On Pence on the Fence night, Hunter Pence hit an opposite field grand slam HR to cap an 8 run 4'th inning against Cole Hamels and lead a 22 hit Giants attack for a runaway win. Key Lines:
Angel Pagan- 3 for 6, 2B. BA= .266. Bochy expressed some concern before the game about Pagan's health. I'm not sure if Bochy's intent was to light a fire under him, or if the day off gave him a chance to heal some of the bruises, but Pagan looked healthier in this game and even had a bit of drive on a ball in the gap on the 2B.
Joe Panik- 4 for 6, HR(7). BA= .313. Panik had been in a 3 for 20 slump, but hit the ball with authority in this game against one of the better LHP's in the game.
Matt Duffy- 4 for 6. BA= .292. Duffy had been scuffling a bit too. A day off at home can do wonders for a tired player! No XBH's from Duff, but his AB's may have done more to unravel Hamels than any of the big blows as Duffy just refused to let strike 3 go by and did not swing and miss either. He just kept fouling off pitches until he got one he could handle and then just punched it up the middle. Backbreakers! And Matt Duffy! Oh, and the first 3 batters in the lineup went a combined 11 for 18!
Buster Posey- 2 for 4. BA= .303. Buster is obviously nursing a sore hammy. It wasn't a good look when he basically jogged to 1B on a GIDP in the first inning, but he came through with basehits later in the game and came out after the route was on. He maybe should only play an inning or 2 at the most in the ASG.
Hunter Pence- 1 for 4, HR(3). BA= .289. AT&T does not give up many opposite field HR's to right, but Pence did it with the bases loaded in the 4'th to finish off Cole Hamels' night. The Pence-on-the-Fence dolls went nuts! And how much does having Pence back mean for the rest of the season?
Brandon Belt- 2 for 3, 2 2B, 2 BB. BA= .275. Again, Belt looked like he was seeing the ball well against a good LHP. He drew a couple of tough walks in addition to the XBH's.
Justin Maxwell- 4 for 4, 2 2B, 3B, BB. BA= .218. Maxwell had been struggling mightily. Barry Bonds has apparently been giving him some hitting advice. Bonds stopped by for batting practice and pronounced the swing fixed. Guess he was right as Mad Max had a huge night out of the 8-hole.
Madison Bumgarner- 2 for 3. BA= .256. Bumgarner's first AB was with 1 out and runners on first and second. He showed no sign of having any intention of bunting and struck out with a couple of very weak swings. He apparently used the AB to figure out Hamels, though, because he singled in his next chance and added another later.
Madison Bumgarner- 5.2 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 3.33. Bummy held up his end of the pitching matchup, but once again we saw him spend a long time on the basepaths and then not look sharp in the next half inning which resulted in an inflated pitch count and an early exit, although he did hang around long enough for the W.
The Win enabled the Giants to remain 5.5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West after the Bad Guys came from behind to top the BrewCrew 3-2. The Giants deficit in the Wild Card Race was cut to 3 games.
Ryan Vogelsong takes the mound against David Buchanan this evening in game 2 of the weekend series.
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Do you think Barry Bonds needs to have a bigger role in us, possibly a special hitting coach role beside Bam Bam DrB?
ReplyDeleteI think Bam-Bam is doing a great job and I am not at all sure Barry Bonds would be that great as a hitting coach. I think he might be more effective in working with individual players like he seems to be doing with Maxwell.
DeleteBonds will not want the travel. But yeah, he probably would be great in that role. Heck, he probably would be great in the dugout, telling everyone what he sees about the opposing pitcher. As DrB says, he probably more effective working individually. He helped Crawford out, for example, in spring. Heck, maybe he got Maxwell fixed up in spring!
DeleteBut I think Bam bam has been doing a great job, in any case, plus we have that ex catcher for Giants who is also a hitting coach (dang memory, killing me!)
yes. Wasn't he helping Crawford in the spring?
DeleteOGC, you thinking of Steve Decker?
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