Tim Lincecum had a Quality Start, but not before giving up a 3 spot in the first inning. It appeared that those 3 runs would be all the A's needed to continue their Coliseum winning streak against the Giants, but Ryan Cook, the A's closer, couldn't find the strike zone and the Giants took advantage mounting a 4 run rally in the top of the ninth and held on for the 5-4 win. Key Lines:
Gregor Blanco- 2 for 4, BB, 3 SB(12). BA= .259. Blanco had been in a slump, but broke out of it tonight. Still, a PO/CS off 2B almost contributed to a loss.
Brandon Belt- 1 for 2, 2B, BB, HBP, SB(4). BA= .265. Belt had the big blow in the ninth inning with a tailing liner down the LF line that got past LF Colin Cowgill for 2 RBI's with the trailing runner, Pablo Sandoval, running through Tim Flannery's stop sign. The play was in front of Sandoval, so it's OK for him to go if he thinks he can make it, but if you run through a stop sign, you better make it! Back to Belt. I used to love looking at his lines in the minors because they were always so busy. This is a busy line!
Hector Sanchez- 2 for 4. BA= .271. Has Hector now become the Timmy Whisperer? Stay tuned.
Tim Lincecum- 6 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 6.07. There was one play in the terrrible first inning that could have stopped the bleeding. Bases loaded, Belt fields a GB, appears to step on first and throw home. The runner beat the throw and oh, by the way, Belt failed to actually step on first base so everybody was safe. Timmy settled down after that and ended up with the QS.
The Dodgers lost to the Angels 8-5 so the Giants gain a full game and are now just 3 games behind the NL West leaders. The Giants are tied with the Mets for the top Wild Card playoff spot.
Madison Bumgarner takes to mound tomorrow afternoon facing Tyson Ross.
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the timmy whisperer may be vogey
ReplyDeletebut i would have no prob with hector catching him till he is more consistent...better hector than posey take that pounding
why did a manager who hates to bunt, bring in a power hitter....to bunt?
a's have a closer prob...strange in that they are pretty good at developing pen arms
gonna say this before the farm posts go up...petit had another great outing...you may not see him being back in the bigs, but if the zen master has another implosion, they gotta bring him up
I wasn't watching the game when the bunt you are referring to occured. I will say, once again, that Bochy sometimes makes moves that make you scratch your head, but overall, he makes more good moves than bad ones. He's a good manager.
DeletePetit is putting up some interesting numbers in the minors. I still don't have a lot of faith in him and probably won't until he has sustained success in the majors. Zito is not going to get sent to the DL or wherever with just one more bad outing. 3 or 4 bad outings? Yeah, probably.
DeleteWell, why DID Bochy pinch-hit Christian and tell him to bunt with men on first and second, and the Giants a couple of runs down? One has to guess, but a good guess would be that he thought (wrongly, in this case) that RH Christian could execute a surprise bunt down the third-base line while the third baseman, precisely because of Christian's power, was playing back. Christian is very fast, so that there was a good chance that a successful bunt would have been an infield hit, to load the bases with no one out, rather than a sacrifice. A manager who dislikes sacrifice bunts, in tune with Sabermetric principles, imaginatively seized a time when he might well not be giving up the out. In the event, Christian botched the assignment by popping up; but Bochy's strategy was great, and for all bacci or I know, Christian may ordinarily be an excellent bunter.
DeleteAgree, and it's not like Christian is the big power hitter either. He's a leadoff hit and boogie type who has occasional power. I wasn't sure who Bacci was referring to in his comment, but if it was Christian, it's a pretty obvious bunt situation, actually.
DeleteLets hope this game is the start of Timmy's turn around.. It seems like an odd play or miscue occurs when Timmy starts for some reason.
ReplyDeleteIts nice to steal a win in this game traling in the 9th inning because it gives the team a shot in the arm.. It was stunning because Cook has been lights out.. Lets hope their momemtum carries over tommorow..
Ok, I'm going to start liking Belt as long as he keeps coming thru in the clutch..
Nice pickup by Sabean getting George Kontos.. He's got a good slider..
LG
Yes, it's always interesting and impressive what Sabes comes up with when he goes nosing around other teams' scrapheaps. I liked the trade for Kontos from the get-go though. Loved his size, velocity and numbers. Sabes deserves some modest kudos for turning CStew into Kontos.
Deleteyanks really wanted cstew...it did take a little work to get kontos, who they wanted to keep for the pen
Deleteboth teams benefited from the trade
Signing CStew in the first place and then giving him the opportunity to show he can be a solid backup catcher was a move that paid off in the long run, although I'm pretty sure it came with a strong recommendation from Bochy who knew him from the Padres organization.
DeleteI thought Belt made the right defensive choice in throwing home and not stepping on 1B, to try for the force out at home. It seems that Sanchez didn't realize that Belt didn't get the out at 1B, and so didn't step on the plate. But I like Belt's thinking there.
ReplyDeleteFrom my viewpoint on the replays it looked like Belt was a bit indecisive. He started to move toward first base but then realized his first responsibility was to get the lead runner and hurried a throw home without actually touching first. His initial move toward 1B is what crossed up Sanchez, not that it would have mattered as I think the runner beat the throw even for the force out. If Belt had just come home with the throw as his first instinct, he probably would have had the lead runner and still possibly a DP on the runner going to first.
DeleteI really believe the aspect of pulling out a game on their last try will really help this team. Nothing like a confidence builder!
ReplyDelete