Bailey rescues Giants

SF 3  TEX 2  (10)

Just when all hope seemed lost Patrick Bailey hit a two-run homer to lift the Giants to a much-needed win. Logan Webb had thrown a superb eight shutout innings and got the first two outs in the 9th. A double by Julio Martinez ended his day, agonizingly short of a shutout win. Camilo Doval was summoned to protect the 1-0 lead but an infield single by Ezequiel Duran crushed the home crowd's dreams. Doval balked in a run in the 10th but his rookie catcher bailed him out in the bottom half.

It has been a run of ugly baseball and it looked like the anemic offense would waste Webb's great start. He had 14 ground ball outs to go with six hits, a walk, and six whiffs in 107 pitches. Speaking of whiffs, the Giants struck out 17 times this afternoon. That's right, 17 times. They got a solo shot from Michael Conforto in the 2nd but were otherwise 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position (until Bailey's blast) and left nine men on base. A bright spot was a three-hit day from Thairo Estrada.

The Giants snap their losing streak at four games and improve their August record to 5-6. They are .500 (14-14) since the Break. If they play .500 ball the rest of the way (22-22) they'll finish 85-77. They've lost the top spot in the Wild Card as they've fallen a game-and-a-half behind the Phillies but they are still strongly in second place in the NL West.

Another tough opponent comes to town, this time the Tampa Bay Rays. Monday night's game is at 6:45 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

p.s. here's the win probability chart from FanGraphs:

 

 

Early runs too much for Giants

LAA 7  SF 5

The Angels jumped on opener Scott Alexander for three in the 1st. He left before getting an out. Jakob Junis allowed another before putting up three scoreless. The Giants made it back to 4-3 in the 3rd, but Alex Wood gave up two in his four frames and Luke Jackson gave up another in the 8th. The Giants got a two-run homer from Wilmer Flores but it wasn't enough.

The Padres have lost three straight and the Diamondacks have lost seven straight. The Giants are five games behind the Dodgers but five games ahead of third-place Arizona. August hasn't been very exciting (4-3) but the Giants are grinding along at 62-52 (.544) which is tied with the Phillies for the first wild-card spot. If they play .544 ball the rest of the way (48 games) they'll win 26 more games and finish with 88 wins.

I'll be away from my desk until the weekend. Tonight's game is at 6:38 PT. Ryan Walker matches up with Shohei Ohtani.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants rally in the 9th

SF 8  LAA 3

It was another close game and when Tyler Rogers gave up a run in the 7th to make it 3-2 Angels it looked like another agonizing loss. Then the 9th inning happened. The Giants put the first two men on and Patrick Bailey drove them home with a double. Suddenly it was 4-3 Giants! But they weren't done. FNG Mark Mathias drove in two with a single and Thairo Estrada and Blake Sabol chipped in RBI hits. The lineup batted around and took charge of the game. Camilo Doval struck out the side in the 9th to end it.

Logan Webb started and gave up two runs (one earned) in 5-2/3. Tristan Beck finished the 6th. After Tyler Rogers his brother lefty Taylor Rogers had a 1-2-3 8th with two strikeouts.

Lefty Scott Alexander is listed as the opener for tonight's game (6:38 PT). Let's hope we see more of the same: good pitching and big rallies.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Lost weekend

The Giants could hardly conjure up a hit on Saturday, losing to the A's 2-1 and wasting one of Ross Stripling's better efforts. Today the offense finally woke up, scoring six runs and taking a 6-3 lead after five frames. But Oakland's lineup chased Alex Cobb and tagged relievers Luke Jackson and Scott Alexander for late runs and it finished 8-6 A's. It's as if the teams switched places: the A's played like contenders and the Giants played like also-rans.

