I saw last night coming in the exact same way I saw us “losing one of three at home” to these guys. I saw it because unlike Texas and Detroit on this stage, these guys are hungry, fierce and fast as lightning.
There are no balls that runaway from them in their park.
These guys are GOOD.
If, before I go on, you’re in an argumentative mood or feel like trolling, do not continue reading here until you have at least read Grant Brisbee, whose piece “Giants, Jake Peavy force Game 7,” is the single best piece on the internet on the matter.
It cuts to the points and covers most of the major issues. It is the single piece capable of getting our immense and highly emotional fan base into a sharper, more receptive mode today for what is to come tonight. It crosses generations and media.
For years, Brisbee does what newsprint can’t, what radio is incapable of, and has been what Comcast longs to be, but can never be because of how obscenely, filthy rich they are thanks to our team, and our fans, and who, thus, run things.
Brisbee does what bloggers long to do better than most of them can dream, and so they jealously put him down. I will pick up where he left off.
Jake Peavy, the new guy, went into that game without our trademark humility and cool. He let his kids talk about how they were going to buy a cable car when we won and, being new to our way of doing things from a media town like Boston, he acted way too cool pre-game in general (hugs with Big Papi … uh, why?).
The play where he is yelling at Belt to throw it home was the ultimate in blowing your cool. I was disappointed, but I understood it must be incredible pressure.
I only wish Brandon had the quick presence of mind to flip that to Joe – what the hell, though, it was happening pretty fast.
But honestly, thank you, Jake. The pressure was enormous on you this season coming over to our team and you rocked!
It was a rough outing and a terrible context to be thrown into. Add to the situation the death of Tavares and the young emotional man on the mound, Ventura, dedicating his performance to his recently departed friend, and you have a nightmare situation.
Thank you for the game against the Nationals and your earnest, competitive fire.
This season, Jake Peavy did good things, and in some cases great things, coming in as a quick replacement for the sudden departure of our Big Horse, Matt Cain. But I refuse to agree with those who demand we blindly say, “we wouldn’t be here without him.”
He would not be here without us, is more appropriate.
He is a guy Brian Sabean chose on short notice to replace one of the best right-handers in the game, a guy our whole starting pitching rotation was begun with, and he did an admirable job.
Thank you Jake, again. Forgive me for being impatient. I cannot wait for Matt Cain’s elbow chips business to be completely healed.
As I said yesterday morning:
The AL is a different animal though and you have to stay crisp, sharp and on top of it against these hustling Royals. Their speed is crazy and they can hit. They haven’t been hitting, but they can hit. Which makes ‘em even more dangerous. Backs against the wall and due.
I am excited we’re starting Tim Hudson tonight. I trust Huddy and I dream of a storybook ending to his long and successful career as a starting pitcher in the major leagues. He has survived and indeed thrived to become the winningest pitcher active by exhibiting exquisite command and a level head under pressure.
A silver lining is our lineup got to go through that game last night as an ice breaker and I believe we will all be far more prepared for the atmosphere at KC tonight.
If we really want to be considered a Dynasty, if we really believe we have a right to elect Bruce Bochy to the Hall of Fame, tonight is when it should happen. We need to get the mental toughness, have the confidence to play our game and win it.
We have the better squad. Their pitcher is hittable. Victory can be ours.
Victory should be ours.
I honestly hope we play our best ball, because if we do, I am sure they cannot beat us. They rely on speed and hustle to ensure they make few mistakes. They capitalize on getting ahead before the 6th so they can shut it down.
We have the weapons to defeat that philosophy.
I honestly believe Tim Hudson could have the game of his life tonight and I wish him and his family all the best in the world win-or-lose.
The Bay Area loves you, Tim, and we believe in you because you have earned our trust.
In fact we admire you a great deal: your efficiency on the mound this season has been at times stunning.
This game in particular … You were one pitch from a complete game with ten pitches an inning. Wow, just, wow.
You and your family have been a welcome addition to our locker room and stadium and community. Thank you.
Jake Peavy joined the Giants and went 6-4 with a 2.17 ERA in 12 starts.
He only gave up three home runs. He threw 58 strikeouts and 17 walks, for a 3.41 strikeout-to-walks ratio.
He gave up 65 hits and 24 runs, 19 of them earned.
Jake was particularly good in August when other starters were struggling. In his 13th season, Peavy is returning to play for the manager whom he entered the league under, Bruce Bochy, who managed the Padres when Jake debuted.
At the age of 33, he is the only player on either team in this year’s World Series who is a current World Series Champion, having won with Boston last year. In that way he reminds me of Ryan Theriot who won with the Giants in 2012 after having won with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011. “The Riot” scored the winning run that completed our sweep of the Detroit Tigers and he remains a part of SF Giants lore.
But, Peavy got no decision in his only World Series appearance with the Red Sox and he took the loss in Game Two of this Series. In fact, in the post season he has more often than not, suffered defeat.
He made three postseason starts in 2013 and the Red Sox lost two of them. So despite good numbers in the regular season, against the stiff competition of the playoffs, Peavy has not induced confidence. In eight postseason starts, including this year, Peavy’s ERA is more than seven.
There is no doubt Peavy wants to win and is a competitor. But the atmosphere in Kansas City tonight is going to be intense. The Royals, with their backs against the wall, against their own walls, are sure to be a formidable team. There are going to be no easy outs in this one. It’s the American League park, so a DH adds to the certainty of that.
Jake Peavy ended the 2014 season smoking hot. He was rolling along so well, I pushed hard for the Giants to use him rather than Madison Bumgarner in the Play-In Game against the Pirates. A lot of people teased me for my massive spamming in favor of starting Peavy. I was concerned we wouldn’t have Bumgarner available twice against the Nationals.
But Bochy, the Master, brushed off any such suggestion, started Bumgarner and we won it to advance, leaving Peavy to start Game One of the NLDS against Washington’s Nationals.
And he had one of his best Post Season starts ever.
Peavy didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning and exited with three walks and three strikeouts in that one, an unqualified success. He was pulled after a two-out walk to Jayson Werth in the sixth, but kept the Nationals scoreless on only two hits.
The AL is a different animal and you have to stay crisp, sharp and on top of it against these hustling Royals. Their speed is crazy and they can hit. They haven’t been hitting, but they can hit. Which makes ’em even more dangerous. Backs against the wall and due. Here’s hoping Jake can #GetPeaved and the Giants can make this happen.
The last few days have been good for serious reflection on what the San Francisco Giants and their fans have experienced over the last five years, which has been historic and secures this period of SF Giants history as belonging to one man more than any other, Manager Bruce Bochy.
The Barry Bonds Era of SF Giants baseball ended in 2007.
When you think about it, it must have been an incredible burden for first-year Giant coach Bruce Bochy to have to steward the team through the amazing individual accomplishment of Barry Lamar.
Imagine walking into the managing job with that level of pressure on the team, on Bonds. Not to mention Bonds’ attitude as a player in the clubhouse – famously self-contained. Bochy had to quietly endure all that attention – much of which was incredibly negative – and yet try to manage the team … as a team.
Then Barry Lamar was done and we were left with a very young staff of home grown talent, no real MVP’s except maybe a Freak with crazy delivery. But within two seasons, the Giants were back in the hunt.
I was at the game in Mid-September back in 2009 when we were just starting to smell the playoffs for the first time under Boch. We had scrapped and fought our way into second place in the division and had beat the Rockies twice in a three game series to pull within two games back of Division-leading Colorado.
