The Giants mounted a 21, that's right, a 21 hit attack to outscore the Dodgers 11-9. Key Lines:
Joe Panik(2B)- 3 for 3, 2 2B, BB. BA= .200. That's more like it! Hopefully this signals a turn in his BABIP luck just as the season is about to start. Do we really have another full week of spring training? Ugh!
Ehire Adrianza(SS)- 1 for 2, GIDP, Error(5). The pressure from Duffy may be getting to Adrianza a bit. 5 errors in spring training is a lot, even for a SS. More on the roster battle later.
Angel Pagan(CF)- 2 for 4. BA= .185. Pagan missed quite a bit of time early. Hopefully he is getting his timing down for the start of the season.
Buster Posey(Catcher)- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .278. Posey also threw a perfect strike to Panik to nail Joc Pederson on an attempted steal.
Brandon Belt(1B)- 2 for 2, 2 BB. BA= .352. I hope we see a bit more power from Belt but at least the shifts aren't killing his BA. Oh, and if he keeps hitting .352, that's OK too!
Brandon Crawford(SS)- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .234. Crawford started a DP that I am not sure any other SS makes just because his combination of release time, arm strength and accuracy is as good as it gets. The ball was scorched to his right and took a big hop, but he read it perfectly and made the backhand grab. He then transferred the ball to his throwing hand, pivoted and threw all in one motion from a long distance to 2B all while his momentum was carrying him toward the OF. It was an absolute seed that Panik did not have to move for enabling him to easily complete the relay to 1B. Absolute magic and Crawford made it look effortless. Please look up the video on sfgiants.com!
Matt Duffy(3B)- 3 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .383. A huge day, and the fact that he played 3B may be telling us something. Is it just me or has Joaquin Arias pretty much disappeared from the lineups lately? This is going to be verrry interesting. The big thing working against Duffy here is he has options while Arias and Adrianza don't. Another thought: I'd be tempted to say this is a Randy Elliott spring for Duffy, except that he has been absolutely raking it since his first full pro season starting in Augusta in 2013, so he has been red hot now for over 2 full years!
Justin Maxwell(PH-LF)- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .316. Don't be surprised to see Maxwell's name in the Opening Day starting lineup. They need his HR potential in the lineup, at least until Pence gets back.
Matt Cain(RHP)- 4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K. ERA= 8.22. Obviously not great pitching conditions today so I'm not going to worry…..yet.
Ryan Vogelsong(RHP)- 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 7.45. Again, the conditions may well mean this was a pretty good line.
George Kontos(RHP)- 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 5.40. This may have sealed Kontos' fate given that Machi followed him with a Save, albeit not a clean one.
Jean Machi(RHP)- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, Save(2). ERA= 3.75. I've thought Machi had the edge in this battle all along and this may be the clincher.
Travis Ishikawa came out of the game with back tightness which raises the spector of the DL coming into play in the roster battles.
Giants hit the road to face the D'Backs tomorrow. No word on who is pitching. Huddy?
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Maybe with Ehire's performance they do try to sneak him through. Duffy is not going away but he does have that option. Going to be interesting next few days. I still go with Kontos, don't know why specifically but I just like him more long term.
ReplyDeleteBilly Baseball
IMO, Kontos hangs too many sliders making him vulnerable to the longball. I'll take Machi.
DeleteDoes Kontos' hanging too many sliders have anything to do with the desert air?
DeleteI think, maybe, DL for Ishi, Affeldt (is something wrong with him? Have not pitched well.) and Adrianza.
Nice to see Maxwell step up and take that spot on the roster.He's definitely making a run at opening day RF.
ReplyDeleteCrawford's double play: http://m.mlb.com/sf/video/topic/69972428/v57184983/?c_id=sf
ReplyDeleteI think Duffy playing 3b is a big deal. At a minimum, he now becomes as versital as Arias with a better bat (assuming he can play the position). He also provides an interesting option for the Giants going forward, since we all would love to seem him stick there (with an IF of Duffy, Crawford, Panik and Belt). Very good for the future, although they are going to have to shell out big time to keep Belt and Crawford happy (good thing we got Timmy's and Huddy's contracts coming off the books!).
ReplyDeleteTonights line-up:
ReplyDeleteSan Francisco Giants
1. Gregor Blanco (L) CF
2. Joe Panik (L) 2B
3. Casey McGehee (R) 3B
4. Hector Sanchez (S) C
5. Justin Maxwell (R) RF <----------- It'd be hard make any sort of argument that Maxwell isn't here to stay.
6. Daniel Carbonell (R) LF <---------- Oh, look! Currently hitting .333 in very limited ABs with an OPS of 1.154.
7. Joaquin Arias (R) 1B <------------ And speak of the devil, there's Arias.
8. Ehire Adrianza (S) SS
9. Tim Hudson (R) P <----- And Huddy's getting another start. Hope it's clean one.