Different night, same story

LA 3  SF 1

The Giants could not solve Walker Buehler and fell to the Dodgers for the second night in a row. That's three straight losses to end the month of June. Their 16-9 record for the month is just a tick (.640) below their 18-10 May (.643). Kevin Gausman could not command his splitter and got himself in trouble with five walks in five innings. Giants were 0-for-6 with RISP--Steven Duggar's RBI double in the 7th came with Wilmer Flores on first base.

Mauricio Dubon was sent down and Thairo Estrada was called up. Giants are off today and open a four-game set in Arizona on Thursday at 6:40 PT. Johnny Cueto gets the start.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Dodgers edge Giants

LA 3  SF 2

The Giants lost last night and on Sunday as well and that's the first time they've lost two in a row in the month of June. They are 16-8 with with one more game to play, that's tonight in Los Angeles. Giants pitchers only gave up five hits to the Dodgers but three of them were homers and that was just enough. The Giants hit two homers off Trevor Bauer and had lots of other scoring opportunities but could not get the big hit. They were 0-for-13 with RISP! Anthony DeSclafani started and went five, giving up two homers to the first two batters and another in the 4th. The bullpen followed with three hitless frames to give the team a shot at a comeback but they fell short. Wilmer Flores had four hits including a double that missed being the game-tying homer by a few feet. LaMonte Wade, Jr. continues to rake and Brandon Crawdford launched a 444-footer, his longest homer since the Statcast era (2016).

Kevin Gausman gets the chance to even the series at 7:10 Pacific. He'll face Walker Buehler.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

FIFTY

SF 6  OAK 5 (10)

I got home in time for the last two innings. The Giants had the winning run thrown out at the plate in the 9th but had a two-run rally in the 10th to win their 50th game. Steven Duggar scored from first base on a double by Curt Casali to end it. The two teams combined for 374 pitches thrown! That's two straight from the Athletics, five in a row, and ten wins in their last eleven games.

Sammy Long today at 1:05 Pacific. Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

p.s. No fifty-one today. A's jump on Sammy Long and hold on for a 6-2 win. Lefty Cole Irvin dominated, throwing eight scoreless innings. Giants go to Los Angeles for a two-game set. Tomorrow night at 7:10 it's Trevor Bauer and Anthony DeSclafani.

Up to eleven!

SF 2  OAK 0

Johnny Cueto tossed seven superb shutout innings in front of a near-capacity crowd in San Francisco. A showman likes an audience and the flamboyant Giants hurler gave the home fans plenty to cheer about. Wilmer Flores doubled in the 4th and came in on a single by Brandon Crawford to make it 1-0. A solo shot from Curt Casali in the 7th made it 2-0 and Tyler Rogers and Jake McGee made it stand up for the team's eleventh shutout and 49th win.

Brandon Belt went to the IL as expected and LaMonte Wade, Jr. was recalled. Darin Ruf started and played first base, Wade pinch-hit for him in the 8th.

Alex Wood gets the start tomorrow night at 7:05 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Crazy!

SF 9  LAA 3 (13)

The Giants outlasted a short-handed Angels squad in an excruciating marathon this afternoon in Anaheim, notching their MLB-best 48th win. It was advertised as a pitching duel, Shohei Ohtani and Kevin Gausman, and both delivered superb outings. The Giants picked up six hits off Ohtani, including a solo shot by Mike Yastrzemski, but he struck out nine in his six innings to keep them from adding on. Gausman was tagged for a solo shot by LF Luis Rengifo, but also stymied the Angels with nine strikeouts in his seven innings. More good pitching followed as both bullpens kept the lid on things until the 12th, when both teams scored, then the Giants broke it open in the 13th.

It was a crazy game, over five hours long, and the Angels actually ran out of players. They had to use an outfielder to catch, and a pitcher to play outfield. Their penultimate reliever walked three of the four guys he faced and their last man walked another and gave up two hits. The Giants waited just long enough, it seems, to get a mis-match! Steven Duggar provided the extra-inning heroics, driving in a run in the 12th on a double and two in the 13th on--get this--an infield hit! Mauricio Dubon and Mike Tauchman, the eight and ninth hitters, were 0-for-10 with nine strikeouts until the 13th, when Dubon walked and Tauchman homered.

Darin Ruf made a great play in the 12th to throw out the almost-winning run, it took a review to make it happen. He was in because Brandon Belt hurt himself running the bases in the 8th--Belt reached base on a bunt single and was later thrown out at home on a bad-luck carom. Ohtani batted second and was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against Gausman. Since he was hitting that meant the Angels had no DH. The Giants became the only NL team in history to use a DH against an AL team that did not use the DH! Giants DH Alex Dickerson had three hits off Ohtani, he's the first guy to get three hits off him in MLB.

Like I said it was a crazy game. My recap does not do it justice. The Giants showed remarkable resilience once again and continue to play winning baseball. This team deserves a day off, and they'll get one tomorrow. They open a three-game series at home against Oakland on Friday at 6:45 PDT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Tenth Team Shutout

SF 5  LAA 0

The Giants attacked early and put up a four-spot in the 1st against Andrew Heaney and added another in the 2nd. That was all the scoring. Anthony DeScalfani allowed only three hits and two walks in seven frames while striking out nine. Dominic Leone and Jimmie Sherfy finished up. The top of the 1st featured an RBI bunt single from Brandon Belt followed by a homer from Wilmer Flores! DH Darin Ruf had two hits on his return from the IL--he scored on Belt's bunt.

Angels DH Shohei Ohtani walked and whiffed twice against Disco, and whiffed for the third time against Leone. He starts tomorrow afternoon against Kevin Gausman. Game time 1:07 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

4th inning: 12-6

1st inning: 11-7

2nd inning: 11-7

3rd inning: 12-6

4th inning: 12-6

46-26 (.639), best record in MLB

The Giants got stomped 13-6 on Saturday, the bullpen yielding seven runs after it was tied 6-6 in the 3rd inning. The boys bounced back and gave the Phillies a Father's Day pasting 11-2, blasting four homers (two by Wilmer Flores) and getting strong pitching across the board. Sammy Long started and went six, yielding two runs with seven whiffs. Zack Littell got three outs in the 7th on eight pitches and Jimmie Sherfy did the same in the 8th on only six pitches. John Brebbia, a year out from TJS and just promoted back to the bigs, handled the 9th on ten pitches.

The Giants take two of the three games from Philadelphia and hang on to first place in the NL West, 1-1/2 games ahead of the surging Dodgers. They have an off-day tomorrow and then two in Anaheim, Tuesday at 6:38 and Wednesday at 1:07 (Pacific), then another off-day Thursday. Anthony DeSclafani and Kevin Gausman are scheduled.

Go Giants!

--M.C.