Friday, July 31, 2015

Down on the Farm: 7/30/2015

AAA  Sacramento River Cats defeated the Las Vegas 51's 4-2:

Mac Williamson(RF)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .263.
Trevor Brown(Catcher)- 2 for 4.  BA= .278.
Nik Turley(LHP)- 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K.  ERA= 4.90.
Erik Cordier(RHP)- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(9).  ERA= 1.04.

Turley runs hot and cold.  When he is good, he is very good.  I think Cordier could help a MLB team right now.

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AA  Binghampton Mets pounded the Richmond Flying Squirrels 11-3:

Edwin Quirarte(RHP)- 4 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 3.69.

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High A  San Jose Giants beat the Stockton Ports 4-1:

Christian Arroyo(SS)- 1 for 3, SF.  BA= .322.
Daniel Carbonell(LF)- 2 for 4.  BA= .302.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 1 for 4, HR(8).  BA= .261.
Jason Forjet(RHP)- 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.18.
Jake Smith(RHP)- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(7).  ERA= 2.54.

I would put Forjet's name on a list of significant sleepers in the system.  I'd like to see a scouting report on him.

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Low A  Augusta Greenjackets outscored the Rome Braves 5-3:

Andrew Cain(LF)- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(9).  BA= .216.
Eury Sanchez(RHP)- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 9.00.
Carlos Diaz(LHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.99.

Cain is hitting .323 with 3 HR's over his last 10 games.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes buried the Everett Aquasox 8-2:

Richard Amion(2B)- 2 for 4, 2B, HBP.  BA= .225.
CJ Hinojosa(SS)- 2 for 3, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .262.
Ronnie Jebavy(CF)- 3 for 5, HR(4).  BA= .263.
Miguel Gomez(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .370.
John Riley(DH)- 1 for 4, HR(2), BB.  BA= .196.
Julio Pena(RF)- 2 for 4, HR(4).  BA= .275.
Andrew Suarez(LHP)- 4 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.74.
Nathanael Santiago(RHP)- 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.70.

Gomez' hit streak was snapped on 7/28.  He's had 2 2-hit games since.  He's had multiple hits in 6 of his last 10 games.

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Rookie AZL  Giants were idle.

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DSL  Giants downed the Mets1 4-1:

Francisco Medina(3B, 17 yo)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .267.
Beicker Mendoza(LF, 17 yo)- 2 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .311.
Sandro Cabrera(LHP, 20 yo)- 6.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 2.65.
Hengerber Medina(RHP, 20  yo)- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.35.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Thoughts on Mike Leake and the Trade

The Giants finally jumped into the mid-season trade market, and landed the guy they probably had targeted all along.  Mike Leake is  solid mid-rotation starter who has thrived pitching half his games in one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in baseball.   I have a bit of a personal stake in Mike Leake because he has been on several of my fantasy baseball teams including this season where he has been, well, a solid performer.

The Giants have been rumored to be Mike Leake admirers for a long time and Leake has been rumored to have San Francisco high on his list of preferred destinations when he reached FA eligibility, so it seems like it could be a match made in heaven.  He's not Cole Hamels or David Price, but he is certainly more than competitive with the pieces the Dodgers acquired and he did not require taking on a $%&#load of dead money nor a huge haul of prospects to get.

Oh, there will be gripers about this trade.  Keury Mella was ranked by mlb.com as the #1 Giants midseason prospect.  I mean, how could they trade their #1 prospect for a 2 month rental?  I love Keury Mella's arm just as much as the next Giants fan, but IMO, they have a lot of comparable arms in the organization and I would not rank him ahead of Tyler Beede or Phil Bickford.  Hey!  Maybe mlb.com helped the Giants out with that ranking by goosing Mella's trade value while letting the Giants hang onto the guys they really wanted to keep?

Again, Mella has a great arm, but his performance on the mound has been somewhat inconsistent and a number of keen-eyed Giants prospect watchers have noted his high-risk delivery.  Some nationally known prospect analysts have him pegged more as a bullpen arm than a future starter.

As for Adam Duvall, I wish him all the best.  He has some serious toonder in the bat, but it is not clear he will ever make consistent contact at the MLB level and he is pretty much stuck at 1B or DH.  He was clearly not in the Giants future plans.

