyler Rogers had to get the final out. He struck out seven and gave up six hits and two walks in his 8-2/3 IP, throwing 107 pitches to 31 batters.

It's a home game tomorrow afternoon against the Cardinals at 3:05 PT. Kevin Gausman gets the start.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Slater slays 'em

SF 6  AZ 5

Austin Slater hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the 8th to rescue the Giants from ignominious defeat in Arizona. It was a prodigious blast, well over the stands in center field, and it came on the heels of a 4-for-40 slump. Flemm reported it as 482 feet, and that figure is on the ESPN highlight clip. But according to the Statcast website it "only" went 463 feet! I don't know why there's a discrepancy, but it matters little. It was a huge hit by a guy that hasn't had many lately. Slater was in the game after pinch-hitting for Alex Dickerson in the 5th. Dick had a walk, a hit, and a run scored off D-Backs starter Jake Faria. Slater grounded out against lefty reliever Joe Mantiply, then homered in his next at-bat against another lefty, Ryan Buchter. The Giants "matchup-madness" strikes again.

It was a frustrating night. Thirteen men left on base, 2-for-14 with RISP. They probably should have scored ten runs. Sammy Long lasted only four innings, unable to hold a 4-0 lead. Arizona took advantage of an error and some dink hits to take the lead in the 5th against two Giants pitchers, Zack Littell and Jose Alvarez. Tyler Rogers looked a little shaky but Dominic Leone and Jake McGee were solid in the final three frames.

6:10 game time this evening. Anthony DeSclafani gets the call.

Happy Fourth and Go Giants!

--M.C.

Bats Bounce Back

SF 11  AZ 4

Every hitter in the Giants starting lineup got at least one hit. The only exception? Buster Posey, the best hitter on the team. Buster was walked twice but didn't figure in the scoring. The coup de grâce was delivered by FNG Thairo Estrada who hit a grand slam in the 9th. He had two hits and an RBI before that. LaMonte Wade, Jr. had a two-run homer, continuing his streak of excellent play, and Alex Dickerson broke out of his funk--we hope--with a homer. Brandon Crawford had three runs batted in and Steven Duggar scored three times. Starter Alex Wood struggled with command but still struck out eight in his five frames. He came up with some big pitches, mostly with the slider, when the game was still in the balance. Jarlin Garcia and Dominic Leone had an easy time in the 6th and 7th, but Jimmie Sherfy gave up two homers in the 8th, both solo shots. Zack Littell did the mop-up work in the 9th. That was the 81st game, the halfway mark of the season, and the Giants are 51-30.

Estrada is 25 years old and from Venezuela. He came up with the Yankees and mostly played second base but added a little shortstop, third base, and even some outfield. He's a righty hitter and was tearing it up at AAA. He has yet to find his ML stroke but he's only had 128 ML PA. With Mauricio Dubon struggling the Giants needed to make a move. Estrada  is probably not as skilled a defender as Dubon but he may have more upside as a hitter.

Sammy Long starts tonight at 7:10 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Flat in Phoenix

AZ 5  SF 3

The Giants lost their fourth straight game--their first such losing streak this season. Johnny Cueto wasn't sharp and the lineup could not mount a comeback after falling behind in the 4th inning. Wilmer Flores and Mike Yastrzemski hit homers, but that was it. The bullpen (Jose Alvarez, Jarlin Garcia, and John Brebbia) pitched three scoreless. LaMonte Wade, Jr. and JohnnyC combined for a really slick 1-3-1 play in the 1st, Wade sprawling out to barehand a deflection and flip the ball to Cueto covering, who barehanded the throw!

Alex Wood tonight at 6:40 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.