I don't know what the league average is for visiting teams on getaway days, but it sure seems like the Giants must be near the bottom of that list. When Ryan Vogelsong allowed 5 of the first 6 batters he faced to reach base with 3 of them scoring, you knew the Giants chances of winning this one were very small. I'll give them credit for making a game of it until late. Key Lines:
Matt Duffy- 3 for 5. BA= .308. If I do a 2020 projected Giants roster, I'm thinking Matt Duffy is going to be the third baseman. Dude just shows no signs of falling apart and as the ESPN announcers were saying, he has room to get better.
Ryan Vogelsong- 3.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.08. After the way the first inning started, I would say Vogey did very well to keep it to 3 runs allowed in the 3.1 innings he pitched. When you realize that he allowed 6 more baserunners over the next 2.1 IP, it's even more amazing that the game was not a blowout by the 3'rd inning. With Tim Hudson and Chris Heston probably coming back at the end of the month, Vogey probably has 1 more start to have a bounce back start and hang onto his rotation spot.
The Dodgers lost again to the Astros 3-2 in extra innings as they couldn't even get a 1 inning out of their bullpen and it was closer Kenley Jansen who blew the Save to boot. That left the Giants almost miraculously just 1.5 games behind the NL West leading Dodgers. The bad news is the Cubs won yet again and stretched their lead over the Giants in the race for the final Wild Card playoff spot to 6 games.
The Giants now get a travel and recuperation day before starting a homestand against the red hot Cubs with Matt Cain facing the fearsome Jake Arrietta on Tuesday, August 25 in AT&T Park.
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This game was like a big kick in the teeth. The 'bad news' of Heston being sent down (if only for rest and/or mechanics work) coupled with Vogelsong was just awful even if did manage to keep it from being even worse... And the way the Pirates and Cardinals, over-all, out-performed the Giants on this road trip.
ReplyDeleteReally depressing. But it's baseball and these things happen.
I thought the Giants were more competitive on this road trip than they could have been keeping most of the losses close. If you had told me at the beginning of the trip they would come out of if with 2 wins, I would have said that's about right. They got a huge break from the Dodgers problems. They have a very tough homestand coming up. If they can get through that and still be in contention, I think they have a great shot at winning the division.
DeleteI know. I was hoping for a 3-4 split. And I was 'ok' for a given value of 'ok,' but it wasn't the most auspicious road trip for viewing how the Giants may close out the season and fare against top-flight competition.
DeletePerhaps, but the Giants have shown the ability to transcend regular season match ups once they get into the playoffs. Yeah, probably can't count on that happening forever, but the big hurdle seems to be getting in and it doesn't seem to make much difference how.
DeleteTrue enough. They did it last year with more problems.. Hudson was out of gas. Peavy and Vogelsong were pummeled to ERAs over 6. Lincecum had lost his spot. Ishikawa was starting in LF and Perez was coming in as a defensive replacement. The bench was Susac, Perez, Morse, Arias and some unproven AA call-up rookie who might weigh 175lbs with sand in his pockets that wouldn't let go of the utility spot.
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