So, where does Mike Leake fit into the Giants rotation?  It would seem that barring an imminent injury, Tim Hudson is the odd man out.  It also moves Tim Lincecum farther away from ever pitching for the Giants again.  As for the current rotation pecking order, I would rank them 1.  Bumgarner  2.  Leake  3.  Hesto Presto  4.  Peavy  5.  Cain.  I don't see Huddy pitching out of the bullpen, so he has to go somewhere.

This really seems like a similar play as the Hunter Pence trade in 2012 where a team and a player who have long term interest in each other get a chance to audition for a longer term commitment.  Leake will be a FA at the end of the season, but don't be shocked if the Giants make signing him to a long-term deal a priority in the offseason.  Had Leake stayed in Cincinnati, he would have been eligible for a QO, and the Giants don't like to lose first round draft picks.  This trade makes Leake available to them as a FA without having to give that up.

In conclusion, love the trade.  The Giants chances of winning another World Series just got significantly better.  The Giants know their stuff on these trades.  They rarely, if ever, give up a future star in the process.

Down on the Farm: 7/29/2015

AAA  Sacramento River Cats defeated the Las Vegas 51's 4-2:

Everth Cabrera(CF)- 2 for 3, BB, SB(2).  BA= .333.
Adam Duvall(1B)- 1 for 3, HR(26), BB.  BA= .279.
Clayton Blackburn(RHP)- 1 for 2, HR(1).  BA= .200.
Clayton Blackburn(RHP)- 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 10/5.  ERA= 3.50.
Mike Broadway(RHP)-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, Save(9).  ERA= 0.95.

Blackburn is quietly on a roll.  Over his last 10 appearances his composite line is 4-0, 2.83, 47.2 IP, 9 BB, 41 K's.

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AA  Altoona Curve blanked the Richmond Flying Squirrels 1-0:

Matt Gage(LHP)- 6.1, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.56.
Kyle Crick(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.92.

3'rd QS in a row for Gage since being called up to AA.  Looks like he's there to stay.  3'rd appearance in a row with 0 BB's for Cricky.

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High A  Visalia Rawhide outlasted the San Jose Giants 5-4 in 11 innings:

Christian Arroyo(SS)- 1 for 5, HR(5).  BA= .322.
Keury Mella(RHP)- 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 3.31.
Tyler Rogers(RHP)- 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.44.
Dan Slania(RHP)- 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.92.

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Low A Augusta Greenjackets were idle.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Everett Aquasox 5-4 in 10 innings:

Steven Duggar(RF)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .271.
Ronnie Jebavy(CF)- 1 for 3, 2B, HBP, SF, SB(15).  BA= .250.
Miguel Gomez(3B)- 2 for 5.  BA= .367.
John Riley(1B)- 3 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .194.
Cory Taylor(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.74.
Caleb Smith(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.13.

I think Gomez' hit streak is up to 23 games.  He seems to crank out 2 hits every night.

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Rookie AZL  Giants beat the A's 2-1 in 10 innings:

Dillon Dobson(1B)- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .278.
Nick Gonzalez(LHP)- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Dylan Brooks(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.78.

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DSL  Giants downed the Mets 5-4:

Mecky Coronado(DH, 18 yo)- 3 for 4.  BA= .387.
Beicker Mendoza(LF, 17 yo)- 4 for 5.  BA= .307.
Robert Antunez(2B, 19 yo)- 2 for 5, 2 SB(16).  BA= .304.
Norwith Gudino(RHP, 19 yo)- 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.89.
Alejandro De La Rosa(RHP, 20 yo)- 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 2.08.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Game Wrap 7/29/2015: Giants 5 Brewers 0

The Giants scored all 5 of their runs in the 7'th inning to back the shutout pitching of Jake Peavy and 3 relievers.  Key Lines:

Hunter Pence- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .304.  Pence drove in the go-ahead run with a double up the left-CF alley.  He also saved a run with a fine running catch of a ball that was headed up Triples Alley and later threw out Jonathan Lucroy at 3B after he tagged up at 2B on a flyball hit over by the RF line.  Pence just has so many ways he can beat you!

