SF 7 COL 4
The Giants grind out a getaway win in Colorado with some timely hits and a stalwart bullpen. Derek Holland wasn't great, but following M.C.'s Dictum, he was at least better than the other guy. Once the Giants relievers got a hold of things they put up four zeroes and sealed the deal. Holland got things going in the 1st by giving up a three-run homer to (who else?) Nolan Arenado. The Giants answered with two in the 2nd on hits by Brandon Crawford, Mac Williamson, and Pablo Sandoval with a Jon Gray wild pitch in between. The Rockies pushed it back to 4-2 right away but the Giants answered with two in both the 4th and the 5th with an Evan Longoria triple being the big blow. Buster Posey added an RBI single in the 8th to make it 7-4 and that's how it ended. Reyes Moronta, Tony Watson, Sam Dyson, and Hunter Strickland did the relief work.
The Giants were 2-6 on the trip. They are off tomorrow and then home for six games. Jeff Samardzija goes on the DL and Tyler Beede gets called up. Chris Stratton starts on Friday against the Phillies and Andy Suarez gets Saturday. No word yet on Sunday's starter. There's a chance Madison Bumgarner could start against Arizona on Tuesday.
Go Giants!
--M.C.
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
3rd inning: 6-12
1st inning: 7-11
2nd inning: 12-6
3rd inning: 6-12
Overall 25-29 (.463), four games back in fourth place.The Giants undid all that good work earlier in the month by losing five of their last six. Last night they had a 5-4 lead in the 6th only to blow it and lose 6-5 in extras. The Dodgers had lost six straight earlier in the month but have won nine of eleven to surge past the Giants into third place. The formerly first-place Diamondbacks, riding an 18-7 April, followed that with a 7-18 May and have allowed the Rockies to slip past them for the top spot. Colorado's record is the reverse of San Francisco's: 29-25. The Padres 22-33 looks bad, but it is better than the Rangers, Marlins, Reds, Royals, White Sox, and Orioles.
What do we know after one-third of the season? That the Giants still can't score runs consistently although the team average has finally cracked four per game (219/54 = 4.06). Only six teams are worse and those include the Padres (3.67) and the Diamondbacks (3.77). The others are the Marlins, Orioles, Royals, and White Sox. Such august company! With Johnny Cueto and Madison Bumgarner still sidelined (although the news is good on Bumgarner) the starting pitching is a mess and that puts the relievers to work too soon and too frequently and the result is 4.89 runs allowed per game. That's half a run over the league average of 4.39 and rates at eighth-worst. Yes, the Royals, White Sox, Orioles, Rangers, Reds, and Marlins are in that list with the Blue Jays thrown in as well.
The bright spots? Obviously it is great to see the Brandons both performing at a high level. Gorkys Hernandez has been a nice surprise and I'd sure like to see him keep it up. FNGs Longoria and McCutchen should be merged into one player that has Longo's SLG (.458) and Cutch's OBP (.371). That guy would almost be as good as Brandon Belt (.970 OPS, 9th in baseball). The bullpen core (Strickland, Watson, Dyson, Moronta, Smith) has been strong overall and would be very effective if the starters could get it going and last past the 5th inning. The Giants have been absolutely clobbered on the road, losing 19 of 30 games and allowing 145 runs while scoring only 90. After a .500 April at 13-13 they've slipped to a .400 May at 10-15.
Jeff Samardzija tonight at 5:40 Pacific. Go Giants!
--M.C.
2nd inning: 12-6
3rd inning: 6-12
Overall 25-29 (.463), four games back in fourth place.The Giants undid all that good work earlier in the month by losing five of their last six. Last night they had a 5-4 lead in the 6th only to blow it and lose 6-5 in extras. The Dodgers had lost six straight earlier in the month but have won nine of eleven to surge past the Giants into third place. The formerly first-place Diamondbacks, riding an 18-7 April, followed that with a 7-18 May and have allowed the Rockies to slip past them for the top spot. Colorado's record is the reverse of San Francisco's: 29-25. The Padres 22-33 looks bad, but it is better than the Rangers, Marlins, Reds, Royals, White Sox, and Orioles.
