The Giants got stellar pitching from Madison Bumgarner and an unexpected power attack from the offense to route the Cubs in the rubber game of their 3 game series. Key Lines:
Norichika Aoki- 1 for 3, BB, SB(14). BA= .296. Aoki started the 4 run rally in the 3'rd inning with a walk followed by a SB and advancing to 3B on a throwing error. He then scored on Matt Duffy's single which created more scoring opportunities to follow.
Brandon Belt- 0 for 2, 2 BB. BA= .275. I have always maintained the the 3 hole is primarily an OBP spot in the lineup with the real RBI spots coming in the cleanup, 5 and 6 holes. As you would imagine, I really like Belt in the 3 spot. He has plenty of power, but his biggest asset there, his OBP skill, helps set the table for Posey, Byrd and LOL Kelby Tomlinson or whoever is manning those slots.
Buster Posey- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .315. Buster has 4 hits in his last 3 games with 2 doubles. Hopefully this means the slump is over.
Marlon Byrd- 1 for 3, HR(21), BB. BA= .238. Byrd has 2 dingers as a Giants and both have ignited the offense to wins. Giants are close to dead last in MLB in 3 run dingers, but lead the league in Grand Slams. As Vin Scully would say, "go figure!"
Kelby Tomlinson- 2 for 4, HR(1). BA= .346. Kelby Tomlinson! I mean, who needs Joe Panik? Not that I don't want Panik back, but my goodness! I don't even know where to start! When Tomlinson went out to his 2B position after the grand slam, he got an extended standing O from the great fans at AT&T Park. How great is that? Kelbysdadchris, if you are out there, congratulations from all of us in the WTGCTT community. Oh, and let's not forget that Kelby also scored the first Giants run of the game after singling and then scoring on Juan Perez' double.
Juan Perez- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .375. It's been a tough season for Lil Juan P spending most of it in Sacramento which has to be tough after being part of a World Series Championship team. He's back up and getting it done though. First that great catch on the road trip and now sporting a .375 BA on top of his defensive heroics.
Madison Bumgarner- 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 12 K's. ERA= 2.97. Best part is he only threw 98 pitches which should leave him fresh for his next start against….the Dodgers?
The Win kept the Giants 2.5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West as the bad guys topped the Reds 1-0. The Dodgers won't have Greinke against the Cubs this weekend now. The Giants gained a game on the Cubs in the Wild Card race and now trail for the final spot by 5.5 games.
Mike Leake takes on the Cardinals and Michael Wacha tomorrow evening in the first game of a weekend series against the top team in MLB by W-L.
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Way to go Kelby! The kid has played in 12 straight games, and has a hit in 11 of them. It's hard to top Panik's defense at 2B this year, but KT is more than holding his own offensively.
ReplyDeleteI argued with a couple of Giants Twitter posters on the day of KT's call-up that his game & skillset would resemble Duffy's. I was told he was more "Adrianza than Duffy." I did my best to respectfully disagree, and the results have been pretty clear so far. Even Bochy has compared him to the Duff Man! You simply cannot have enough skilled hitters on your team. Nor can you have enough "give it everything" guys on a club.
Whatever adjustments the minor league hitting coordinators/coaches helped him make before this year, the results have certainly paid off for Kelby. But what do you do with him when everyone is healthy? Would it be crazy to try him in CF...
Not to take anything away from the Giants minor league instructors, but Kelby's approach at the plate is so similar to Duffy's you have to think either Kelby learned from Duff or they learned from each other.
DeleteI also think there is a residual kind of knee-jerk impression among many prospect analysts that the Giants can't develop hitters. I think that attitude is likely to shift in the near future. I mean, nobody likes to be wrong over and over again.
It seems like the evidence over the past few years shows that the Giants have been more successful developing hitters then pitchers. I'm wondering if the attitude that the Giants are great at developing pitching, specifically starters might change also.
ReplyDeleteLG
I've always said I thought the Giants were good at drafting pitchers rather than necessarily developing them. I do agree that right now they seem to be onto something with hitters, but that also may be more about drafting the right guys than developing them. I also suspect that Duffy and Tomlinson may have helped each other more than the Giants coaches helped either of them.
DeleteThe Giants appear to have tremendous pitching depth in the minors right now. It will be interesting to see how they develop. They seem to be almost experimenting with an extreme contact approach to pitching development. My theory is they are trying to avoid the injuries that have befallen so many top pitching prospects lately.
I've always said if the giants just give him the chance... He will prove himself... And he has a gold glove..NCAA D1 2011 shortstop... So you will see his brilliance start to show!! So proud of him....his hard work paying off
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