Monday, March 31, 2014

Game Wrap 3/31/2014: Giants 9 D'Backs 8

Buster Posey capped a furious Giants comeback from 6-2 and 7-3 deficits with a monstrous 2 run homer in the top of the 9'th inning.  Sergio Romo then held off the Dangerous D'Backs in the bottom of the 9'th for the Save.  Key Lines:

Angel Pagan- 2 for 5, 2B.  Pagan looked bad in his first AB against Brandon McCarthy, striking out, but came back to score a run and drive in 2 in the Giants epic comeback.

Brandon Belt-  3 for 5, HR(1).  Belt had a rough day in the field and struck out in his first two AB's, but redeemed himself with with a long HR to RF and 2 other hits scoring a total of 3 runs in the game.

Buster Posey- 2 for 5, HR(1).  Buster also did not look so hot in his first couple of AB's, but hit a scorching single to LF and then crushed a ball that hit the facade of the second deck of the LF bleachers for the game winning HR.  He also gunned down Cliff Pennington on a strike 'em out/throw 'em out to shut down a potential D'Backs rally.

Brandon Crawford- 2 for 4, 2B.  Crawford had a nice game.  The double was crushed to dead CF and banged off the wall.

Ehire Adrianza- 1 for 2, 2B.  IMO, Adrianza had THE key hit of the entire game!  The Giants were down 7-3 in the 7'th.  Morse had opened the inning with a single, but Crawford flied out and Arias hit into a force.  With 2 outs and the rally looking like it was dead, Adrianza came up as a pinch hitter took some nice looking hacks and eventually turned on a pitch, scorching it down the RF line into the corner for a double that scored Arias from 1B.  He then came home on Pagan's double and the rally that tied the game was on.  Adrianza took some pretty good looking swings in his second AB too.  He definitely looks like he's up there intending to do some damage with that bat.  He also seems to have some clutchiness to him.  Love this kid!

Madison Bumgarner- 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's.   Bumgarner wasn't the sharpest I've seen him by any stretch, but his defense let him down in the 4'th.  Belt muffed a groundball to open the inning then Sandoval bobbled a potential DP ball, then pulled Crawford off the bag with a hurried throw.  2 runners on, nobody out on 2 consecutive errors.  That is a recipe for disaster in that ballpark and it ate Bumgarner up.  He got out of the inning with 4 unearned runs allowed but by then his pitch count was way up there and he was lifted for a PH in the top of the 5'th.

Yusmeiro Petit- 2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  Not a great pitching line for Petit, but it could have been a whole lot worse as he pitched his way out of a bases loaded no out jam in the 5'th after 2 runs had already scored.  On a night when the ball was carrying and the infield was playing like the I-5 truck lane, Petit did well to limit the damage.

Jean Machi- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  Machi was the pitching hero of this one as he shut down the D'Backs on a crazy night and preserved the tie long enough for Buster to unleash his power.  Machi gets a very well deserved W.

Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K.   Romo did not start off well, allowing a solo HR to Montero to start the bottom of the 9'th.  He then gave up a bunt hit to Owings that Pablo probably should have fielded.  After Owings was sacrificed to 2'nd, up came Eric Chavez, who you might remember as the guy who broke up Petit's perfect game last year.  Romo struck him out with a very gutsy changeup.  Getting the RH hitting AJ Pollack was then a piece of cake to end the game.

The Win puts the Giants into a tie for first place in the NL West with the San Diego Padres percentage points up on the 2-1 Dodgers.  The Padres and Dodgers were idle today.  The Colorado Rockies were clobbered 10-1 by the Miami Marlins and are a game back, and of course the D'Backs lost and are 0-3, 2 games off the pace.

Matt Cain takes on Wade Miley tomorrow evening in Arizona.

16 comments:

  1. I think Posey threw out Cliff Pennington not Aaron Hill. I do have a question about Posey. He only threw out 30% of basestealers last year. I know he has a cannon for an arm. Do you think his numbers reflect his technique/footwork or the inability of Giants pitchers to hold runners on?

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    1. First of all, 30% is not a terrible percentage. It's right about the break even point in terms of whether SB attempts are a net positive for the opposing team. Secondly, we all know Buster wore down and was exhausted by the end of last year. Thirdly, Giants pitchers are not great at either holding runners or getting the ball to the plate quickly. Fourthly, Buster is a good defensive catcher, but not a great one.

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    2. Pennington? Hill? It was a great play and one of the turning points in the game.