It was my son’s first MLB game, his first Giant game. Randy Johnson was in the ‘pen.
Note the absent WS pennants in LF, seems weird now!
Matt Cain was on the mound. Though we didn’t call it this back then, Matt got #Cained that night as we lost 4-3; couldn’t drive home the winning runs waiting at second and third base with two outs. It was as close as we would get to the playoffs that season (remember this is when Wild Cards didn’t exist), another season in San Francisco in the books without satisfaction. But already the Bruce Bochy effect was evident. We were fighting hard … as a team.
2009 to the present is The Bruce Bochy Era of SF Giants baseball.
In the five years since, this team has played some of the grittiest, gutsiest, most intensely-focused, never-say-die baseball I’ve ever seen.
We’ve won our first two World Series Championships in San Francisco and three of the last five National League Pennants.
We’ve seen talent squeezed out of Cody Ross and Aubrey Huff and Pat Burrell and Marco Scutaro at the end of their careers. I’ll never forget the post World Series interview with Bochy when asked about Aubrey Huff’s bunt in the only World Series game ever played in November. He told Krukow he’d asked Huff to start practicing bunting two months earlier! Huff hadn’t dropped and wouldn’t drop a bunt all season long, but Boch was concerned he would need it in a given circumstance and so he was ready in the last game of the World Series.
Wow.
Under Bochy we’ve witnessed a perfect game, a near-perfect game, three no-hitters, an inside-the-park-walkoff, Scutaro in the rain, Pablo’s three homers in a WS game (and off Verlander saying “Wow”), Madison Bumgarner, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Ryan Vogelsong and even, finally Barry Zito dominance for redemption. What Bruce Bochy has done in this time period has been nothing short of brilliant.
Bruce Bochy, I have criticized and cajoled and even mocked moves you’ve made. I have been upset by things you do, patterns that seem exclusive to you and outside of my own reasoning about how games ought to be managed mid-season. Yet you’ve consistently proven me wrong and over the course of a season, of several seasons, have shown how much more you know about what to do with this group of guys.
For all our complaining, the man responsible for hiring Bruce Bochy deserves credit. Really early in the morning before the 2012 World Series parade, I was passing by Brian Sabean who was talking to a couple of people while waiting to get into the convertible he would ride in the festivities. I waited til there was a pause in their conversation and then called out, “Mr. Sabean!” He looked over at me and I held up my camera and raised my eyebrows implying I would like a shot. He acknowledged me, paused, looked down, spat, then slowly raised his hand and signaled as he looked directly at my lens:
I only wish that damn trunk had been closed. But the point is, even then, Mr. Sabean was being clear we weren’t finished, that this team wasn’t finished. Look at him – that’s a face that says, “We aren’t done yet.”
Sabean feels and, I think we have all felt it, that there is something historically special about this group of guys … and it starts with coaching.
Rags, Wotus, Bam-Bam, Flan, Will the Thrill and even Barry Lamar have been important figures in this staff, critical cogs in the system. Bochy has allowed them all not just to thrive but to excel.
Skip, you’re a “Master” of team management. There is no doubt in my mind now that you belong in the Hall of Fame – you’ve earned it.
Because of an illness in my family, I’ve been away from SF and haven’t had a lot of time to blog lately and don’t even have much today, so I will end it here.
I would like to offer my sincerest gratitude to all of you on the eve of the World Series – to the Giants, to our staff and management and to all the rest of you fans and journalists, for what has been an amazing ride during what I encourage all of us to name The Bruce Bochy Era of SF Giants Baseball, for the one man more responsible than anyone else for the amazing success.
What a delight to see the team working on all cylinders – even without Angel Pagan.
A badass homer from Crawford who worked an 11-pitch count and then owned it. Madison Bumgarner handling business, and Posey and Pablo getting RBIs galore.
Nice win for the Giants to start the second half. Here’s hoping Huddy feels primed from his rest to make it two tonight.
First off, before doing an assessment of the G-men at the break, I want to chime in and agree with Alex Pavlovic’s view, made most clear by Grant Brisbee, that all, repeat every single replay review at AT&T Park should be broadcast live to the crowd over and over and from every angle and in highest def slo-mo, while the challenge is ensuing.
This is silicon valley. We should have the best possible view of every single play and all of these should be made available immediately, live to the fans. YES, “ON THE BIG BOARD!”
To which I would add two comments:
1. I love Brisbee’s thought. There should be, superimposed upon the screen as the fans watch the play in question, a “Review Porcupine” – an animated character that replaces the cursor for example, so it can be manipulated by an operator – I’d nominate Grant Brisbee – live, during the game at the park.
The porcupine would clearly point out to fans, to those watching at home and to the secret cabal in the star chamber in New York that decides the fate of games now, what exactly has taken place on the field of play in our park.
and
2. If you aren’t going to do that, at least just use the time to show everyone that cool footage of pre-quake Market Street, San Francisco in 1905 that was dug up, like we did during the Turn-Back-the-Century Game:
AT THE ALL STAR BREAK, IT’S A ROLLER COASTER RIDE
At the All-Star Break the San Francisco Giants’ season feels like we spent six weeks climbing this long, sweetly-delicious first hill of a roller-coaster, rising higher and higher until we were the best in baseball for more than ten days … only to then go flying down the first drop of this ride in the last three weeks of June.
And now we ricket-along clickety-click through the last of the first half, through the guts of this giant ride, bumping along.
We got smoked by the current best team in baseball a few times – who happen to be our brothers and cross-Bay rivals in Oakland. So for me, there’s hurt pride by those losses, but not as much as anger that we now play so many damn Inter-League games that everybody is telling us the DH in the NL is inevitable. (I reiterate – why doesn’t the AL drop the DH and let’s try that for a season and see how much fun we have?)
But I digress.
I’d say the health of team is good: Belt and Casilla were major losses for those six weeks in which we fell so hard and fast.
Michael Morse is not a first baseman. He isn’t comfortable there and after valiant – but often cockamamie – effort, the difficulties affected his batting. He was a BEAST during the front end of the season; doing everything we asked and more at the plate … and what did we do? Well, Bochy experimented again and shattered his rhythm.
Mind you, the injury to Belt forced his hand, and Bochy has a grasp of the helm and knows how long the season is. If he felt he wanted Morse to get the innings in, in case it’s necessary later in the year, I buy it. I didn’t four years ago as much, but nowadays I, like everybody else, just shrug and say, “Well, you know he has won us two championships in the last four years.”
But with the imminent induction of Tony La Russa into the Hall of Fame, it’s a good time to stare at Bochy during times like that.(reminds me of that insane attempt to put Cody Ross in left in August of ’10)
Morse was a mess at first, folks. Love this guy. Love Michael Morse. But his tall, gangly form and lack of experience at the position cost us numerous times. It was a relief to see basic plays completed to satisfaction. Let’s let him get comfortable again back out in left. He was immediately pretty comfortable out there, and now we’ve gone and messed with that rhythm, too. I feel his bat is most important for our team.
This line is here just to say, “Way to go El Tiburon Blanco!” Gregor’s work in substitution is reliable. He’s earning that fourth OF spot covering for Pagan and Morse. The Morse/Blanco platoon in left is the combination we have been looking for. It’s the platoon Torres/Blanco or Melky/Blanco could never have been.
Anyway, Belt is back. And so is Casilla. And Affeldt looks great. I like how when Sergio Romo started to falter we addressed it by using Relief by Committee on the fly.
