Michael Morse and the Kids in the second half of the Giants lineup led the way of offense and the bullpen picked up Timmy big time after he gutted his way through 5 innings. Unfortunately, Joe Panik injured his pinkie finger on a slide into 2B and may be out for awhile. Key Lines:
Michael Morse- 3 for 3. BA= .286. With the top 4 batters in the lineup going a combined 1 for 17 with a BB, Morse was the de-facto leadoff hitter and effectively set the table for the kids that followed him in the lineup. Love that Morse is playing within himself and not trying to hit every ball for a HR.
Joe Panik- 2 for 4. BA= .282. Panik stayed hot as Bruce Bochy listened to me and moved him into the #6 slot in the batting order. Ironically, his hardest hit ball on his first AB that he crushed a bit too close to Ben Revere in CF, ended up as a harmless out. Panik made a heads up, hustling play by taking 2B on an overthrown cutoff man in the 8'th and eventually came around to score an insurance run, but he dislocated his left pinky finger on the slide. Now, I love what Panik is doing and hope he is back soon, but I do not want to hear any nonsense about playing through a mallet finger or anything closely resembling that. This kid's future is too long and too bright for any of that!
Andrew Susac- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .250. What an impressive performance by Susac! He nursed Lincecum through a very difficult 5 innings giving him pep talks, pounding his glove with his fist, fist pumps. At one point Buster Posey added his thoughts during a mound conference with Rags. He massaged the umpire like a veteran and got 2 basehits and a key walk to boot! I love Susac's swing! He had one other AB during the series and smoked a ball to LF that died in the AT&T Park air and was caught then the 2 hits today. With Hector taking more foul tips to the head down in Fresno, it looks like Susac may be up for quite awhile. I have a feeling he is going to have a lot to say about when Buster Posey moves out from behind the plate on a permanent basis.
Brandon Crawford- 1 for 3. BA= .225. Big hit for Crawford to drive in 2 runs with the Giants trailing 1-0 early.
Tim Lincecum- 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.48. It as a struggle, but Timmy hung tough, kept his team in the game and came away with enough for the W.
Bullpen- 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K's. Bullpen was lights out. It's not the hardest throwing pen in the business, but they all know how to pitch. Hey, maybe soft tossing relievers are the new undervalued commodity!
The Dodgers got blown out early by the BrewCrew so the Giants cut their lead in the NL West to 3.5 games. The Cardinals edged the Padres and the Pirates dropped one to the Nationals so the Giants trail the Cardinals by 1 game for the first WC slot and lead the Pirates by 1.5 games for the second spot.
The Giants now get a day off to travel to Chicago to face the Cubbies on Tuesday, with Ryan Vogelsong facing Tsuyoshi Wada, a lefty who has been pitching well since his callup from the minors.
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feel really bad for hector
ReplyDeletesomeone has gotta come up with a better catcher's helmet
nice to see susac and panik doing what they were predicted to do...will make it a bit easier to fill holes come the offseason
speaking of the cubs, looks like no one grabbed nate, so he might be spending the rest of the season sitting on the couch
bacci
Gotta feel bad for Nate. Last year looked like he finally turned a corner on his career and now this. Maybe the Giants bring him in on a minor league deal next spring?
DeleteI notice that both Susac and Buster are wearing generic black hockey style helmets right now. I wonder if those are the ones with more padding? I mean, if it doesn't feel right, you just have to get used to it. It's better than having your career end with a series of concussions.
….and Nate signs a minor league deal with the Nationals.
DeleteI share your enthusiasm for Panik. He appears to be a disciplined hitter who can succeed at the MLB level. I have a couple of questions for you. As for his hitting stroke, stance and swing - does it resemble any other players? Next, for approach to the plate and prowess, who does Panik remind you of? Off the top of my hear the last good Giant hitter who made the MLB roster quickly after success in the minors and who hit for average and who had a good walk / K total I look to Bill Mueller… I'm curious if you think Panik could have a career like Mueller ...
ReplyDeleteLook at his wiggle when he stands in the box. Is no one else fondly reminded of Freddy Sanchez...
DeleteI would say Bill Mueller is Panik's floor.
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