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  2. DrB, thanks for the synopsis. All I was able was able to see was Buster's 9th inning AB on MLBTV. Like 1000s of Gigantes fans everywhere, I called his HR! Great way to start the 2014 WS Championship run! Great to have real baseball again! Keep up the good work!

    NWGiantsFan
    DtF!!!

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  3. Opening game, I'll take it. Any game Posey jacks a winner and Romo finishes them off with a SO, I am down with.

    What happened in between AARRRUUGGAAHHH! Giants torture alright - lots of E, no D, shaky pitching. Please. I encourage the Giants to not consider this game a formula for winning. I am asking nicely this time.

    Little surprised bringing Petit in, his ball seems to not bite in the AZ open roof, dry air. Huff I think will be the better long option right now. Although looks like they might need both of them for this series.

    MadBum with 0.00 ERA for that game, really.

    Looking for Cainer to calm things down. Thankfully the Diamondbacks seem to be in disarray right now, step on them while they are down Giants.

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  4. i-5 truck lane? tick tock tick tock.... OOOOH! you mean "rough!" Great phrase!

    And great to see the Giant's offense ticking over. Hopefully Belt can hang with Posey in the HR column all season, and they can race to 30.

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    1. I was trying to think if something hard an rough. A billiards table is hard and smooth. That would be Rogers Center in Toronto. The hardest and roughest surface I've seen in recent years is the I-5 truck lane up just before it splits up to come over Altamont Pass as you are heading north.

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  5. fun game

    it was nice to see mccarthy mostly back in form and im glad that gibson left him in an inning too long

    craw looked solid....the rest of the team seemed to have the opening day yips....this was deja vu all over again

    i dont get all that excited about hr's being hit in az....but buster's shot was beautiful

    machi's pitches had great movement

    bochy managing like its the stretch run kinda took me aback,,,,i like it when he surprises me and thinks out of the box

    not sure if i wouldve gone with petit...something about az air and his style of pitching, doesnt go together

    around league

    wacky and scary injury to don baylor....broken femur? very scary at any age....definitely scary after the age of 50

    may have to invest in mlb radio....the feed i depended on is no longer there

    anyway.....BASEBALL IS BACK BABEES

    bacci


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    1. Yeah, thoughts go out to Don Baylor. I did not realize he has lived with Multiple Myeloma for 11 years. Now THAT dude is tough!

      Bochy's choices were Petit and Huff. He probably wanted to change things up from the LH Bumgarner to the RH Petit. At least that's my guess.

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    2. I think Bochy needs to manage like it's the stretch run, right now. Because of the Giants front loaded West/Bums schedule, for all intents April is the Giants stretch run.

      24 of 27 against the West, 6 against the Bums. Blow this month and you've dug a hole (especially against the Bums) you won't get out of.

      So, I am very glad to see Bochy manage like it's stretch run time. The one caveat being the starters won't go as deep into games in April. For Bochy to employ the Quick Hook, the Giants wisely kept two long guys in pen, Petit and Huff. Good strategic baseball thinking.

      Now watch out Timmy and Voggie, it's going to hurt to see $23M of pitching hooked by the 3rd to 5th inning. Let's hope they got more in the tank.

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    3. better than having both on the dl

      kershaw is now not expected to come back....till may

      but they havent put him on the 30 day yet

      it is much more serious than the dodgers let on...and has little to do with the plane flight

      i dont like it when any player gets injured, but....EFF THE BUMS

      bacci

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  6. Great game with stick by the Brandons. Really like where they are batting. Think Belt 2nd and Crawford 7th will give both more opportunities to hit their pitch.

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  7. Unusual is the one word I'd use to describe this game. MadBum's pitching was unusually poor, as was: the fielding, the throwing, Adrianza's hitting, Romo's giving up the HR. All of that happening in the same game was unusual. 1 clutch hit by Ehire is not going to convince me that he is more than nearly passable. I'm not sure which was more awesome, the strike-out throw out or Posey's HR. He was so on yesterday, it was so great to watch. I was surprised by Arias starting at 2nd, but hey, I don't have 2 WS rings (not that having a ring makes a decision correct every time).

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    1. Like I always say, there's a reason why they play the games.

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  8. Dr B,

    What was the going price of Jose Fernandez in your league? He certainly looks to be the real deal over there in Miami.

    I agree with those who feel that Timmy and Vogey are important cogwheels to Giants success this year. I doubt the bullpen can have a season like last year's.

    What's the best way to watch Giants games? MLB At bat or other streaming method?

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    1. I believe Jose Fernandez went for around $25 in my league.

      I have DirectTV and subscribe to the MLB package. You can get about 90% of their games there.

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