Pablo is slowly getting back his numbers and has been his usual, exceptional self at third. The errant throws stopped as soon as he began hitting. It has been really nice to see.
Brandon Crawford is a puzzle. Excellent in the field, suddenly hitting well against lefties, now he struggles against righties and remains inconsistent at the plate.
After a great opening in substitution for Scutaro, Brandon Hicks’ numbers did drop off as expected from a rookie. The recent rest helps him, but obviously also costs us. The other role players, Colvin, Perez, Adrianza and Duvall have all had moments of brilliance, but simply don’t have the talent to keep the team afloat during a stretch like we had in June without the pop of the bat of Brandon Belt.
Yes, I said, the pop of the bat of Brandon Belt.
The pitchers deserve credit. It’s hitting that’s been the problem during the slump. Put Morse back in left and let him get his groove back. Move Belt up the lineup.
Finally, the biggest single individual upon whom success of the Giants can be associated is Angel Pagan; our leadoff man, center fielder and energizer. The loss of Pagan during the slump cannot be underestimated.
If we have Morse, Pagan and Pence in the outfield, Sandoval, Crawford, Scutaro/Hicks and Belt/Posey infield and Buster and Hector behind the plate, there should be at least three or four runs a game, minimum. Guys gotta start hitting.
We need to win games with our bats like we were doing in the beginning of the year.
That is what has to happen after the break. I like our chances. It’s just us and the Dodgers out West and if we keep up with them we could have a decent shot at one of the Wild Cards.
But I gotta say, it’s like being halfway through the ride on a roller coaster and my stomach still hasn’t settled from that first drop.
Haven’t had time to keep up with the blog, but the Cincinnati series just ended and the Giants continue to impress on the road. They took two of three from the Reds, after taking two of three from the Cards last week.
We lost the first game of each series, this week it was because of what would normally have been called a Lincecum implosion, but it was really slightly different from the other ones.
Timmy settled down after giving up runs in the first, but then got frustrated and distracted by base runners – particularly the speedy Billy Hamilton, who is right behind Dee Gordon in steals in the NL. Though a distraction to Timmy, he provided a defensive highlight: it was pretty cool to see Buster Posey gun him down at third in this game. But then came the Lincecum implosion.
The Giants and Lincecum lost 8 – 3.
Game two was a Vogelsong gem as he threw a quality start and had nine strikeouts. That’s the most K’s Vogey has ever had in a regular season game. You may remember he had nine in the 2012 WS year on the road in St. Louis.
Michael Morse boomed a homer in this one and then Juan Perez followed suit later in the game to give the Giants a 3-2 lead they never yielded. Romo got the save.
Morse homered again in the third game of the series, the rubber match this morning. And the Giants won 6-1 after Brandon Crawford blew it wide open with a three run homer.
The Giants look really good. The road trip was 4-2 and we return now for a ten game home stand. Looking forward to thrashing the Mets this weekend.
This was the game where I began to wonder if we might have this. We might have the division because we are a real team … built from good guys.
I was worried because St. Louis is a baseball town and they’ve won the most titles in the National League, and their … culture, their actual baseball culture is so much better than ours – I don’t mean our best versus their best, I mean our current fans versus their perennial ones.
[I am not DONE complaining about this, you people need to CHANGE].
But this team shows a flexibility and a stick-to-it-iveness that is quite impressive. Giants came from behind twice with power from Morse (doing what we hired him to do) and Pablo Sandoval – wow, the cowboy boots shift is turning crazy now – who hit for an RBI for the 9th consecutive time, with a homer, which has brought comparison to Barry Bonds from everyone.
It is interesting to remember that Bonds arrived in SF from Pittsburgh at the age of 28. Pablo Sandoval will be 28 this August. What if Pablo’s “Barry Years” lie ahead?
(Just tweeted the shit out of that line)
Vogelsong pitched well, the ‘pen continues to impress and Romo continues to be a little shaky. He gave up a run in the ninth and had runners on who, crossing the plate, could cost the game. He wrestled his way out, inducing a pop up to end the game and I tweeted:
TWEET by @giantsbaseballcorner : “I don’t mind Romo struggling a bit against a decent team on the road and fighting his way out of it. #ElMechon#sfgiants 17th save. Builds.”
Moments later Ray Woodson tweeted he would spend the post game show trying to calm down the Romo Angst. My reply was:
TWEET by @giantsbaseballcorner : “Romo angst is typical of the non-baseball playing bandwagonning dumbasses who now occupy our park claiming to feel “tortured”
and I still feel that way this morning.
But it did lead to a discussion for me about the word “torture” and why it offended me when taken on as a badge after Krukow said it. It was true when Kruk said it about 2010.
It was “Torture” for the fans who have watched for five decades as the G-men kept getting close and failed to win the World Series in San Francisco. It was torture for anyone who watched ’02 …. ’93 …. ’89 … ’62.
But after we finally won, the word for the first win in SF was “RELIEF”
See, it can’t really be “TORTURE” again until 2068.
If we don’t win the World Series until 2068, that summer would be torture. Use of the term before then is insulting to long time fans – well at least to me.
The Minnesota Twins are tied for second in the AL Central but have a .500 record because it’s a division dominated by the powerful Detroit Tigers. Their power hitter Joe Mauer has been struggling terribly, but still, they have Kurt Suzuki and Eduardo Escobar batting above .300.
Tim Lincecum had a crazy outing on Friday – at one point Andrew Baggarly noted he had 55 balls and 55 strikes, matching his number. He ended up with six walks, five strikeouts and gave up five hits. Bruce Bochy described him as “bobbing and weaving,” but when it was all said and done, despite letting a lot of Twins on and having to pitch out of jams, Lincecum and the Giants won 6-2.
Pablo Sandoval and Brandon Hicks homered again – it’s starting to look like the Panda is back. Andre Reynier asked about Brandon Hicks in the comments and so we reflected on how well the young man has played in place of Marco Scutaro. It’s looking more and more like Scoots may never return – the back may have just given out – so the question of Hicks’ effectiveness season-long becomes important.
Andre feels Hicks might be considered another excellent pick up by Brian Sabean, and at first blush, I agree. He has been technically exacting in the field and powerful at the plate. However, he has also made some “rookie mistakes” – like when he missed the bag legging out a double and was called out, andthere have been a couple of flippant throwing errors here and there.
The question is whether or not he can sustain the play through 162. I have no idea if he can, but even Brandon Crawford has sustained drop off in the second half over a couple of years. We shall just have to wait and see. But right now, it is working and it’s fun to watch the DP’s and homers-a-flying.
Game Two of this series was Epic Ryan Vogelsong. If we are talking about Panda like he’s back, it is starting to feel even more true for Ryan Vogelsong, who is dropping Quality Starts like it’s 2012 again.
Last night Vogey was dominant through seven. he nearly finished the 7th, but was forced from the game by silly throwing error. he would have had the last out, but flipped the ball to first too casually. Bochy, to his credit, evaluated the lapse correctly and immediately pulled Vogey in favor of our bullpen. (Though they gave up a homer before closing it out).
The Giants played their style of ball. Good Starting Pitching, crisp defense, just enough runs and taking advantage of opponents mistakes led to a 2-1 victory for Vogey, that could have been a shutout, save for a homer hit off Machi in the ninth. Machi closed it out and got the save.
The game has just been called due to the weather. Hail stones and rolling electrified thunderstorms suspended this one, tied 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth, with David Huff on the mound for the Giants, a runner on for the Rockies. The game will be resumed at that point during one of the first three days of September when the Giants visit Colorado again. whew!