Ehire Adrianza- 1 for 3.  BA= .136.  Adrianza drove in 2 runs with a groundball single through the right side.  I know a lot of people are down on Adrianza's bat, but I've always believed that given regular AB's, he'll hit for you.

Jake Peavy- 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.12.  Peavy is on a roll and this was his best start of the season.  Giants will need him to take advantage of the late start to the season to stay strong through the stretch run.

Strickland, Romo and Lopez pitched a scoreless IP each.  Romo has allowed just 1 run in his last 7 appearances with 9 K's against just 1 BB in 7.1 IP.

The Win put the Giants in a temporary tie with the Dodgers for first place in the NL West pending the outcome of the Dodgers-A's game.

The Giants get a day off before embarking on what might be the toughest road trip of the season, 9 games in some of the hottest, most humid cities in the hottest time of the year, Texas, Atlanta and Chicago to face the Cubs who are no longer pushovers.

Around the League:

Looks like Cole Hamels is going to Texas for a huge haul of prospects.  I don't think the Giants could have or should have given a better package.  Nice jobs by the much maligned Ruben Amaro.

How great is it that Mat Latos is going to the Dodgers?  Now we have a double reason to hate him!  Gotta say, though, that this is a nice pickup by the Dodgers.  One I wouldn't have minded the Giants going for.  Apparently the Giants wanted no part of Latos, though, and who can blame them?  Late word is the Latos trade may be falling apart due to a medicals concern.

And how embarrassing is this for all sides?  Brewers and Mets were all set to make a trade of Carlos Gomez for Zack Wheeler and Wilmer Flores.  Deal fell through after it was basically announced due to Brewers concerns about Wheeler's medical report.  Now, they already knew he had TJ surgery, so what else was in there?  Then, Wilmer Flores heard about the trade from a teammate in the middle of the game and started crying on the field.  Terry Collins left him out there!  Collins then claimed he knew nothing about the trade.  Pretty classless organization, huh?

Pablo Sandoval came out of a game in the 6'th inning amid some speculation he may have been traded. Turns out he was dehydrated.  Nice FA signing there, Boston!

Giants are now said to be one of 4 teams including the Dodgers who are in on David Price.  Not sure if the Giants are really in on these trades or if they are just trying to drive up the price for the Dodgers.  Either way, go Giants!

Down on the Farm: 7/28/2015

AAA  Las Vegas 51's destroyed the Sacramento River Cats 14-2:

Tommy Hanson(RHP)- 3.1 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 8.22.
Josh Osich(LHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

This game was played in Sacramento, so can't blame it on the environment.  Not looking good for Tommy Hanson.

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AA Altoona Curve downed the Richmond Flying Squirrels 3-0:

Kelvin Marte(LHP)- 7 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 11/4.  ERA= 2.27.
Derek Law(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.15.

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High A Visalia Rawhide whipped the San Jose Giants 2-1:

Tyler Horan(RF)- 2 for 4, SB(4).  BA= .234.
Luis Ysla(LHP)- 3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 6.25.
Christian Jones(LHP)- 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 2.54.
Ian Gardeck(RHP)- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 3.98.

8 of Ysla's 9 outs were by K's.  Apparently when the Rawhide did make contact, it was hard contact.  Is Jones going to get a chance to start?

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Low A  Delmarva Shorebirds edged out the Augusta Greenjackets 5-4:

Johneshwy Fargas(CF)- 2 for 4, 3B, SB(53).  BA= .285.
Aramis Garcia(Catcher)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .271.
Jonah Arenado(3B)- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .271.
Dusten Knight(RHP)- 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.53.

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Short Season  Hillsboro Hops blanked the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 10-0:

Jordan Johnson(RHP)- 4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.86.

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AZL A's doubled the score on the Giants 8-4:

Kevin Rivera(2B)- 2 for 5.  BA= .322.
Cody Brickhouse(3B)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .212.
Dillon Dobson(DH)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .269.
Ashford Fulmer(RF)- 2 for 3, BB, SB(8).  BA= .222.
Deiyerbert Bolivar(LHP)- 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.25.
Stetson Woods(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 6.06.