What do we know after one-third of the season? That the Giants still can't score runs consistently although the team average has finally cracked four per game (219/54 = 4.06). Only six teams are worse and those include the Padres (3.67) and the Diamondbacks (3.77). The others are the Marlins, Orioles, Royals, and White Sox. Such august company! With Johnny Cueto and Madison Bumgarner still sidelined (although the news is good on Bumgarner) the starting pitching is a mess and that puts the relievers to work too soon and too frequently and the result is 4.89 runs allowed per game. That's half a run over the league average of 4.39 and rates at eighth-worst. Yes, the Royals, White Sox, Orioles, Rangers, Reds, and Marlins are in that list with the Blue Jays thrown in as well.
The bright spots? Obviously it is great to see the Brandons both performing at a high level. Gorkys Hernandez has been a nice surprise and I'd sure like to see him keep it up. FNGs Longoria and McCutchen should be merged into one player that has Longo's SLG (.458) and Cutch's OBP (.371). That guy would almost be as good as Brandon Belt (.970 OPS, 9th in baseball). The bullpen core (Strickland, Watson, Dyson, Moronta, Smith) has been strong overall and would be very effective if the starters could get it going and last past the 5th inning. The Giants have been absolutely clobbered on the road, losing 19 of 30 games and allowing 145 runs while scoring only 90. After a .500 April at 13-13 they've slipped to a .400 May at 10-15.
Jeff Samardzija tonight at 5:40 Pacific. Go Giants!
--M.C.
Sunday, May 27, 2018
Tyed Down, Left For Dead
I was away for a bit, but am now back.
I have been highly amused by Sergio Romo and the reaction to the fact that he was used to start a game rather than relieve a starter. He pitched an inning twice against the Angels recently because the Angels start with 3 right handed hitters in a row and Sergio has been effective against those kind of guys lately. So the idea being that they get past the first, the starter doesn't start off with the lead off hitters, and maybe goes an inning longer and the lead off hitters don't get to see him a third time. But because there is more Sports News than there are sports these days, the media is all over this. When he did it twice (he has now done so 3 times, and was not as successful on the third time) the media was already asking if it was the new trend. Of course, as soon as they were, Officious Baseball Commentator Types were all over it as an abomination. I can see Bruce Jenkin's column now: Analytical Types, Who Have Never Seen A Game And Live In Their Mother's Basements (he still thinks this is funny) Are Idiots And If They Would Watch A Game Like I Do They Would Know That This Is Fundamentally Wrong-Headed And Will Lead To The Downfall Of The Noble Game. So what happens next is that once everyone piles on about how detrimental the practice is, no one will notice that it is not a practice at all - just a team trying to use some of their limited resources to win a couple games. Unless the Rays win the World Series, of course, then every team will be trotting out 1 inning starters.
What to do about Hunter Pence? Apparently, he has been scalding the ball in Sacramento, but the Giants really want Mac Williamson on the team. And Gorkys Hernandez isn't going anywhere, he is the team's best hitter, or nearly so, lately. And Gregor Blanco hasn't done poorly enough to release. And McCutcheon is McCutcheon. And Austin Jackson hasn't done much lately, but he is supposed to be pretty good. So Hunter Pence racks up at-bats in Sac. Maybe the Giants management doesn't trust that he is actually good again. Maybe they are waiting for the day when they need fewer relievers. I'm not sure. But eventually they will have to figure something out. But, good news! Madison Bumgarner is probably about to rejoin the team.