TWEET: Suspension of #Rockies#SFGiants series by hail and rain, has something poetic about it. Like two teams too equally matched to conclude.
This has been a tense couple of days and the road trip ends, fittingly, without conclusion, suspended, in limbo and somehow still tense.
This year the Rockies and Giants seem fated to do battle down to the wire. One wonders what the records will be like in that first week of September, in the home stretch of the season. Are these three and a half remaining innings going to be incredibly significant?
And what about the idiotic way in which clowning around by the dugout and Santiago Casilla led to four weeks on the DL for Casilla and the Giants having to call up George Kontos? This was a weird week. Three HBP’s in game one, and after his retaliation plunking (for hitting Tulo) Bumgarner got into it verbally with the Rockies as he ran up the line. Romo getting tagged.
Still, the Giants have to be happy with the trip. They got the Rockies to play by the Giants’ tempo. It still really feels like the Giants won both of these … just one hanging slider away from four up on the Rockies.
Giants pitching tamed the hard hitting Rockies in their park, at altitude. The game plan was intact and the Giants had a shot at taking both and indeed all three of these games.
Looking forward to the Giants coming home this weekend for some Inter-league ball – so we get to make fun of their pitchers swinging the bats – followed by a visit from our historic rivals, dating back to the 1800’s, everybody’s second favorite team (’cause they’re never a threat to anybody’s first) the Chicago Cubs.
This game was going according to plan. Madison Bumgarner and the Giants defense quieted the red hot Rockies lineup, holding them to three runs. In fact, it marked a milestone for Bumgarner who set the Giants team record for most consecutive road starts holding opponents to three runs or less (18), when he walked off the mound in the 6th.
The Rockies sprayed nine hits across eight innings but couldn’t get more than three men home, leaving 21 on base (Team LOB 10). It was a taut, well played game of strategy between very competitive teams. The teams traded HBP’s and when Bumgarner was plunked in the 7th he jawed at the Rockies’ dugout all the way down the line as he took his base. They gave it right back. This could be going all the way down to 162.
The tense affair remained a 3-3 tie until the top of the ninth, when Brandon Hicks hit a one-out single, and former Rockie Tyler Colvin drove him in with his second double of the night.
Sergio Romo entered with a one run lead but was immediately in trouble, issuing a walk to Justin Morneau and a sac fly to Michael Cuddyer that advanced him to scoring position. Troy Tulowitzki grounded to force out Morneau, but was safe at first because Brandon Crawford had no play. That might have been a game ending double play if Brandon Hicks’ throw had been tighter. Crawford had no play because the relay was just a bit off.
Romo then gave up a single to Carlos Gonzalez, who hit it straight up the middle and just over the outreached glove of Crawford. When Nolan Arenado stepped up to the plate with two out and two on, he was was 0-4 career against Sergio Romo. Sometimes a guy is just due.
It was an ill fated two-out, two-strike, hanging slider that ended up the game winning walkoff double for Arenado. Rockies win 5-4. Other than that pitch, though Romo wasn’t bad. The hits were tight. The double play was doable. He could have had them. Tough loss. Tough for Romo and for the Giants. Emotions were running high. This isn’t going to be easy.
The Rockies use their home field advantage to stack the deck in their favor offensively. If the Giants want to avoid a sweep and giving up the division lead, they will need to play even more crisp defense and be ready to respond to the inevitable onslaught of runs.
That’s why this one hurts: it was within reach. Everything was going according to plan. And just one pitch … just one relay throw … just one play … made the difference. Game two promises to be equally competitive as Matt Cain (1-3, 3.92ERA) faces Jhoulys Chacin (0-2, 4.76).
After the come-from-behind victory in game one, the Giants were forced into another come-from-behind situation in game two, when Yusmeiro Petit was burned by Marlins bats for four runs in the first four frames.
In fact, the very first batter Petit faced, Christian Yelich, ripped a line drive home run. The day already felt long. But Petit evoked three consecutive fly balls for outs and looked for the most part, together.
In the bottom of the first, Pablo Sandoval not only extended his hitting streak to 7 games, but added an RBI, doubling in Pagan to tie the score, 1-1. But the Marlins bats went to work on Petit after that, culminating in the four-run 4th that chased him from the game.
To their credit the Giants clawed their way back and tied this one 5-5, But Santiago Casilla imploded in the top of the ninth allowing the Marlins to knock in two more for what would be the final score, 7-5, Marlins.
Miami got 14 hits and seven runs in this one. Beat us up. What is it with their bats and our park? Man, I hope we don’t see them in the playoffs.
After game two, the team, fans and broadcasters didn’t seem too concerned. After all, Petit was making an emergency start for the staff ace, Tim Hudson. He was chased, the Giants responded, and the bullpen was due, maybe even overdue, to blink, after weeks of successful shutdown work. So O.K. put it behind us, get a good night’s sleep and move on.
But then came last night’s 5-0 shutout loss for Tim Lincecum … featuring Brandon Hicks missing first base on a one-out double that had advanced Sanchez to third. Reviewed. Out. … Ugh. Oh, and a missed tag at the plate by Hector Sanchez added to the Giants woes.
Tim Lincecum had a quality start, went six and allowed just three runs, but the Giants couldn’t get anything going against the Marlins Tom Koehler. Rough outing.
Now the brows start furrowing, as the home stand is at 3-3, with today’s game being the difference between tying or losing the series to these Marlins in our park, again – and winning or losing the home stand.
Ryan Vogelsong goes for the Giants vs. Jacob Turner. Luckily Turner’s not great (0-1, 6.75ERA). But the bigger question is whether we can play sharp ball and defend against the Marlins bats that love AT&T Park.
What a day for baseball at AT&T Park. Temperatures crossed 80 degrees and the bats responded as they have in the past. The two ace starters, Julio Teheran for the Braves and Madison Bumgarner for the Giants, were forced into a combined 61 pitches in a first inning that ended 2-2. Teheran threw 41 pitches … in the first inning!
The continuing shifting of position players in response to the absence of 1B Brandon Belt (out with a broken thumb for anywhere from 6-8 weeks) had Gregor Blanco playing center field and Michael Morse at 1st. Blanco had a problem with a fly ball in the first that found the wall and gave the Braves an early 2-run lead, but “the white shark,” el Tiburon Blanco more than made up for it the rest of the game with patient at-bats and inspired base running.
Starting as the lead off hitter for the first time this season in order to spell Angel Pagan, Gregor Blanco did something yesterday that Willie Mays never did: he stole three bases in a game and scored three runs. It was a display of speed not seen around here since The Bullet, Darren Ford. It helped the struggling Blanco to perform at the plate as well, as he showed more patience, drew a walk and even drove in an RBI with a single.
Blanco responding to the absence of Pagan was just what the Giants needed. I refused to see resting Pagan as a problem or an issue yesterday, but rather as an early-season opportunity to develop alternatives to Pagan in the lead off position. Blanco performed exceptionally well. Tyler Colvin looks like an option, too. If we want Angel Pagan to last the entire season without injury, spelling him for games is the way – another great decision by skipper Bruce Bochy.
Blanco’s speed was accompanied by an awesome display of power on a hot, hot day at the yard – Hunter Pence, Michael Morse and Brandon Crawford all went yard. Brandon Crawford’s homer found the water of McCovey Cove , his second splash hit of this season and his career, to bring the total hit by Giants to 67. Pablo Sandoval extended his slump-breaking hitting streak to six games but had to leave the game after five innings with an injury to his big toe.
