The Giants got their Defense of the Championship off to a winning start as Santiago Casilla struck out none other than Paul Goldschmidt to save a game the Giants tried to squander after carefully building a 5-1 lead after 7 innings. Key Lines:
Norichika Aoki- 2 for 5. BA= .400. Aoki had a typical game with 2 singles and a baserunning gaffe which may have been more new 3B coach Roberto Kelly's fault. Running from first base on a ball hit into the right-CF gap by Joe Panik, Aoki may have gotten a late stop sign from Kelly and got caught too far down the line by they relay man. At least Pagan partially picked Aoki and Kelly up with a single to drive in Panik who made it to 3B on the rundown.
Joe Panik- 3 for 5, 2B. BA= .600. Panik looked pretty much like he did last year with a couple of bloopers that went to LF and a drive up the alley in right-CF for 3 hits.
Angel Pagan- 3 for 4, 2 2B, BB. BA= .750. Man, it sure is good to see Pagan apparently healthy and slashing out of the 3 hole, a perfect place for him to hit, IMO.
Casey McGehee- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .667. McGehee did what the Giants got him to do, kept the line moving!
Brandon Crawford- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .500. Could be a big season for Crawford.
Matt Duffy- 1 for 1. BA= 1.000. Matt Duffy!
Madison Bumgarner- 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 1.29. Bumgarner did not have his best stuff, but this is what he does without his best stuff. A true ace! He had enough to hold the D'Backs at bay allowing the Giants to build a 5-1 lead and ended up throwing just 90 pitches in the 7 innings as he just pounded the zone after getting the 4 run lead.
Santiago Casilla- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(1). ERA= 0.00. Casilla got the well earned Save, retiring the top of the order including a K of the fearsome Paul Goldschmidt to end the game. We can all hope the parade of relievers that came out in the 8'th inning including Javier Lopez, Jean Machi and Sergio Romo just had Opening Day jitters and will settle down.
Prior to the game, the Giants announced that Jake Peavy will miss his start tomorrow due to a sore back and will be replaced by Ryan Vogelsong. They also announced that Matt Cain experienced the dreaded forearm tightness after his spring training start in the Bay Bridge Series and underwent an MRI. Results are pending and his scheduled start on Wednesday is now TBA with Tim Lincecum or a minor league call up for Hesto Presto possibilities.
Vogey will face RHP Rubby De La Rosa in tomorrow's tilt.
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maddy being maddy
ReplyDeletewhile the pen looked bad....lots of pens look bad in az
no need to push cain in the early going...have a feeling he is gonna be headed to the dl, with at least one start at sacto
casey may not be flashy, but he is a solid, no nonsense player
the kind of guy bochy loves
i think craw has a solid year and battles for the gold glove, if the giants take your advice and give him plenty of rest during the middle of the season
if pagan can stay healthy this year, when pence returns, the offense will be formidable
i knew there was nothing to worry about re panik....kid is an intelligent ball player and knows how to close holes
if tomahawk chop boy is the snakes ace, they are in a heap of trouble
was nice to hear miller wax poetic about lon
1 down...161 to go
bacci
The offense worked like it was supposed to tonight with a bunch of timely and well placed hits. Nice to see MacGhee work the count a bit instead of the two pitch at bats Pablo would have. Haven't had a good feeling about Machi all spring and tonight didn't help. I think he is due for a regression. Affeldt and Casilla were nails and that was good to see this early. Tied for first with the Bums!
ReplyDeleteBilly Baseball
Pedantic, but I think Machi isn't due for a regression - that would imply he was pitching the same but with less luck. As has been noted by DrB and commentators here, as well as by Giatns beats and staff, Machi sometimes has a feel for the splitter and sometimes he doesn't. When his main pitch isn't working, he's no good, but when it is working he is pretty good. The good thing about that is that it gives Bochy and Rags the ability to eye-test him - "Does he have his stuff tonight?" - and pull or stay accordingly.
Deletepablo 0 for 5 with 3 k's on opening night! it might not be pretty in bean town the rest of the way for panda...
DeleteYou are right kennv, regression might not have been a good term. I guess my point is that his numbers last year were weighed heavy on a very strong first half and the second half, especially the latter months, were not as nearly as effective. I didn't think his spring looked very good and also remember he didn't even start pitching in the bigs until he was 30. I think he is a nice little story but the pessimist any me keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop.
DeleteBilly Baseball
Kenny - that is the best take in weeks here. Keep it up.
DeleteAlready we have rotation problems after Bumgarner. Peavy is scratched from tonight with back tightness and Vogelsong will get the start. Cain is halfway good news in that it's a flexor tendon strain, not the dreaded UCL. Cain may start Wednesday, he may not. Lincecum may get moved up or Heston gets a call-up or some combination of the two.
ReplyDeleteI would emphatically say, take no chances with Cain. Put him on the DL and make do with Hesto Presto for a couple of weeks.
DeleteI agree...bring up Heston. That also keeps Timmah from getting owned again by Goldschmidt.
DeleteKudos to Casilla for closing the door and keeping Maddy in line for well-deserved win. Love all the hits and walks you mentioned.
Didn't get the broadcast being here in Alamo City, but I wouldn't be surprised if Kruk or Kuip brought up the "torture" word amid the bottom of the 8th rally for the home team.
Thanks for the recap allows me to stay informed from afar.
Let's Go Giants!
NWGiantsFan
DtF!!!
Heston is a fine fill in. He was throwing well in Spring.
DeleteAnd there is also Petit if they want to give Cain and Peavy a non-DL rest.
Bochy mentioned on the pre-game show that Petit is NOT an option to start at this point. I think they realize that even with the injuries - having Petit as the emergency long-man is crucial with this rotation. I think that's a wise move.
DeleteI was thinking about the minors - and realizing that we might get to see some good arms this year as a result. Mejia had a great spring, as did Heston. If it's later in the season we could see anyone from Crick to Blackburn to Mejia to Heston.
Despite the hesitancy on the SP front, I just had this feeling last night that this is going to be a really good season.
Can they bring up Strickland, pitch Hudson and Vogelsong, and then switch Hunter with Heston, since he is not needed for a few more days, so we get to use Strickland for a short time?
DeletePlease, Boch, don't pitch Timmy in AZ, please no Close Encounters with Paul Goldschmidt! Anyway he OWNS San Diego, at least the old Padres.
ReplyDeleteThis is no revelation but Romo's worst parks (with significant appearances) are AZ and COL. Could it be something about sliders not sliding there?
In the 8th: Lopez got a ground ball that found its way, Machi did seem out of sorts (adrenaline?), Romo in AZ (?), but the old pro (Affeldt) took care of it! Kudos for hanging tough through some scary moments. Besides, isn't it supposed to be torture!
Don't think that was Aoki's baserunning mistake: he had his back to the OF going to 3rd. Maybe the sign was Lost in Translation?
It sounds like they don't want Petit doing a turn, which my guess is reflects that Bochy has concerns about how deep some guys go so he wants to keep Petit fresh. Frankly, I'd rather see what Hesto Presto can do. We have 3 SP spots coming up in 2016, and we're going to need the youngins to step up. No better way to see what you've got than to give some guys spot starts.
ReplyDelete