The game tonight was a fucking mess. The Giants scored 3 in the 1st inning off of former Rockie Tyler Chatwood. Then Ty Blach was just as bad, giving the runs back. The Giants loaded the bases with no outs in the 2nd, but did not score. They loaded the bases in the 3rd and did not score. Ty walked the first 3 Cubs in the 3rd, but got out of it unscathed. In the 4th, Ty walked Randy Rosario, who had replaced Chatwood. Rosario was in the AL and minors, he never has had a hit. A 3 run homer followed, then some more scoring as the Giants slowly faded in the rear view mirror. The final was 8 - 3. The Giants have won 1 game so far on this road trip out of 5. They go into Colorado for tomorrow's game. The Giants have had serious trouble with Colorado for years, and are 2 - 2 against them so far this year in one series at ATT. Colorado is now in first in the NL West.
I have been highly amused by Sergio Romo and the reaction to the fact that he was used to start a game rather than relieve a starter. He pitched an inning twice against the Angels recently because the Angels start with 3 right handed hitters in a row and Sergio has been effective against those kind of guys lately. So the idea being that they get past the first, the starter doesn't start off with the lead off hitters, and maybe goes an inning longer and the lead off hitters don't get to see him a third time. But because there is more Sports News than there are sports these days, the media is all over this. When he did it twice (he has now done so 3 times, and was not as successful on the third time) the media was already asking if it was the new trend. Of course, as soon as they were, Officious Baseball Commentator Types were all over it as an abomination. I can see Bruce Jenkin's column now: Analytical Types, Who Have Never Seen A Game And Live In Their Mother's Basements (he still thinks this is funny) Are Idiots And If They Would Watch A Game Like I Do They Would Know That This Is Fundamentally Wrong-Headed And Will Lead To The Downfall Of The Noble Game. So what happens next is that once everyone piles on about how detrimental the practice is, no one will notice that it is not a practice at all - just a team trying to use some of their limited resources to win a couple games. Unless the Rays win the World Series, of course, then every team will be trotting out 1 inning starters.
What to do about Hunter Pence? Apparently, he has been scalding the ball in Sacramento, but the Giants really want Mac Williamson on the team. And Gorkys Hernandez isn't going anywhere, he is the team's best hitter, or nearly so, lately. And Gregor Blanco hasn't done poorly enough to release. And McCutcheon is McCutcheon. And Austin Jackson hasn't done much lately, but he is supposed to be pretty good. So Hunter Pence racks up at-bats in Sac. Maybe the Giants management doesn't trust that he is actually good again. Maybe they are waiting for the day when they need fewer relievers. I'm not sure. But eventually they will have to figure something out. But, good news! Madison Bumgarner is probably about to rejoin the team.
The game tonight was a fucking mess. The Giants scored 3 in the 1st inning off of former Rockie Tyler Chatwood. Then Ty Blach was just as bad, giving the runs back. The Giants loaded the bases with no outs in the 2nd, but did not score. They loaded the bases in the 3rd and did not score. Ty walked the first 3 Cubs in the 3rd, but got out of it unscathed. In the 4th, Ty walked Randy Rosario, who had replaced Chatwood. Rosario was in the AL and minors, he never has had a hit. A 3 run homer followed, then some more scoring as the Giants slowly faded in the rear view mirror. The final was 8 - 3. The Giants have won 1 game so far on this road trip out of 5. They go into Colorado for tomorrow's game. The Giants have had serious trouble with Colorado for years, and are 2 - 2 against them so far this year in one series at ATT. Colorado is now in first in the NL West.
Saturday, May 26, 2018
Wrigley Win
SF 5 CHC 4
The Giants looked good in sunny Chicago this afternoon and held on to beat the Cubs. Gorkys Hernandez flashed some mad small ball skills and Brandon Crawford dazzled with the bat and the glove and the visiting squad snapped their three-game skid. Contributions from Brandon Belt, Andrew McCutchen, and Mac Williamson did the rest of the damage as the Giants overcame 2-0 and 3-2 deficits. Hernandez is slashing .311/.333/.505 with 12 hits in his last eight games so I think he's earning his playing time. Chris Stratton faltered, but didn't fall apart, and finished strong, striking out six in his five innings (21 batters, 88 pitches) and leaving with a 4-3 lead. Reyes Moronta and Sam Dyson put up zeroes in their frames but Tony Watson gave us a scare with two hits and a run in the 8th. Fortunately Hunter Strickland had a 1-2-3 9th to seal it and the Giants had an impressive, well-played win.