Pablo is listed day-to-day, but it adds to the shifting and substituting in the infield and means we’ll be seeing Arias throwing to Morse or Posey or Sanchez on different days. The shifting of players in reaction to injury is an example of the team philosophy from top to bottom in this organization. It seems to be a shared effort every game. Truly 25 Guys with One Common Goal … to win today!
Madison Bumgarner had a frustrating, hot afternoon, allowing four runs and five hits in five, striking out five and giving up a walk. But MadBum still managed to get the win, secured by a bullpen that, increasingly, must be considered one of the best in baseball – both at the skill level and with regard to managerial decision making about their use. Bochy has become masterful at bullpen management.
The Giants had 15 hits and six walks and chased Teheran from the game in the 4th. Teheran is 3-2 on the young season, but both those losses have come at the hands of the Giants, once at home and once on the road.
The Giants have the best record in all of baseball again and among the leaders in home runs, having tacked on three more yesterday. They also lead the league in series victories, with nine.
The surprising Miami Marlins are in town today and through the weekend. They arrive having destroyed Los Angeles yesterday. The Dodgers wholly imploded and failed at every aspect of the game, losing 13-3. Brian Wilson got crushed and the lowly nemesis had to turn to position players to pitch – ridiculous.
In some ways the Atlanta Braves mirror the Giants – great pitching, good defense and “just enough runs” come to mind. Looking at Andrelton Simmons and Crawford side-by-side does, too. Or how about the pitching staff … for example in today’s game when it’ll be Bumgarner versus Teheran – dominant big pitchers.
So when the Giants went into Atlanta and swept the Braves last week, it wasn’t so much a surprise as the first move in a chess match that could easily end in the National League Championship series playing for the pennant.
In the first game of this week’s series at AT&T Park on Monday, Tim Lincecum turned back the clock and turned in a glittering performance: the FreaKKKKKKKKKKK – yup that’s 11 strikeouts.
Timmy was backed up by an equally exciting performance at the plate – by Tyler Colvin – who smashed a splash hit into McCovey Cove in his first at-bat as a Giant. Colvin followed that stellar drive with a bases-clearing triple that drove in three and gave the Giants a 4-1 lead. Wow, what a debut!
Romo got the save, but not before giving up another run to the Braves. In fact Romo’s been pretty shaky the last couple of outings – including giving up a game-tying HR for a blown save in LA.
Hey Romo, Maybe worry less about your new shoes and more about keeping your eyes on the prize: 50 saves … you said that was your goal two years ago, Sergio. Make it happen, cap’n.
Then of course, the Giants went to sleep in game two, and couldn’t plate a single run for Ryan Vogelsong. The Braves’ powerful lefty Mike Minor mowed down the staff and earned Atlanta’s first win over the Giants this year.
Vogey fell to (1-2), despite a decent five innings. It all fell apart in the 6th. The critical error in this one was that Buster Posey missed a tag at the plate, that he should have easily made. The 6th inning unraveled after the play and the game was lost.
It’s going to be over 90 degrees at the park today as the two aces take the mound. Julio Teheran has only been beaten once since April – but that was by the Giants – and Madison Bumgarner seems to have righted his course and is back to his winning ways. Will the warm weather knock one or both of these guys out? Or will it be a lock-down nail biter?
Stay tuned – it’s Giants and Braves at battle once again.
On what was meant to be the Giants longest and most difficult road trip of the season – ten consecutive nights facing the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves, the Pirates in Pittsburgh and four vs. the Dodgers in LA, the Giants emerged with a 7-3 record and showed flexibility, poise and power.
They swept the Braves in Atlanta for the first time since 1988, using power – a parade of home runs – and pitching. They lost two of three in Pittsburgh, but the one game they took was a wild one that went 13 innings and in which 21 runs were scored. Bizarrely, after being unable to score with RISP in Atlanta, the Giants flipped the script and won that one with situational hitting; moving runners over with bunts and sacs, getting timely hits with RISP. It ended with Jean Machi’s bunt RBI and not a single homer.
Despite losing Brandon Belt to a broken thumb and having Sergio Romo blow a save in the ninth in LA, the team managed to chip away and fight for wins to stay on top of the NL West by two games over Colorado and four and a half over LA.
Back at the friendly confines of AT&T this week, it doesn’t get much easier, as the top two teams of the NL East are in town. The Braves are certain to have vengeance on their minds after the Giants swept them last week in their park. Then next up, it’s the Miami Marlins, a surprisingly good team this year, just two back of the Braves out East. After the homestand, it’s back on the road to face the Rockies in Colorado – who will be looking to seize the division lead. It’s going to be a tough stretch the rest of May.
Tim Lincecum is on the mound tonight. He will face the Braves’ Gavin Floyd.
Vogelsong was truly #Vogelstrong, throwing just over 100 pitches, easing his way out of jams and holding the Dodgers to a single run. He out-dueled one of the Dodgers’ high value starters, Josh Beckett, went seven and an out, and looked controlled doing it.
When we won the World Series in 2012, Ryan Vogelsong was absurdly consistent. He had a quality start run of sixteen consecutive games in which he went at least six innings. And in that run, he allowed less than three runs a game, a machine.
Then last year Vogey had a rocky start. I think he liked being third in the order in 2012, and perhaps changing the order in 2013 and moving him down to fifth contributed to his struggles at the beginning of the season. His rhythm may have been disturbed by it, because he struggled with command and confidence, looked shaken and was getting shelled. He was asked if he was worried he might lose his place in the rotation. He responded with a glare, “Why would I?”
Then he had a decent game. It seemed like he might have turned the corner. So Vogey was just starting to find his groove when he had the bad luck to be hit on the hand while batting. Some bones in his hand were broken and he had to sit for weeks. It destroyed his rhythm and he never came back like the dominant pitcher he had been. (still, fuck the DH, that’s just NL ball).
In the off-season, all of this affected contract negotiations. But Ryan was happy to re-sign and get back to doing what he likes to do – pitch. And now we know some things about what he needs to do the job well.
Ryan Vogelsong seeks order. He eats the same thing before every game: #RallyEnchiladas. Vogey needs to find a season-long groove. He likes consistency so he can be consistent. He has great command when he is comfortable and he showed it off against the Dodgers in Chavez Ravine last night.
The Giants executed the game plan to perfection last night in L.A. Vogey handed the ball off to Affeldt for a single batter, then Yasel Puig stepped up to the plate with one out and a runner on in a tied game. Puig is hitting .357 against lefties right now and in the low .290’s against righties. Bochy went to Santiago Casilla, #TheWorkhorse, who mowed him down in a dominating strikeout at-bat.
Casilla took care of business and worked the Dodgers into extra innings and in the tenth, the Giants drew a series of walks off Dodger reliever Jamey Wright and got RBI’s from Brandon Belt and Hector Sanchez: clutch hitting with Runners in Scoring Position.
A note must be made of the ridiculously crisp defense backing up pitching staff. The Three Brandons – Crawford, Hicks and Belt – are having fun and making great plays. It’s a joy to watch. (#TripleBrandonDP is a thing now).
Romo came in to seal it and acquire his eleventh save and The Workhorse, Santiago Casilla got the win, his first of the season.
I have come to the conclusion there are three horses on this team in the Year of the Horse: #TheBigHorse, Matt Cain; #CrazyHorse Angel Pagan; and #TheWorkhorse Santiago Casilla.
Last night’s win and Colorado’s loss put just a little distance between the Giants and the rest of the division. The Giants are in first by a game over the Rockies and by three and a half over the Dodggers.
