Bailey's Birthday Bash

SF 14  PIT 4

The Giants had a five-run 2nd inning and a eight-run 8th inning yesterday. Rookie catcher Patrick Bailey turned 24 and hit a two-run double in the 2nd and a 2-run homer in the 8th. It was a crazy game. Anthony DeSclafani threw three pitches in the 1st inning to get three outs: a double, a fly out, and a line out into a double play. He made it through seven innings on only 74 pitches giving up eight hits and three runs with no walks and two strikeouts. It was one of those "here, hit this" kind of outings: only four swing-and-miss strikes! There were ten ground ball outs and seven fly ball outs. Austin Slater was back from the IL and had three hits and four RBI. Brett "Maverick" Wisely pitched the 9th. He gave up a splash hit to CF Jack Suwinski who hit one earlier off DeSclafani. Only Barry Bonds ever put two in the water in one game.

It's a bullpen game tonight (6:45) with John Brebbia listed as the opener.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

p.s. It is the third seasonal inning (54 games). In this latest 18-game stretch they went 12-6 to bring their overall record to 28-26, good for third place in the NL West, 4-1/2 back of the Dodgers and three behind the Diamondbacks. The Giants are tied with the Marlins, Twins, Mariners, and Blue Jays for the 13th-best record in MLB.

1st inning: 6-12

2nd inning: 10-8

3rd inning: 12-6

Webb, Haniger subdue Brew Crew

SF 3  MIL 1

Logan Webb and Corbin Burnes staged an epic duel this afternoon in Milwaukee. Burnes gave up a run in the 1st with his own mistake (an errant pickoff) a key part of the sequence. He then threw six straight scoreless frames to give his team a chance. They eked out the tying run in the bottom of the 7th on Logan Webb's final pitch (#107) of the day. Webb had his string of six zeros snapped in that inning, but his was a dominant performance nonetheless, 11 strikeouts vs. one walk and only four hits. The Giants capitalized on the pitching change with Mitch Haniger hitting a two-run homer off reliever Peter Strzelecki in the 8th and that's how it finished. Camilo Doval had to really work for his 14th save, giving up a double to start the bottom of the 9th and needing 29 pitches to get the final three outs, but he got the job done.

Webb comes away with the "W" despite leaving with the score tied. He gave up a two-out RBI hit but the batter (Victor Caratini) was out trying to stretch the single to a double. The Giants scored in the next half inning (the top of the 8th) to take the lead. Taylor TYLER Rogers had another great outing with a scoreless bottom of the 8th for his 11th hold. He struck out Rowdy Tellez with a man on for the third out.

The Giants are 5-1 on the road trip, have won 10 of their last 12, and are 16-9 in May. Alex Cobb starts the getaway game tomorrow morning at 11:10 Pacific. They'll be home on Memorial Day to face the Pirates (2:05 PT), the first of a three-game set.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants batter Brewers

SF 15  MIL 1

Alex Wood gave up a run in the 1st on a double play ball but then put up zeros until he ran into trouble with two outs in the 6th. Tristan Beck came on to get the final out of that frame and then finished the game. A night after six pitchers shut out the Brewers the Giants use only two to stymie them again. Normally an impressive display by the hurlers would be the game story but tonight belonged to the hitters. They racked up 19 hits and plated 15 runs including a seven-run 3rd inning. J.D. Davis had two doubles, a homer, and 3 RBI, Mitch Haniger doubled and homered and drove in four, Patrick Bailey had four hits and 3 RBI, and Brett "Maverick" Wisely knocked in three with a double and a homer. It was a feast for the lineup. Here's a weird note: LaMonte Wade, Jr. was 0-for-6 with 5 K in the leadoff spot and number two hitter Blake Sabol was 0-for-6 with 4 K (and a run scored after reaching on an error). The Giants were 9-for-20 with RISP!

Logan Webb takes on Corbin Burnes tomorrow at 1:10 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Six Pitchers Blank Brewers

SF 5  MIL 0

Scott Alexander opened the game and got three outs on eight pitches. Taylor Rogers got the next four outs, three of them via whiffs. Jakob Junis followed with 2-1/3 including a pickoff and four whiffs. Sean "They Call the Man" Manaea finished the 5th and pitched a scoreless 6th. Tyler Rogers had a 1-2-3 7th and John Brebbia pitched the final two frames. He gave up a two-out double in both the bottom of the 8th and the bottom of the 9th but neither mattered. It was a very impressive performance by the much-maligned but lately much better bullpen. Final line: 9 IP  4 H  0 R  2 BB  13 SO.

