Not only did Madison Bumgarner out pitch Clayton Kershaw for the 3'rd time this season, but he also took him deep for a HR that gave the Giants the first run of the game. In the process, the Giants completed sweep of the Hated Ones, and how sweet it is! Key Lines:
Norichika Aoki- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .297. Aoki got on base 3 times but did not figure in the scoring. I still think the Giants best lineup is a 1,2,3 of Aoki, Panik, Pagan, but that's just me. I do think Aoki needed a rest a few games ago, but seems like he's rejuvenated now.
Angel Pagan- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .325. Another fine game for Pagan. I noticed that Fangraphs still has him listed as a negative defender, but that catch he made in last night's game was about as good as it gets. He made it look fairly easy too!
Hunter Pence- 2 for 4. BA= .300. Pence has added a new dimension to this offense. When the Giants can put 3 on-base guys in the top 3 slots and push the Posey/Pence/Belt triumvirate all down a slot then back them up with Brandon Crawford. Well, that is a serious lineup! Maybe one of the top 10 in all of baseball!
Madison Bumgarner- 1 for 4, HR(1). BA= .105. Bummy likes to air it out on the first pitch and Kershaw hung a fastball out over the plate. Gone!! Man, that had to hurt on Kershaw's end! First HR by an opposing pitcher off of Kershaw in is career so far.
Madison Bumgarner- 6.1 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 2.84. Between the last postseason and these 3 H2H's with Kershaw, I think you have to say Bumgarner is the best right now. If you had one game you had to win right now, and you can choose any pitcher in MLB to start, think you have to pick Bummy. Oh, and these matchups between Bummy and Kershaw? I was around for Marichal vs Koufax and this is every bit as good, maybe better!
This was the first time the Giants have swept the Dodgers in back-to-back home series since 1961. The Giants also have the best record in MLB since April 21.
The Win cut the Dodgers lead over the Giants in the NL West to just 1.5 games. The Giants remain 0.5 games behind in the race for the second Wild Card slot as the Cubs and Mets both won today.
The Giants now travel to Colorado to take on the Rockies in a 4 game Memorial Day weekend series with Ryan Vogelsong facing Kyle Kendrick in game 1 tomorrow evening.
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I've been advocating for Aoki/Panik/Pagan too, basically since we signed Aoki. It just makes total sense, Aoki has a higher OBP but lower SLG, and Pagan has some good power, good in the 3-slot.
ReplyDeleteWell, so far, Bochy seems to like that lineup too so it's not like it really needs an advocate. I guess the big question was whether he would continue to put those 3 at the top of the lineup after Pence came back. So far, the answer seems to be some of the time. It will be interesting to see what Boch settles on, but Aoki/Panik/Pagan seems to work really well as the top 3 and that makes the rest of the lineup longer. Then again, I believe studies have basically proven that lineup order makes little to no difference in run scoring.
Delete3 shutouts in a row against the 'Odgers? That is just about as wonderful as it gets for the regular season! (Yeah, championships are even more fun).
ReplyDeletePagan made a fine running catch on a Turner ball that was wind blown in yesterday's game as well. His slide around Ellis was a thing of beauty.
ReplyDeleteWell, the Dodgers were probably due for some offensive regression and I'm glad the Giants were the ones to serve it up to them. :) I'm just hoping our pitchers can keep the ball down in Colorado so we don't lose any of this ground we've picked up in the division or in the Wild Card race.
ReplyDeleteWould love to get Chris Archer from the Rays at the deadline...not to say he will be available or Giants have the right pieces to get him. Archer has a reasonable contract signed long term. Better to sell farm for him than say Hamels. Dr. B who goes down when Travis "Ishy" Ishikawa comes back. I hope not Duffy, but he has options. Maxwell is now the top RH pitch hitter. Ishy could be the LH batter off bench. Posey has a good shot at getting 100 RBI's with the top 3 guys getting on base.
ReplyDeleteNot sure about Ishikawa. I'm guessing Duffy would go down because of the options numbers game, but what do I know?
DeleteI wonder how Belt's arm is feeling after that HBP. They may need a backup first baseman for Colorado.
DeleteSomething that only I might find interesting, but the Giants team offensive fWAR is 7.4 as of today which puts them in 6th place. That's despite McGehee who has not only been in a slump but is a terrible runner and pretty bad at hitting into double-plays. Yet all off-season we heard nothing but doom and gloom with Sandoval leaving.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast, the Padres, winners of the Hot Stove Press Cycle are in 21st place with 3.5 fWAR. And their defense has gone to hell because they signed/traded for guys like Middlebrooks, Kemp, Myers, etc. I think that if I really went into their defensive numbers I would find clear support they took a big step backwards in defense. And, consequently, and are paying the price for what has, so far, proven to be only a modest increase in offense.
Padres have the second worst UZR in all of baseball so far, and most of that negativity comes from OF defense. The Giants are slightly negative very near average on team D. Giants are moderately + by another metric whereas the Padres are strongly negative by both metrics.
DeleteThese modern metrics are interesting and seem to point to something, but has any team built on them won a World Series? The A's of 1989 (argh)?
DeleteI would argue, and have, that the Giants have likely been using defensive metrics long before Billy Beane and Fangraphs started championing them. I would also bet that the Giants know things about pitching metrics that a lot of teams and baseball writers don't and probably some hitting metrics too. At this point it is fairly clear that the Giants are looking for hitters who have high contact rates and are coaching them in that direction too.
DeleteI would also argue that this knowledge has played a major role in the Giants winning 3 of the last 5 WS.
I have tickets to Monday's River Cats-Sound game. It's OH-so-close to Zito (starting Tuesday) vs Peavy (starting Wednesday).
ReplyDeleteThat would be the AAA match up of the year!
"Sound" even for Nashville is weak, like Heat for Miami, but River Cats is pretty cool.
I think Chico State used to be called, unofficially, the Bat 'Cats, but Wildcats is their name. Might have been the distinction when they played football.
Hey Doc; guessing - I thought all along you were a guy who dug into stats, used your outstanding baseball skills and knowledge to establish your position. Why on earth would Duffy get the bump; if and when Travis were to come back. This team, struggles to get things done and must play small ball often. This kid brings so much to the table that fits with that model. Besides his ability to play every position in the infield - Duffy is invaluable.
ReplyDeleteSimple. Dept preservation. Duffy has options. They can send him down and keep him. They DFA either Ishikawa or Arias and they risk losing them.
DeleteI do see that Duffy gets the start tonight in Denver, so the Giants may just like him enough they would be willing to risk some depth to keep him on the big club.