Game Two today features Madison Bumgarner (3-3; 3.18) versus Paul Maholm (1-2; 4.70), a match-up that, at least on paper, favors the Giants but it depends on which Bumgarner shows up. I think he gets motivated following a performance like last night’s by Vogelsong.
Game One of this series was one of the craziest games ever witnessed. 13 innings of scoring and hits which end on an RBI bunt by the winning pitcher Jean Machi. I can’t even get into it here, but it was an epic win. Giants 11, Pirates 10 in 13.
That crazy game was, sadly, followed by two losses in which the Giants bats went back to sleep. The Game Two loss was due to instant replay review allowing a game-winning run to score when the play was called out at the plate. Giants lose 1-2 on the first ever replay walkoff.
The Game Three loss was a Tim Lincecum debacle in which he gave up 4 and we weren’t able to score more than 3. Belt did hit a homer though to continue the Brandon Belt Parade O’ Homers around the major league ballparks of the United States and Canada. He has hit a home run in every ball park the Giants have played in this year.
Giants thus lose the series to the Pirates 1-2
Now it’s off to Los Angeles to do battle with the nemesis, with the division-lead on the line. Vogey is up first facing Beckett, so don’t get your hopes up. We’ll see if the back-to-form Vogelsong is for real, I suppose. Sure would be nice to get some of those home runs going again.
In Game Two, the Giants held the Braves to just one run on the strength of pitching under pressure by Ryan Vogelsong, home runs by Michael Morse, Brandon Belt and Buster Posey and good defense – in particular once again by Brandon Crawford – who made a 270 degree spin and threw out his counterpart Andrelton Simmons to end the game. Giants win 3-1.
Vogelsong had a good game. Vogey went six innings and had as many strikeouts. He was stable and pitched particularly well under pressure. He gave up five hits, four walks and a run. He looked in command, much like the Vogelsong of old – I hope he has turned the corner.
Brandon Belt has now homered in every single baseball park he has played in this year. Michael Morse continues to impress. The three homers were against the Braves’ ace Julio Teheran – a good sign. But once again the runs were all solo shots. So the five runs in two games that have won this series have all come from homers with no one on base.
Today Madison Bumgarner takes the mound in the state he was born and raised in, where he grew up cheering the Braves. He will likely have a lot of friends and family in the stands. Good. Because Madison has not been pitching well. He looked utterly befuddled in his last start and was touched up for it. He has lost three straight starts.
Bumgarner faces Alex Wood, whose 2.93 ERA helps the Braves have the lowest team ERA in the league, but he has endured four straight losses. One of these guys should break that streak today.
I started talking about “just enough runs” a year and a half ago and have been on KNBR to discuss it. The idea that – comparable to the Rockies park where they rely on scoring runs at altitude – we at AT&T know we have a pitchers park and rely on hits dying.
We know at AT&T that pitchers come to our park and get pumped. They have epic performances and match our pitchers and defense.
Last year on this blog, and with Marty, I proposed that the formula reads:
1. Starting Pitching Hangs in There, ‘Pen Holds
2. Score Just Enough Runs
3. Play Crisp Defense
4. Take Advantage of Opponents Mistakes
I used to add about the 4th one that many people perceive of us as “lucky” and “unlikely champions” – because when Hunter Pence’s bat shatters so precisely as to find it’s way out of reach of Pete Kozma, they call it luck.
Marty and I chatted about it, but he was dismissive, like, “Well, yeah …” (duh)
In the face of the Dodgers and their $235 million budget. smart acquisitions like Tim Hudson and Michael Morse serve to buttress what is essentially a pitching-based team. We like locking games down with pitching. For us, scoring runs is secondary. Runs we need, but pitching and defense we must achieve to survive.
Hence our attitude … we don’t need thirty runs … we need just. enough. There’s no point in going after one huge hitter and allowing his contract to suck up payroll for a year or two, forbid six.
Game one of this series was a doozy. A great pitching duel with crisp defense and good baseball all around. National League Ball. Again here’s the diagnosis I came up with last year of the Giants’ basic strategy:
1. Starting Pitching Hangs in There, ‘Pen Holds
2. Score Just Enough Runs
3. Play Crisp Defense
4. Take Advantage of Opponents Mistakes
and yesterday, it worked.
Tim Lincecum found himself starting the Braves Series in Atlanta facing the strong lefty Mike Minor, who was making his season debut after enduring several weeks off from baseball due to a urinary tract procedure.
Minor was cleared to play and given a minor league start to ensure he was all right. But in that start he gave up four home runs. Though Braves staff felt he looked good in general, it was a concern. Angel Pagan made sure they stayed concerned, by smashing a homer off him in the lead off at-bat of Game one, Giants up 1-0.
Minor was quick to settle down and rarely gave the Giants opportunities, though when they got them, the G-men continued to fail to plate runners in scoring position. This game would be decided by homers once again – a recurring theme in Giants’ wins this season (credit due to Morse, Belt, Pagan and Posey).
Tim Lincecum hung in there and showed command. He kept the ball down and looked like he was putting it where he wanted it. In the third he threw a pitch down and out and it was popped up into center field. Immediately after the ball hit the bat, Timmy pointed up and looked down, confident the ball wasn’t leaving the park. It showed an increasing confidence in his command.
Tim pitched his way out of jams twice and went six innings, giving up just one run off six hits. He had only four strikeouts, instead relying on his command to generate ground outs and popups. This was what we have been looking for from Lincecum: to turn to other options than a strikeout fastball, to work out the hitter and force him into a 3rd strike mistake like a weakly hit ball.
After Pagan’s homer, Michael Morse added a solo shot to give the Giants the 2-1 lead they would never relinquish, but it was a tense affair.
The Braves stranded 12 runners and were 1 for 9 with RISP. Timmy’s pitching at key moments wasn’t the only reason why. Brandon Crawford provided the crisp defense in this one. He made several good plays and one monstrous one that saved an inning. Crawford slapped down a hard driven liner and picked it up and fired it to first to end an inning and in another made a leaping throw to get the runner. Then there was this gem in the 9th:
Jeremy Affeldt entered in the 7th and was good again, getting two quick outs, but giving up a hit. Santiago Casilla came in and slowly, his way, picked up the third out and manhandled the 8th inning.
Sergio Romo struggled at the very end of this one again, giving up a walk and a steal. But as Marty said, “He was working.” With two-out and one on in scoring position, and the score 2-1, Giants, Sergio Romo battled with the Braves best hitter Justin Upton.
On a 3-2 count and after several foul balls, Romo froze Upton with a fastball to win it. Dave Flemming made an awesome call, “strike three called on a fastball in-there! and … shades of Miguel Cabrera in the World Series …”
It was a great pitching duel, with only the two home runs given up by the just-returned Mike Minor being the difference.
Brian Sabean looks like a genius right now for picking up Hudson and Morse in the off season. This week they looked AWESOME.
Game Two later today will be considerably tougher for the Giants as they face the Braves’ ace, Julio Teheran (2-1) – a big, hard-throwing right hander who has 26 strikeouts in the young season and boasts a 1.47 ERA.
Pitching for the Giants today, it’s the up-and-down Ryan Vogelsong. It’s very difficult to tell which Vogey we’re going to get nowadays. When he feels steady and gets support he can go six innings, but when he implodes he does so badly. Hopefully Yusmeiro Petit will be available if necessary, but I hate thinking like that.