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DSL  Yankees1 outlasted the Giants 4-3 in 12 innings:

Mecky Coronado(DH, 18 yo)- 1 for 5, HR(2), BB.  BA= .377.
Prebito Reyes(LHP, 19 yo)- 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.42.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Game Wrap 7/28/2015: Brewers 5 Giants 2

The Giants were probably overdue for a letdown game and it came early as Gerardo Parra led off the game with a double to LF.  That whooshing sound you heard about the time Carlos Gomez drove him in with a double to RF was all the oxygen being let out of the Giants mojo.  They were never in this game.  Key Lines:

Matt Cain- 6 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.50.  Cain threw some good looking pitches and seemed to have enough velocity.  He just made location mistakes and the BrewCrew jumped on them for an early lead that the Giants never recovered from.  He did look much better in the last two innings he was out there.

Wily Peralta- 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.  GO/AO= 9/1.  ERA= 3.90.  Peralta was coming off an extended stay on the DL, but looked to be in mid-season form.  He is a very tough hombre when he is right and he was right tonight pitching to contact and getting the ball on the ground.  Any hint of a Giants really was snuffed out by 2 GIDP's.  By the time the Giants finally broke through in the 7'th inning, it was too little, too late.

The Loss left the Giants 0.5 game behind the Dodgers in the NL West as the Bad Guys got blanked by Sonny Gray and the A's 2-0.  The Cubs also lost so the Giants maintained their 2.5 game lead in the race for the second Wild Card Playoff spot.

Jake Peavy tries to pick the pace back up tomorrow, going for the series win facing Brewers RHP Mike Fiers.

Down on the Farm: 7/27/2015

AAA  Game 1  Sacramento River Cats blasted the Albuquerque Isotopes 10-0:

Adam Duvall(LF)- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(24).  BA= .279.
Carlos Triunfel(3B)- 1 for 4, HR(4).  BA= .274.
Tomlinson, Lollis, Perez, Frandsen, Blach- 2 hits each.
Ty Blach(LHP)- 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, GO/AO= 13/3.  ERA= 4.00.

Complete 7-inning game for Blach.

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AAA  Game 2  Sacramento River Cats destroyed the Albuquerque Isotopes 10-1:

Everth Cabrera(CF)- 3 for 4, BB, SB(1).  BA= .353.
Adam Duvall(1B)- 1 for 4, HR(25).  BA= .279.
Jarrett Parker(LF)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .264.
Carlos Triunfel(SS)- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .279.
Chris Stratton(RHP)- 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.02.

Stratton bounces back from a  disaster start with a CG 7-inning start here.

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AA  Altoona Curve edged out the Richmond Flying Squirrels 3-2:

Hunter Cole(RF)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .319.
Mitch Delfino(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .262.
Joan Gregorio(RHP)- 3.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 5/1.  ERA= 3.52.

Gregorio is back in the starting rotation while Quirarte is back to pitching long relief.

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High A  San Jose Giants pounded the Visalia Rawhide 9-5 in 10 innings:

Daniel Carbonell(LF)- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .299.
Brian Ragira(DH)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .252.
Brandon Bednar(3B-1B)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .243.
Ty Ross(Catcher)- 2 for 5, HR(3).  BA= .233.

Giants scored all their runs after the 6'th inning.

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Low A  Delmarva Shorebirds outscored the Augusta Greenjackets 9-5:

Skyler Ewing(1B)- 2 for 3, 2 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .234.
Andrew Cain(DH)- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(8).  BA= .201.
Sam Coonrod(RHP)- 1.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.91.
Conner Kaden(RHP)- 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.99.

We're seeing a few disaster starts as we enter the Dog Days of summer.

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Salem-Keizer Volcanoes buried the Hillsboro Hops 9-2:

Ronnie Jebavy(CF)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .248.
Miguel Gomez(3B)- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .376.
Nolan Riggs(RHP)- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.03.

22 game hit streak for Gomez who seems to be able to hit a little.

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Rookie AZL  Giants defeated the D'Backs 7-5:

Kevin Rivera(2B)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .315.
Cody Brickhouse(3B)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .172.
Dillon Dobson(1B)- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .263.
Phil Bickford(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.86.

Rivera is back in Arizona and Beltre seems to be out of the lineup again.  Giants taking it slow with Bickford who I think had a pretty heavy workload in JC this year.