Ty Blach tomorrow at 5:08 Pacific. GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
The Giants looked good in sunny Chicago this afternoon and held on to beat the Cubs. Gorkys Hernandez flashed some mad small ball skills and Brandon Crawford dazzled with the bat and the glove and the visiting squad snapped their three-game skid. Contributions from Brandon Belt, Andrew McCutchen, and Mac Williamson did the rest of the damage as the Giants overcame 2-0 and 3-2 deficits. Hernandez is slashing .311/.333/.505 with 12 hits in his last eight games so I think he's earning his playing time. Chris Stratton faltered, but didn't fall apart, and finished strong, striking out six in his five innings (21 batters, 88 pitches) and leaving with a 4-3 lead. Reyes Moronta and Sam Dyson put up zeroes in their frames but Tony Watson gave us a scare with two hits and a run in the 8th. Fortunately Hunter Strickland had a 1-2-3 9th to seal it and the Giants had an impressive, well-played win.
Ty Blach tomorrow at 5:08 Pacific. GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Overmatched
HOU 11 SF 2
The Giants corps of young arms (Andy Suarez, Pierce Johnson, Reyes Moronta, Josh Osich) was overwhelmed by the surging Astros who won for the 10th time in 13 games. The walks didn't help and the Houston lineup was 7-for-18 with RISP. The defending champs have the best pitching in baseball as well (only 125 runs allowed in 49 games, 2.55 pg) and tonight was no exception as Gerrit Cole struck out eight in his six innings. His only blemish was a two-run homer by his brother-in-law Brandon Crawford. Cole had gone exactly 7 IP in each of his previous five starts, allowing six runs total. and is one of the dominant hurlers of this still-young season. The Giants were overmatched and that's about the size of it. Jeff Samardzija and Justin Verlander tomorrow at 11:10 Pacific.
Go Giants!
--M.C.
p.s. FanGraphs decides Brandon Belt is worthy of notice. That's good. He's the definition of "under-rated" or "under-appreciated" as a ballplayer. I'm happy to see the coverage, he deserves it. He was Player of the Week after his marvelous homestand.
The Giants corps of young arms (Andy Suarez, Pierce Johnson, Reyes Moronta, Josh Osich) was overwhelmed by the surging Astros who won for the 10th time in 13 games. The walks didn't help and the Houston lineup was 7-for-18 with RISP. The defending champs have the best pitching in baseball as well (only 125 runs allowed in 49 games, 2.55 pg) and tonight was no exception as Gerrit Cole struck out eight in his six innings. His only blemish was a two-run homer by his brother-in-law Brandon Crawford. Cole had gone exactly 7 IP in each of his previous five starts, allowing six runs total. and is one of the dominant hurlers of this still-young season. The Giants were overmatched and that's about the size of it. Jeff Samardzija and Justin Verlander tomorrow at 11:10 Pacific.
Go Giants!
--M.C.
p.s. FanGraphs decides Brandon Belt is worthy of notice. That's good. He's the definition of "under-rated" or "under-appreciated" as a ballplayer. I'm happy to see the coverage, he deserves it. He was Player of the Week after his marvelous homestand.
Sunday, May 20, 2018
Giants Thump Rockies, part II
SF 9 COL 5
The Giants had 13 hits today, three of them homers, and overwhelmed the Rockies in the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings to come from behind and win. The team is back to .500 at 24-24 and find themselves only two games behind the reeling division-leading Arizona Diamondbacks. Colorado, despite losing the final two of the series, are just a half game out. Things are bunching up! Like yesterday the lineup had at least one hit in all nine spots. Seven different guys scored at least one run and five different guys had at least one run batted in. The biggest hit was Brandon Belt's three-run blast in the 7th that broke the tie and gave the Giants an 8-5 lead. One could argue that Kelby Tomlinson's two-run triple with two outs in the 6th was equally clutch, if not more so. It's a nice argument to have! Belt hit his 11th dinger off lefty reliever Jake McGee: it was his first homer off a southpaw this season.