These games are my favorite kind of baseball – National League pitching duels requiring alculated management, situational hitting and crisp defense. Looking forward to another good one. #RallyEnchiladas #RallyVogey #BeatATL
Tim Hudson was incredible. He averaged only ten pitches an inning over eight innings during which he allowed one run amongst five hits. It was a stunning display of command over himself and control of an opponent’s lineup.
Thus, in the top of the 9th, with a 3-1 lead, Hudson faced the possibility of averaging ten pitches or less in a complete game. With the pitch count so low, Bruce Bochy left him in.
As Dave Flemming put it, on the radio, live: “Why not? He’s only thrown 80 pitches.”
Hudson quickly sat down the first two batters of the 9th on six pitches. Then he had a two strike count on the Padres Yasmani Grandal when he sent an 87mph cutter down the gut that Grandal timed perfectly, connected on wholly and sent into McCovey Cove – a solo shot. Hudson’s 89th pitch ended his night, one out shy of a CG.
That condemnable 30th Splash Hit by an Opponent was retrieved by kayaker Mark Busch:
I hope Mark’s dog rips that thing to shreds.
Because, as Alex Pavlovic of the Mercury News tweeted it best:
“If Grandal swings through that last one, Hudson has himself an 89-pitch complete game.”
Sergio Romo came in to get the one-out save, his seventh, and this one was in the books as another outstanding performance by the SP who must be considered the Giants’ ace of 2014 thus far, Tim Hudson.
The Giants’ offense did score twice early. A Michael Morse double was plated by a Posey RBI in the first. Then in the second, The Giants made it 2-0 on a solo shot by the increasingly impressive Brandon Hicks.
Hicks’ homer was hit right handed, inside-out to deep RF – only Bonds ever did that kind of stuff at AT&T. It blew minds. But afterward, the Giants struggled to support Hudson at the plate.
Padres lefty Robbie Erlin settled down and he found a groove. Pitchers love our park and often play to our level of pitching competition. It’s an issue. It means we have to fight, scrap and hustle – with knowledge of our park they don’t have – to produce runs.
The Giants had RISP on three occasions and blew them all. The worst was a leadoff triple by Brandon Crawford in the 4th, when he was left stranded by a clunky, sputtering Giant offense. But in the previous inning the Giants had Morse and Belt on 2nd and 3rd with two out and could do nothing.
Luckily, Buster Posey singled in Arias (who had doubled in the 7th) to provide an insurance run that would prove to be necessary. Had Buster not hit that RBI late in the game, Grandal’s massive splash hit would’ve tied it up!
The Padres’ bullpen is decent and will fight in extra innings to steal wins. We could have easily been involved in a dog fight again on a night when Tim Hudson was throwing like Greg Maddux.
Point being, the Giants need to be more consistent about situational hitting with runners in scoring position. After Buster’s RBI single, with runners in the corners, Morse struck out, failing to get Pence home from third.
Team RISP: 3-for-11. Team LOB: 7
ugh. Mark my words: whichever team – Dodgers, Giants or Colorado – plays smart, crisp baseball and hustles most for 50/50 games, will take the NL West. The SF Giants shot at being that team will depend on sacs, bunts, steals and hits with runners in scoring position.
On the bright side, as May begins, the Giants (17-11) lead the division by one and a half games over the Dodgers. On the road for our first two weeks of this month we face the Braves, Pirates and Dodgers next.
It’s time to tighten up the hitting in these batter-friendly parks and to continue hitting well against the nemesis in LA. I’d love to see us take 6 out of 9. Go Giants!
After Cody Ross and Fontenot in 2010 and Scutaro and Theriot in 2012, this looks like a pattern: Morse and Hudson in 2014. Hmm. “World Series Champions 2014,” has a nice ring to it.
(photo by McCovey Cove Dave @mccoveycovedave – whose sign they use for Opponents Splash Hits)
Yesterday Matt Cain was scratched from the lineup because he cut his finger trying to catch a kitchen knife he’d dropped, on a day when Brandon Belt was off for rest – which gave Giants fans pause for concern; an emergency start without Posey behind the plate nor Belt at first.
But Yusmeiro Petit came in well-rested off the bench and had a great start. The Giants bats woke up and the Giants shutout the Padres 6-0, to even the series. The system responded very effectively to what will be a one-start absence by the big horse and gives confidence in at least one SP from the bench for an emergency start or a horrible outing (such as Petit’s last performance recovering for Vogey).
Petit held the Padres to three hits over six innings and struck out four. Jean Machi held them scoreless for two more and Sergio Romo kept them blanked to get his eighth save. Home runs by Buster Posey and Angel Pagan – who lead the team in RBIs – and clutch hitting in the form of a 3RBI single by Hector Sanchez, provided the runs.
Giants ace Tim Hudson goes tonight versus the Padres lefty Robbie Erlin and the batting lineup is absent Angel Pagan and Pablo Sandoval.
1. Juan Perez (R) CF
2. Hunter Pence (R) RF
3. Buster Posey (R) C
4. Michael Morse (R) LF
5. Brandon Belt (L) 1B
6. Brandon Hicks (R) 2B
7. Brandon Crawford (L) SS
8. Joaquin Arias (R) 3B
9. Tim Hudson (R) P
If Huddy can get the win it will be the NL West leading Giants’ sixth win in seven games, and second series win in a row including the sweep of the Indians.
The only blemish was the 4-6 loss to the Padres on Sunday when Madison Bumgarner looked completely out of sorts and was touched up for it. The bats just couldn’t get going.
The Giants lead the division by half a game and have shared it equally with the Dodgers. They often look good but an honest look at them at the end of April reveals:
Some problems:
* Belt, Posey and Pence are still only hitting around .250
* Pablo Sandoval continues to languish at the plate (.177). Worse, his distracted play in the field resulted in Sandoval having more errors (4) than homers(2) or even RBIs (3) until very recently. (Now 6RBIs)
* Timely hitting appears for the Giants in a game with steals, bunts and sacs moving guys over but then it disappears entirely for several games. The situational hitting lacks consistency and no single order seems to be better than any other.
On the bright side:
* Hector Sanchez is playing better
* Michael Morse has been very good at the plate and decent in the field – platooning him in and out works well late in games, too.
* The defense, particularly the infield, has been much more crisp. Brandon Hicks has been a welcome surprise at replacing Marco Scutaro, whom it seems may never make it back to the lineup: the back problems just aren’t getting better from what I hear. But the Brandons are playing better together weekly. Arias will need to play some 3B to spell Sandoval and that gives Hicks more playing time, and right now it’s working out well.
The Giants just barely lead the Rockies and Dodgers in what is turning out to be a pretty good NL West division. It was great to sweep the Indians and get crucial Inter-league wins. But the Giants need to get wins against the Pads and D-backs consistently to set the pace against the Dodgers or even the Rockies.
Padres quality bullpen and good hitting will put them in the spoiler role against all three top teams. It isn’t just Tim Lincecum’s nemesis Paul Goldschmidt that puts D-Backs sweeps in jeopardy. The Giants haven’t produced runs against Arizona consistently and have had lapses in defense that cost them close games. Close games, games against weaker teams and Inter-league series are all going to be “50/50 games” for the Dodgers, Giants and Rockies in pursuit of the Division lead.
Whoever plays smart, crisp baseball and hustles the most will take the division – and the SF Giants have an excellent shot at being that team.
Three run homer for Brandon Hicks with two out in the bottom of the ninth.
