The Giants built a 4-1 lead behind the pitching of Barry Zito and then hung on for a squeaker of a win to bury the Dodgers' hopes of squeaking into the postseason. Key Lines:
Angel Pagan- 2 for 3, 2B, BB, Assist. BA= .289. Pagan seems to have come out of his mini-slump which is a very good thing heading into the playoffs. I think the Assist was aided by a relay by Arias, but it was huge as it nailed Mark Ellis trying to stretch a double at 3B. The next batter, Victorino did triple and failed to score. Ellis would have been the tying run.
Marco Scutaro- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .306. I'm not sure what Mattingly was thinking walking Pagan to put 2 runners on base ahead of Scooter that early in the game. Anyway, thanks Don!
Buster Posey- 2 for 4, HR(24). BA= .337. I guess Buster's back got better quickly. McCutchen went 0 for 4, so I'm pretty sure he is mathematically eliminated from the Batting Title chase.
Joaquin Arias- 1 for 4, HR(5). BA= .272. Bring him back next year!
Barry Zito- 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 4.15. This might not have been the biggest game Zito pitched this year, but making sure the Dodgers have no chance to come back and haunt in the playoffs is a pretty big deal. Zito has pitched several really important games this year and risen to the occasion in all of them I can remember.
George Kontos- 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.53. Really big K to get out of the 7'th inning. I would advocate for carrying 12 pitchers in the playoffs and including Kontos.
Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(14). ERA= 1.79. Nice Save by Romo who inherited a runner at first with no outs after Affeldt started the inning yielding a leadoff single to AGone. Personally, I'd use Affeldt in longer relief and let Lopez and Mijares be the LOOGYs. I wanted Mijares facing AGone there. No guarantees with AGone though.
The loss by the Dodgers eliminates them from contention for postseason play even though the Cards lost to the Reds. That is a very good thing. As I have said several times, I have a certain amount of equanimity about this postseason however it turns out, but the Dodgers sneaking into the playoffs and coming back to beat the Giants later is definitely something I would NOT have equanimity about!
Vin Scully kept saying Clayton Kershaw will pitch tomorrow regardless of the outcome. I'll believe it when I see it. Meanwhile, Ryan Vogelsong starts for the Giants in what I'm sure will be just a tune up start. Look for lots of reserves and callups in the lineup tomorrow. Game time 4:15 PDT.
Cincy and the Nats remain tied for the best record in the NL. Makes for a little drama tomorrow to see who the Giants play in the first round.
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Yea Giants!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I do not see how they were so careful with handling him, pushing starts back, only to go and start him in this meaningless game.
Arias is under team control for a few more seasons, so I think that is a given.
Yeah, what was he thinking, walking to face Scutaro! Say, do you think his job is in jeopardy with missing the playoffs after all the big moves? Managers have been fired for lesser acts.
I think Zito and the Giants viewed it as a big game, because it meant eliminating the Dodgers from the playoffs. mission accomplished. With the way Bochy managed, clearly he wanted this, and the players should have known that, felt that.
Yeah, I think Kontos has earned a spot.
I'm starting to suspect that Mattingly's job may be in jeopardy. About 10 days ago, Ned Colletti went into the clubhouse after a game and literally screamed at the coaching staff then held a closed-door meeting with Mattingly and said he told Donnie the same things he told the coaches but in a quieter voice.
DeleteThat seemed to light a bit of a fire under the Dodgers and they started a small winning streak.
Then, this game. I can't believe Colletti is happy with some of the moves Donnie made in this one. If there was any inclination to blame the manager, Donnie sure gave them fodder with several moves:
I thought his handling of Capuano was really strange and showed considerable indecisiveness.
The decision to walk Pagan and put an extra runner on base ahead of Scooter and then the heart of the Giants batting order, especially that early in the game was a real head-scratcher when he made the move. In retrospect, its a decision that lost the game and the season for the Dodgers.
As itchy as he was on the trigger with Capuano, he seemed to stick with Wright at least 1 batter too long, maybe 2. If he didn't trust Wright to face Pagan, he probably should have pulled him and let someone else face him. I think the fact that Pagan is a switch-hitter confused Mattingly and he didn't know how to pitch him or who to pitch with in that spot, which is what led him to issue the IBB.
I'm a little mystified as to why the new Dodger ownership committed to Colletti so early, but really, the GM job for the Dodgers consists of asking prospective FA's how much they want, something Colletti has always been good at.
You'd think the new ownership is going to want to put their stamp on the team in a bigger way than just The Trade and they are going to want to see more results after their expenditures.
Yeah, I think Donnie could very well be made the scapegoat and he helped build the case against him in this game.
Wow - excellent observation, DrB! Your characterization of Agent Ned was spot on. And I suspect you're right about the organization - particularly since you hear things from a local perspective that most of us do not.
DeleteThanks!
Kershaw may go today. Mattingly may have seen a segment on Baseball Tonight that mentioned Kershaw in the Cy Young race.
ReplyDeleteChasing awards. It would be nice to have a little offensive explosion with the ad-hoc lineup Bochy will throw up. Manny Burriss bases clearing double? Weirder things have happened...
DeleteIf Huff could hit and Burriss run for him, you might have chance at that double...
DeleteHopefully this is the last season we need to see these two on the roster.
Huff for sure but handy manny nine lives... Who knows. Somebody really likes him, most likely the same guy who gave alex hinshaw so much love.
DeleteDrB - Ethier not A-gone in the 9th versus Affeldt. Interesting Donnie Two-Times was batting him 7th. The way he handled the 9th with having Ellis square was interesting as well, then the pinch runner later.
ReplyDeleteFor me this is Steve Finley paid in full. Both being game 161s, and being the most recent affront in the Doyer-Gint rivalry.
Zito pitched with focus and intensity, and I agree, I can't think of a big game he didn't step up to this year. You have to keep the first rule of Zito in mind - never trust Barry Zito - but if he has his curve working and can pitch backwards, he has looked good this year. The key I think was the one intentional walk. Striking out Kemp was sweet. Zito definitely can pitch better with a lead, as his record with 4 runs or more shows. But he just looked like a different pitcher... Until he is good ol Zito.
The stats guys make good points about Zito being about the same as always. However, baseball players and teams are among the most superstitious folk in the land. If you don't think they know they won every game he's started for 11 straight and they think that is important, you would be wrong. These things get sneered at by stats heads, but the players themselves care about these type of things.
Thanks for the comments, everybody!
ReplyDeleteOne more point about Kontos: Nice description of the pitch calling by Hector on his K. Seems Kontos wanted to stick with the slider after ball 2, but Hector insisted on two 2-seam FB's that got 2 strikes to even it out at 2-2. He then went back to the slider on 2-2.....see ya later, Matt!
Love, love, love what I see day in and day out from Hector. I think his presence makes a move off catcher a possibility for Buster.
Sorry, that description of Hector's pitch selection for Kontos is in Extra Giants by Alex Pavlovic.
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