Buster Posey- 2 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .311. Buster is on one of his prolonged hot streaks. He has a 14 game hit streak if you don't count one game where he drew a walk as a PH. He is hitting .366 for the month of May. He has reached base in every game he has appeared in for the month. He has just 2 appearances in the month without a base hit, one of which was the game where he drew a walk as a PH and was not charged with an AB.
Brandon Belt- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(2). BA= .317. OK, this is the Brandon Belt we've all been waiting for since he tore up the minor leagues in 2010. If he stays healthy, this could be his breakout year! The dinger was crushed and landed in the upper deck down the RF line. Estimated distance, 475 ft.! Oh, and have I said that being able to slot his left-handed bat between Posey and Pence fronted by the switch-hitting Pagan and backed by the left-handed Crawford makes this a killer lineup!
Matt Duffy- 3 for 5, HR(2). BA= .301. OK, forget about depth preservation. I officially don't think Matt Duffy is going anywhere and may well be in the process of taking over the starting 3B job. He may not quite have the arm to make the throw to first from behind the bag, but he has a lot more range than McGehee and hits a whole lot more than either McGehee or Arias. I don't know who's going to be the odd man out between Ishikawa, Arias and McGehee, but I'm pretty sure Matt Duffy is here to stay. Matt Duffy!
Ryan Vogelsong- 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 4.60. Vogey did what I've always said you have to do in Coors Field. Throw fastballs to all 4 quadrants of the strike zone, especially the upper half. Forget avoiding dingers by keeping the ball on the ground. Sinkers don't sink and breaking balls don't break in Coors. You have to pound the zone with the FB, move it around to different locations, and don't be afraid to give up a solo HR here and there. As Kruk said, Vogey put on a clinic on how to pitch with the fastball. It doesn't have to go mid 90's or above, but it does have to have something on it and it absolutely has to command the entire strike zone.
Santiago Casilla- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(11). ERA= 1.47. Casilla came into the game after Affeldt had given up 5 straight hits separated by a long rain delay and shut off the spigot. He did give up a double to Ben Paulson which Pence played perfectly off the wall to hold it to just 1 inherited run driven in. Casilla then calmly struck out Hundley to finally end it.
As for Affeldt, I am going to give him a Mulligan on this one. The first 3 hits he gave up were in a driving rainstorm. The 3rd one would likely have been a DP ball if not for the rain as it as a hard, but fairly routine grounder that skidded past Duffy. The last 2 hits were after he came back out to the mound after the long rain delay. We'll chalk it up to the demons and ghosts of Coors Field.
The Win enabled the Giants to keep pace, 1.5 games behind the NL West leading Dodgers. It also gained them a 0.5 game lead for the first Wild Card playoff spot as both the Cubs and Mets lost. The Dangerous D'Backs topped the Cubs to move into 3'rd place in the NL West, 5 games off the pace. The Pathetic Padres lost to the Dodgers 2-1 to slip into 4'th place, 6 games of the pace while the Reeling Rockies sank further into last place, 9 games behind.
The Giants and Rockies now play a split doubleheader today, a regularly scheduled game and a makeup of a previous rainout. There is still a threat of rain, so no guarantees they get both of them in. Christ Heston starts the first game facing Jordan Lyles while Yusmeiro Petit starts the evening game facing David Hale. Both teams get to carry an extra player on the active roster for the doubleheader. The Giants have called up Hunter Strickland to be an extra arm in the bullpen.
Matt Duffy reminds me of Bill Mueller except without the switch hitting. Giants farm system producing some hitters. Now where is Susac going to play? He's too good to just be a backup catcher but with Belt hitting, no need for Posey to play 1st base as much. Also, everyone in that lineup was hitting .285 and above at the beginning of the night. I can't remember a time when the lineup was so balance from top to bottom.
ReplyDeleteIshikawa, Arias, or McGehee. Or Maxwell? He seems to have cooled off a bit, and Pence Pagan and Aoki seem to have the starting 3 sewn up, with the best "4th OF" of the past 3 years in Blanco to rotate in for rests and strains. Can Ishi and Belt do some more LF? Can Duffy play some OF to solidify his super sub status? Does Maxwell have an option and space to play in AAA?
ReplyDeleteJust adding a name to the list.
I think I remember reading that Maxwell's contract included a no-minors clause. And it's a stretch to even think that Duffy needs to hit the OF at this point. We already have the 'good problem' with too many OF'rs, and he's holding his own platooning with Casey.
DeleteYes, let us bless Heston for saving our rotation!
ReplyDeleteStrickland can only pitch so much today. The bullpen is an issue right now. Not sure how far they can go in these two games, let alone being ready tomorrow and Monday in MIL.
ReplyDelete