Ryan Vogelsong had a major bounce-back game, throwing seven shutout innings, his longest start of the season. Vogey gave up two hits, both to Michael Bourn, walked two and struck out six.
The Indians SP Salazar was brilliant in this one. But Brandon Hicks ended it with his first major league walkoff.
The Giants won this one on the strength of Ryan Vogelsong’s arm – much needed. Vogelsong threw a shutout through seven, his longest start of the season. He gave up only two hits, both to Michael Bourn, and he walked two and struck out six. It was a dominant quality start.
Pablo Sandoval’s bat woke up and he got on board twice with base hits, but the day belonged to Brandon Hicks who hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 4-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians, completing a three-game sweep.
The first interleague series was a good one for the Giants who produced runs when necessary and pitched and played defense to suit their park.
Just enough runs.
The bats worked.
The Dodgers lost in Colorado 6-1, so the Giants now have a full game lead over the division.
Tim Lincecum struggled from the beginning of this one, giving up 9 hits and 3 runs in 4 and 2/3 and leaving the bases juiced with two outs for Juan Gutierrez, who struck out one batter and left the game.
The Giants put together a four run 5th after and the bullpen secured the victory. Jean Machi, Jeremy Affeldt and Sergio Romo all did their jobs, so Gutierrez got the win, though he pitched only one third of an inning, the 4th. Romo collected his 6th save.
The four-run 5th was the result of timely hits and a sacrifice as the Giants moved runners along. Gregor Blanco singled, scoring Michael Morse. A sacrifice fly by Angel Pagan scored Brandon Crawford and advanced Brandon Hicks and Blanco. Then Hunter Pence drove Blanco and Hicks in with a shallow single. Just like that the Giants who were down 3-0 with the bases loaded full of Indians, found themselves up 4-3.
Buster Posey tacked on a solo home run in the 6th inning to make it 5-3.
I didn’t see this game, but I’m trying to make at least a placeholder on the blog for every Giants game this season.
From the papers I gather that Angel Pagan had a great game at the plate and running the base paths, with two singles, a steal and two runs scored.
Tim Hudson continues his steady, consistent pitching for the Giants. He went 7+ and allowed only one run. Huddy is averaging 5Ks a game!
The Giants won in their first Interleague game, 5-1, and the Dodgers lost in 11 last night so we are back in first place by half a game.
Go Giants!
[the comment below is the comment below]
mtk
I happened to be at the game last night. The buzz where I was sitting centered around the Mike Morse homer in the 421 area of the park. A big blast! Hudson’s steady pitching–I believe he had a 5 pitch, 3 up, 3 down inning. Very cool to watch. Last but not least, Pablo legging out a triple with a thunderous belly flop into third base and no throw from the defense.
The Kuiper home run video, bobble head and interviews were fun too. Check out the Kuiper video —csnbayarea.com. Cheers
The wind and altitude collaborated to help the ball out of the yard at Coors Field, but most of the nine homers in this one were towers of power that traveled 420+ feet. Troy Tulowitzki started it with a two-run blast in the first. Michael Morse answered with a 455′ solo shot in the top of the second.
The day turned into a Home Run Derby between the Rockies and Giants. In total nine balls left the yard. In a burst of offense that’s been missing for days, the G-men hit six of them.
Giants LF Michael Morse smashed two, for his 7th multi-home-run game. Later, Hector Sanchez would join that club for the first time in his career in dramatic fashion. Sanchez went yard twice late in the game, both times to give the Giants the lead, the second time, a grand slam in the 11th to put the Giants ahead for good. It was a clutch performance by Hector who has been ridden by fans, broadcasters and some press recently; made the whipping boy and scapegoat for losses. Redemption.
This was a wild one.
The Giants fell behind early to the long ball, 5-1, and then fought back with homers of their own. Brandon Hicks’ solo big fly in the top of the 3rd made it 5-2 Rockies. Then Pence and Cain both singled and Morse’s second homer in as many at-bats, a deep shot 450′ to center, brought them home to tie it 5-5. ESPN and Alex Pavlovic have it that Morse is “just the third player since 2006 to hit multiple 450-foot homers in one game.”
The Giants were looking for more when Manager Bruce Bochy was ejected from the game in the top of the 4th for arguing a called third strike that resulted in a strike ’em out, throw ’em out inning-ending double play. With one out and Brandon Crawford on, Brandon Hicks had a full count and Rockies SP Tyler Chatwood looked shaky.
The call was very questionable. From Crawford’s view, running, having taken off from first, Chatwood’s 3-2 pitch to Hicks was so clearly a ball that he slowed up on the base path thinking Hicks had drawn the walk. By the time he realized it was a called strike, catcher Wilin Rosario was up making the throw. Crawford was easily out at second. Hicks confronted the ump angrily. Bochy raced out to argue to prevent the enraged Brandon Hicks from being ejected, and was ejected himself.
Blackmon homered in the bottom of the 4th and the Giants fell behind 6-5, but Matt Cain found a groove. Throwing 93mph darts, Cain held serve in the 5th and 6th. He looked in control.
With Hunter Pence on in the top of the seventh by virtue of a walk, Brandon Belt launched his league-leading 7th home run into the Colorado evening and gave Cain and the San Francisco Giants the lead 7-6.
Acting Manager Ron Wotus then did his best Bruce Bochy imitation and loyally left Cain in for the bottom of the 7th. The bullpen was fully rested having not worked at all the night before (Bumgarner CG), yet Wotus left Cain in. While it was true, Cain had looked strong in the previous two innings, they had been long innings and his pitch count was high. Leaving Cain in destroyed poor Matt’s chance to leave the game leading, in line to get his first win of the season.
In the bottom of the 7th with the one run lead, Cain gave up a walk, a steal, a liner that tied the game 7-7, and another walk, before being pulled for Jeremy Affeldt; another no decision for Matt Cain, but this time with seven runs on the board. It just slipped away.
It must be said, Affeldt was very good again. Affeldt’s first start Sunday against the Padres was excellent – three up, three down – and today in Colorado his command was evident. Jeremy looks better than he has in a long time. Stable, secure, strong.
The Giants once again grabbed the lead with the long ball, going up 8-7 on Hector Sanchez’s first homer, a solo shot in the 8th, only to see the Rockies tie it up 8-8 because of a balk.
Balkin’ Bob Davidson was the ump at 3rd in the 8th. He called Santiago Casilla for a balk when, twice in a row, Casilla made the same small move with LeMahieu on 2nd. The balk sent DJ LeMahieu to third with one out from where he scored on a Charlie Blackmon ground out against Casilla. It was an acceptable balk call. Casilla was doing some kind of shoulder shimmy thing. But it cost us the lead.
The contest was slow, long and nerve-wracking as neither team could put the other away. But the Giants ‘pen handled the extra frames well. Jeremy Affeldt, Javier Lopez and Jean Machi kept the Rockies off the board in the 7th, 9th and 10th.
Even after Sanchez’s grand slam, which made it 12 – 8, victory was unsure. Sergio Romo gave up a single to Tulowitzki and a two-run homer to Justin Morneau in the bottom half of the 11th frame and subsequently let Drew Stubbs single making it 12 – 10 with the tying run at the plate. Romo managed to force a ground out and a game-ending double play to get the Giants out of Colorado with at least one win.
Hunter Pence was 3 for 4 and crossed the plate three times. Matt Cain singled twice and scored a run, helping his own cause, but he wouldn’t get the win. That would land in the hands of the Giants’ fourth reliever, Jean Machi, who is now 4-0 and leads the majors in victories.
MTK The Writist 