OK, all you Debbie Downers! This game came down to the performances of 3 great players and was won by the 2 great players who play for the Giants as Madison Bumgarner outpitched Clayton Kershaw, mostly because Buster Posey was able to hit Clayton Kershaw. Follow all that? Key Lines:
Angel Pagan- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .296. Pagan doubled in the first inning and came home on Posey's RBI single.
Buster Posey- 2 for 4, HR(3). BA= .263. Usually great pitching beats great hitting, but not this time as Buster took Kershaw deep and drove in both Giants runs.
Madison Bumgarner- 8 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K's. ERA= 3.73. What a night for Bummy! Shades of his WS performance all over again. Outpitched the guy who most people think is the best in baseball, at least in the regular season.
Santiago Casilla- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(6). ERA= 2.79. I cringed when I saw Sanchez PH for Bummy in the top of the 9'th, even though I knew it would be unwise to let him go further, but Casilla breezed through the 9'th inning on just 10 pitches including a K of AGone with the Giants clinging to a 1 run lead.
Clayton Kershaw- 7 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 3.73. The difference in the game? Kershaw had to to face Buster Posey. Fitting that Kershaw and Bummy finished the evening with identical ERA's. Both should improve as the season goes along, but I can't quite shake the feeling that something isn't quite right with Kershaw.
Although they remain in last place, the Win cut the Giants deficit in the NL West to 3.5 games behind the division leading Dodgers. The Rockies lost to the D'Backs 12-6 to remain 1 game behind the leaders. The Padres lost to the Houston Astros 11-5 to remain 1.5 games behind. The D'Backs are in 4'th place, 3 games behind.
Speaking of the D'Backs: 1. Archie Bradley took a liner to the face off the bat of Carlos Gonzalez and had to come out of the game after 1.1 IP. MLB has to address the issue of liners off the domes of pitchers. Under current rules and culture, it is a question of when rather than if a pitcher will die on the mound. I say make 'em wear a full helmet over both ear with a cage shielding the full face. Yeah, they won't like it, but they will get used to it and after a year or two, nobody will think anything of it. It will also save at least one life, the one that is going to die if something is not done. 2. Kirk Gibson announced that he has Parkinsonism. This is no surprise to anyone who knows the physical signs of the disease, mask facies, no arm swing when walking, festinent gait. He had them all when he would walk out to the mound to make a pitching change.
Ryan Vogelsong takes on the Dodgers and Zack Greinke in the rubber game of the series tomorrow.
PS: I have been a Giants fan since the 1966 season. Let me tell you something. Juan Marichal vs Sandy Koufax was not better than this! Whatever else happens this season, these matchups are special.
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1966. I'l be darned. That's the year started. Giants and 49ers.
ReplyDelete1966? So you are newbies! (JK, but I started as a fan in '63).
DeleteNot looking for injuries, but a dual earflap helmet with a cage face shield?
ReplyDeleteThe ball dudes look downright silly down the lines at AT&T with just the Gazoo dual flap helmets. Silly.
It's difficult to hold these guys up as gladiators and then wrap them in bubble wrap.
Safety, Yes. Safety for all, No.
So you are going to get someone killed just to avoid looking silly? Now THAT is just silly!
DeleteHave you seen Alex Torres' (now playing for the Mets) huge safety cap this year? I think they need to pay more attention on that stuff because that can save pitchers' lives one day we never know. It just needs more technology and stuff. But seriously, it really could save a pitcher's career one day.
DeleteWrenzie
the guys in the booth pointed out that marichal only faced koufax on 3 occasions, because neither team wanted eh match up
ReplyDeletebums didnt want kershaw to face maddy....so they pushed his start off a day....the baseball gods made sure it would happen with the rain out
the following is interesting from baggs
Casey McGehee says the bone bruise in his knee is not an issue, but it’s clear to anyone who watched him in the spring that he is not running as well as he can.
The McGehee I saw in the spring was no burner by any stretch. But that version of McGehee probably beats out two infield hits against Kershaw. Instead, the outs went 1-6-3 and 6-3, and the helmet spike went from head to dirt in record time.
“I know that’s frustrating for him,” Bruce Bochy said. “Nobody knows more than me, the way I ran. You know that bang-bang play is a hit for anyone else. (The knee) is probably affecting him a tad.”
so why isnt casey on the dl?
bacci
That's exactly what the sitch was with Marichal and Koufax. I think one of them came into a game in relief against the other too for a total of 4 decisions. I think Juan won 3 of 'em.
DeleteTotally agree that McGehee is not right and should go on the DL to get fully healthy.
I would be very comfortable with Duffy at 3rd.
DeleteRichard in Winnipeg
Yeah. Watched McGehee a bit. He's moving better, but he's still not moving like he should.
DeleteI wish Aoki could play 3B. I know when Pence comes back that Maxwell will take at bats away from Aoki, but I love what Aoki does at the plate. I don't like Belt in LF either because you have Maxwell and Aoki. Great job by Mad Bum...only SP who you can pencil in for 8 strong right now. I don't care about risk of long term contract or money...Giants number 1 off season priority is to get one more horse SP. Lefty.
ReplyDeleteSo Brandon McCarthy, a guy with a pretty big injury jacket, is down for the year with TJ. Is there any mention of this on the Fangraphs? Nope, crickets. Friedman just gambled, and lost, but that won't stop the hype express.
ReplyDeleteI missed Kershaw/Bumgarner live, we bought tickets last week, had to watch Timmy throw BP and the Giants take their time knocking Brett Anderson out the game. My son was majorly bummed. C'est la guerre.
I think McGehee needs to stop being a tough guy, but I imagine its a long term injury he's dealt with before, no quick fix, hence no DL. He hasn't looked good, but he's also had rotten BABIP luck.
I know it's early, but I do find these two facts amusing:
ReplyDelete1. The declared WS Champion of 2015 -- The Washington Nationals -- are 8 and 13, making them worse than the Giants.
2. The off-season power-house winners -- San Diego Padres -- are at .500, are worse than they were last year (.556 if I remember right).
It's a long, long seasons with a lot of games to go. But I still find those two things, after all the off-season hype, to be funny.