The Giants scored in the 5th when Casey Schmitt singled and stole second and LaMonte Wade, Jr. singled him home with two outs. In the 8th Michael Conforto homered (he was 4-for-4) on the first pitch of the inning. Mike Yastrzemski singled with one out and after two were out Blake Sabol was hit by a pitch. A Schmitt double scored them both and a double by Patrick Bailey brought him in.

The team's 25th win brings them back to .500 and two games ahead of the Padres in the NL West. Alex Wood starts tomorrow at 5:10 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Three in a row makes .500

SF 4  MIN 3

Alex Cobb had given up only three homers in 51 IP so far this season so it was weird to see him give up two in one game. But that he did. He also pitched brilliantly over seven frames, keeping the Giants close and giving them a chance to win. Which they did. Down 3-0 in the 6th facing Twins starter Sonny Gray J.D. Davis led off with a walk and Michael Conforto followed with a double. A walk to Mitch Haniger loaded the bases and Gray was done. With two outs rookies Patrick Bailey and Bryce Johnson drew walks and the Giants were on the board. Thairo Estrada doubled to lead off the 7th and Conforto homered (#10) to give the Giants the lead. Scott Alexander had a 1-2-3 8th and Camilo Doval closed it out in the 9th for his 13th save.

The Giants even up their record to 24-24 and that's the first time they've hit .500 since they were 3-3 on April 6th.

It's Anthony DeSclafani and Joe Ryan tomorrow morning (10:10 PT) in the getaway game. They go to Milwaukee for four after that.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Relief corps on Target

SF 4  MIN 1

The Giants like to "score early" but they don't always follow up on that and "score often." Tonight was no exception. They tagged Twins starter Bailey Ober for four in the first but were held scoreless the rest of the way. It was enough as five pitchers stymied the Minnesota lineup with sixteen strikeouts. John Brebbia opened the game and got two whiffs in the 1st. Sean Manaea gave up three hits and three walks in his 3-2/3 but his eight Ks took care of business. Rookie Tristan Beck threw the next 2-2/3 and struck out four. He allowed a solo shot to Kyle Garlick in the 8th for the only blemish on the bullpen's night. Tyler Rogers struck out two for his 2/3 and Scott Alexander took care of the 9th on eight pitches.

LaMonte Wade, Jr. opened the game with a walk and Mike Yastrzemski followed with the same. J.D. Davis hit a double for one run and Michael Conforto homered for the rest.

Alex Cobb tomorrow, 4:40 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Rookies lead the way

SF 7  MIA 5

After Jorge Soler homered in the 1st to stake the Marlins to a 1-0 lead rookie catcher Patrick Bailey hit his first major league homer in the 2nd to even things up. Alex Wood gave up a run in the 3rd but the Giants fought back with a three-run rally in the bottom half. The big hit was a J.D. Davis homer. The Marlins chased Wood with a run in the 4th and another in the 5th to tie the game. The Giants rallied again in the 6th when Davis doubled and Mitch Haniger drove him in. Rookie third baseman Casey Schmitt singled him over to third and Bailey brought him home on a sacrifice bunt. Schmitt singled home another run in the 8th.

Rookie reliever Ryan Walker made his debut in the 6th and got three outs in between a few base hits. Jakob Junis threw two scoreless and turned it over to Camilo Doval for the 9th. A misplay by Bailey led to a run and brought Soler (who had four hits!) to the plate with a chance to tie the game but he flew out. All in all a nice win for the home squad, a real team effort.

The Giants travel to Minneapolis to face the Twins for three games. Monday's game is at 4:40 PT. No starter had been announced. They go to Milwaukee after that to play the Brewers and come home next Monday (May 29th).

Logan Webb was removed from Sunday's game after six shutout innings and 91 pitches because of back tightness. At first the move was supposed to be precautionary and he was not expected to miss time but now they say he needs an MRI. He's scheduled to start on Thursday.

Go Giants!

--M.C.