For the second game in a row, the Giants lost 4-3 after a late solo HR by the opposing team. Key Lines:
Gregor Blanco- 2 for 2, 2B, BB. BA= .242. Not sure why Blanco was lifted for a PH to lead off the 8'th inning. Possibly Bochy wanted a RH batter facing Tony Cingrani? Anyway, nice night for Blanco.
Andrew Susac- 0 for 0, BB, PO. BA= .219. Susac may have cost the Giants a Win here by getting picked off first base when there was no way on Earth he was running. Although I think it is questionable whether Susac would have scored from first on Panik's triple to the LF corner. In Susac's defense, it looked like Cingrani may well have balked on the throw to first and it looked to me like Susac might have gotten his hand on the bag simultaneously with the tag or even a bit ahead. He's a rook though, so gotta be on your toes better than that. Bochy might have considered pinch running for Susac too.
Joe Panik- 1 for 3, 3B, BB. .284. See discussion above. I didn't see the play, but the boxscore shows a CS of home for Panik too.
Angel Pagan- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .336. Pagan's basehit to right drove in Panik from 3B and tied the game up in the 8'th.
Brandon Belt- 0 for 4, 3 K's. BA= .276. Belt has now struck out 8 times in 13 AB in the 3 road games so far. Kruk and Kuip keep pointing that out in addition to the fact that the yards in Houston and Cincy are tailor made for Belt to unleash his power. Hmm….THAT might be part of the problem? At any rate, judging from the tone of their voices when they talk about Belt and his K's, it just seems like Kruk and Kuip might be just a bit frustrated with him.
Tim Lincecum- 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 5 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 2.43. I tuned into the game after Timmy left, but 5 BB in 4.2 IP is not good!
With the Loss, the Giants stand in 3'rd place, 6 games behind he NL West leading Dodgers pending the outcome of the Dodgers/Rockies game which the Dodgers lead 4-1 in a, get this, rain delay!
Madison Bumgarner tries to even the series tomorrow evening facing RHP Jason Marquis.
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The Giants just played their way out of a win, but with help from the umpire. Panik was not entirely at fault for the CS at home, there was runners at first and thrid, and Buster started for second on the pitch, I guess to avoid a DP, and got caught in rundown, so, Panik started for home and got tagged out there. Still, annoying to see them make outs on the base paths like that. Would have been nice to see Duffy PR for Susac there, good point, he probably would have scored easily.
ReplyDeleteTimmy was having some sort of issue with the mound. Perhaps since he seems to have problems there, their groundskeeper is screwing around with him somehow? I recall hearing about him picking the dirt out of his cleats.
In any case, he should have been out of that 2 run inning. The umpire should have rung up that batter he hit, the announcer reported that PitchFX called the pitch a strike, but then LIncecum hit him with the next pitch (or folllowing...). Another reason I'm leaning towards letting technology make ball/strike calls. Had he got the strikeout, that would have been the last out of the 5th and he probably would have been taken out anyway next inning because he was right at 100 pitches. And we would have won the game.
But stuff like that happens, he got himself in a position where such a bad call costs him the game.
I kinda wonder if Belt's lost a step one the base paths. He's looked out of steam or something. It makes me think his conditioning is off, or he's filling out just enough that maybe it's also effecting his timing. I'd bet they know what's up, and it's just about him getting in the habit of making the correction, or taking the time to get his regiment back on track. I thought K&K took subliminal jabs when they talked about his sleeping habits, and his baby.
ReplyDeleteI think Bochy isn't quite firing on all cylinders yet. When you are carrying 3 catchers, the obvious move is to pinch run for Susac. Matt Duffy is sitting right there, doing nothing. Susac has no business getting picked off, it was a close play but he got caught leaning. Frustrating to give two games away in a row like this.
ReplyDeleteJohnny Cueto is tough though. Kruk and Kuip were constantly on the "quick pitch" where he throws without showing his numbers to the hitter. Free agent at the end of the year and obvious trade target for a lot of teams.
The strike zone was very inconsistent. And the condition of the mound makes me think the Cincy groundkeeper knew what he was doing - Tim's intricate delivery requires so much precision, this was a great way to disrupt him. Even so, Lincecum was back to his previous ways.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm getting a strong feeling of deja vu all over again with Timmy, Cincy and muddy mounds. I think you are right about the groundskeepers.
DeleteTo be fair the Giant's played themselves out of a win, but the Reds were striving to give the game away themselves. Balk in a run. Poorly timed walks that advanced Giants runners into scoring position. Bouncing Panik's hit around in the corner (I think that probably should have been a stand up double if Byrd plays the ball well.)
ReplyDeleteAs for Timmy, he struggled with the ump's zone, and with the mound, but he also uncorked a few wild ones that missed where Posey was set up by a lot. Boy, does he have the will to win though. The second time he slipped off the rubber at the beginning of his delivery (2nd walk to Byrd), he still threw the ball to Posey (slow and well outside), so that the slip didn't become a balk and advance a runner to third. He competes.
Belt has a lot of "potential", but will he ever reach it? Bochy has to move him to 7th or 8th in the line-up. Crawford is a guy who has to move up. Cueto was funky and kept disrupting the timing of Giants hitters. Fast pitch or being extra slow with his back turned during delivery. Just can't teach the way he was pitching. Very unique. Cueto's style I could see him pitching into his 40's. DP's are killing the Giants. At this point I could see more sacrifice bunting.
ReplyDeleteRe Belt:
ReplyDeleteI've come to grips with the fact that he is a streaky hitter who will never live up to the expectations many had for him. No, he will never be a consistent 25-30 HR player with a .370 + OBP. He has a hard time maintaining his hitting mechanics to allow him to do that.
He is a good player, though, especially for a 5th round draft pick. The Giants could do A LOT worse. In fact, Belt is probably the second best 1B the Giants have had since Will Clark left, behind J.T. Snow.
Personally, I think the Giants are probably hoping Belt has a decent enough season that he can be a part of trade packages this offseason. Trading Belt for an upgrade at another position would allow them to shift Posey to 1B and install Susac at catcher. I could see that being a plan they are considering.
I don't think the Giants are as anxious for Posey to move to first base as many fans are.
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