The Giants go south to take on the Angels for three with all games starting at 6:38 Pacific. Logan Webb gets the start tomorrow night.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants get two hits but still win

SF 1  ARI 0

24-year old rookie right-hander Brandon Pfaadt ("fought") has made nine starts this season. He's sporting a 7.11 ERA, a 7.24 FIP, and an 0-5 record. He dazzled the Giants this afternoon in San Francisco, allowing only two hits in seven innings with one walk and seven whiffs. I should note he pitched against the Giants earlier in the season (May 14th) and threw five strong frames in a 2-1 Diamondbacks win. Like today he allowed only one run.

Oh, did I mention that the Giants scored a run off Pfaadt? They did, in the 4th, on a LaMonte Wade, Jr. home run. That was enough. The bullpen teamed up to throw a shutout and the Giants eked out a win. Tristan Beck threw four innings after opener Scott Alexander. His bulk work set things up nicely for Sean Manaea (2/3), Luke Jackson (1-1/3, 3K), lefty Taylor Rogers (8th), and closer Camilo Doval (9th). Doval gave us a scare when he gave up back-to-back base hits but he wriggled out of the jam for his 33rd save.

This lineup is really having a hard time scoring runs! It's a good thing the pitching staff has been up to the task. Taking three of four from Arizona to open the month is a terrific accomplishment. They are a tough club with good hitters and limiting them to nine runs across 38 innings was impressive.

It's an off-day tomorrow and they play a weekend two-game set in Oakland before heading to Anaheim for three with the Angels. They are off again on the 10th, then face the Rangers and the Rays in a six-game homestand. The rest of the month features the Braves, Phillies, Reds, and even a peek at the Padres. That's a lot of good teams. Yikes, this is some serious pennant race stuff. Let's hope the hitters find their mojo.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Webb and Davis lead the way

SF 4  ARI 2

Logan Webb gave up three hits and two runs in the 1st inning but then threw six scoreless and stymied the potent Diamondbacks lineup. He got TWELVE ground ball outs in his seven frames! The Giants were befuddled by rookie Slade Cecconi who was making his debut until the 5th when they tied it up. A J.D. Davis single got it started and a triple by Brandon Crawford and a single by Isan Díaz got it done. They added the winning margin on a bases-loaded double from Davis in the 6th. Tyler Rogers (8th) and Camilo Doval (9th) were both efficient and effective and the Giants had another close, hard-fought win. There were once again many scoring chances that the Giants flubbed (3-11 RISP, 7 LOB) but the stellar pitching held the line. That's win number 60.

--M.C.

p.s. Tuesday's win was the 108th game of the season. I neglected to do an "innings" post. The Giants had a rough month of July: 12-13 with the league's worst batting average and run scoring! This was after two outstanding months (May 17-12, June 18-8). The Giants are 2-0 in August after tonight's win.

1st inning: 6-12

2nd inning: 10-8

3rd inning: 12-6

4th inning: 12-6

5th inning: 9-9

6th inning: 10-8

That's 59-49 (.546) over the first 108 games (six innings or two-thirds of the season). Their 60-49 (.550) record after tonight's win is tied with Toronto for seventh-best in MLB, third-best in the NL, second in the NL West, and first in the NL wild card.

Late-inning LaMonte lifts Giants

SF 4  ARI 3

It was indeed a homer by LaMonte Wade, Jr. in the 7th that gave the Giants the lead and final winning margin. But a couple of plays by rookie catching prodigy Patrick Bailey really helped. He nailed would-be base-stealer Jace Peterson who had singled to open the 8th, taking some heat off rookie reliever Ryan Walker. In the 9th, with two outs, he picked off Geraldo Perdomo with a classic "snap throw to first" to end the game. Bailey is certainly making his mark.

Alex Cobb gave up three solo homers in his six innings. In the bottom of the 6th the Giants tied it against Zac Gallen on a Luis Matos RBI double and a Brandon Crawford two-run homer. Walker pitched the 7th and the 8th and got an out in the 9th after the leadoff hit by Perdomo. Sean Manaea relieved and got the second out before Bailey's alert play.

It's Logan Webb tomorrow night at 6:45 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.