The bullpen once again stepped up for a shaky starter. Ty Blach could not get through the 5th but five relievers got it done and the Giants had a big win. They are going on the road and start with two in Houston against the World Series Champion Astros. Andrew Suarez gets the ball on Tuesday and Jeff Samardzija on Wednesday.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
The Giants had 13 hits today, three of them homers, and overwhelmed the Rockies in the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings to come from behind and win. The team is back to .500 at 24-24 and find themselves only two games behind the reeling division-leading Arizona Diamondbacks. Colorado, despite losing the final two of the series, are just a half game out. Things are bunching up! Like yesterday the lineup had at least one hit in all nine spots. Seven different guys scored at least one run and five different guys had at least one run batted in. The biggest hit was Brandon Belt's three-run blast in the 7th that broke the tie and gave the Giants an 8-5 lead. One could argue that Kelby Tomlinson's two-run triple with two outs in the 6th was equally clutch, if not more so. It's a nice argument to have! Belt hit his 11th dinger off lefty reliever Jake McGee: it was his first homer off a southpaw this season.
The bullpen once again stepped up for a shaky starter. Ty Blach could not get through the 5th but five relievers got it done and the Giants had a big win. They are going on the road and start with two in Houston against the World Series Champion Astros. Andrew Suarez gets the ball on Tuesday and Jeff Samardzija on Wednesday.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Giants Thump Rockies
SF 9 COL 4
Finally! The Giants break through today with 17 hits and overwhelm the Rockies to snap their three-game losing streak and creep back to within one game of a .500 record. Brandon Crawford was the hitting star with three hits (including a two-run homer) and four runs batted in. Brandon Belt continued his run of good work with two hits, a walk, a run scored, and a run batted in. Andrew McCutchen had three hits and two runs batted in. In fact all nine spots in the lineup had a hit, Austin Jackson getting a single in the 5th pinch-hitting for starter Chris Stratton (who also drove in a run with a ground out in the 2nd). Speaking of Stratton, he labored, facing 23 batters in his five innings (8 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 1 whiff), but two of the Rockies runs scored on double plays. He wasn't pretty but he held on and the lineup and bullpen did the rest. The Giants relief corps is increasingly impressive and that was no exception today with four hurlers (Will Smith, Pierce Johnson, Sam Dyson, Tony Watson) delivering a scoreless frame each with only one hit and one walk allowed versus five strikeouts. The 'pen looks like a team strength and the return of Mark Melancon (two weeks?) ought to only make it better.
Ty Blach gets the call tomorrow. Go Giants!
--M.C.
Finally! The Giants break through today with 17 hits and overwhelm the Rockies to snap their three-game losing streak and creep back to within one game of a .500 record. Brandon Crawford was the hitting star with three hits (including a two-run homer) and four runs batted in. Brandon Belt continued his run of good work with two hits, a walk, a run scored, and a run batted in. Andrew McCutchen had three hits and two runs batted in. In fact all nine spots in the lineup had a hit, Austin Jackson getting a single in the 5th pinch-hitting for starter Chris Stratton (who also drove in a run with a ground out in the 2nd). Speaking of Stratton, he labored, facing 23 batters in his five innings (8 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 1 whiff), but two of the Rockies runs scored on double plays. He wasn't pretty but he held on and the lineup and bullpen did the rest. The Giants relief corps is increasingly impressive and that was no exception today with four hurlers (Will Smith, Pierce Johnson, Sam Dyson, Tony Watson) delivering a scoreless frame each with only one hit and one walk allowed versus five strikeouts. The 'pen looks like a team strength and the return of Mark Melancon (two weeks?) ought to only make it better.
Ty Blach gets the call tomorrow. Go Giants!
--M.C.
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