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DSL  Yankees1 beat the Giants 5-4:

Luis Amaya(LHP, 16 yo)- 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.62.
Hengerber Medina(RHP, 20 yo)- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.44.

Monday, July 27, 2015

Game Wrap 7/27/2015: Giants 4 Brewers 2

Chris Heston had a QS while Matt Duffy and Brandon Crawford let the offense as the Giants won their  6'th game in a row.  Key Lines:

Matt Duffy- 3 for 4, 2B, SB(4).  BA= .307.  Duffy is hot, but he's pretty much always hot.  .320 over his last 7 games, .333 over his last 15 and .314 over his last 30 games coming into tonight's game.  Just a remarkable story that the rest of baseball is starting to notice.

Brandon Crawford- 1 for 2, HR(15), BB.  BA= .270.  Speaking of hot, Crawford takes over the team lead in HR's breaking a tie with Buster Posey.  His dinger tonight went out near the deepest part of the yard out where the CF fence meets the brick wall.  Crawford is hitting .320 over his last 7 games coming into tonight.

Gregor Blanco- 1 for 1, 2B.  BA= .295.  Blanco becomes the 4'th OF again with the return of Nori Aoki, but he drove in a key insurance run with a double through the left-CF gap as a PH driving in Brandon Crawford all the way from 1B.

Chris Heston- 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 9/4.  ERA= 3.14.  A QS for Heston who was helped by 3 GIDP's.  Interesting note in Extra Giants that Brett Bochy lobbied his dad on Heston's behalf when the Giants needed to call someone up.

Hunter Strickland- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.80.  Strickland was overpowering in the 8'th inning.  Wouldn't shock me if he's the closer by the end of the season.

Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(2).  ERA= 4.26.  The leadoff batter, Carlos Gomez, cued one off the end of the bat and Brandon Belt couldn't handle the spinning top for an error.  Gomez then helped Romo out of the jam by getting thrown out on a steal attempt on a call that was overturned by instant replay.  More on that later.

Phil Cuzzi- Oh man!  This was pure schadenfreud.  Phil Cuzzi has made so many terrible calls against the Giants over the years.  Well, he can still call terrible balls and strikes, but he can't get away with it on other calls now that we have instant replay.  First, in the bottom of the 8'th inning, he called Matt Duffy out on a SB attempt.  Instant replay showed him to be safe as the 2B failed to make a tag.  Then, in the top of the 9'th, he called Gomez safe and instant replay showed him to be out as his hand hit the bag a split second after the tag was placed.  In Cuzzi's defense, both of these plays were tough calls, but it was payback time and it felt really good.  Gomez reaction to the instant replay call got him thrown out of the game which led to Brewers Manager, Craig Counsell, getting tossed for the first time in his entire baseball career.  It was pure comedy to watch, but I think we can all understand the frustration in Beertown.

The Win moved the Giants to 0.5 games behind the NL West leading Dodgers while they remain 2.5 games ahead of the Cubs for the final Wild Card playoff berth.

Matt Cain takes on Willy Peralta tomorrow evening in Game 2 of the series.

The Giants surprisingly DFA'd Joaquin Arias to make room for Nori Aoki's return.  Bruce Bochy said it was a tough decision, but the Giants apparently don't want to lose Adrianza and they felt he would not pass through waivers again.

Down on the Farm: 7/26/2015

AAA  Sacramento River Cats vs Albuquerque Isotopes postponed.

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AA  Erie Seawolves devoured the Richmond Flying Squirrels 10-1:

Engel Beltre(CF)- 2 for 5.  BA= .309.
Austin Slater(2B)- 3 for 5.  BA= .323.
Mitch Delfino(3B)- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .259.
Tyler Beede(RHP)- 0.1 IP, 1 H, 5 R, 3 BB, HBP, 1 K.  ERA= 4.95.
Kyle Crick(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.98.

Rough start for Beede, who seemed to have control issues.  A clean inning for Kyle Crick!  2 appearances in a row with 0 BB's.  He has 4 K's in those 2 games.  A definite sign of progress!

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High A  San Jose Giants extinguished the Bakersfield Blaze 9-1:

Christian Arroyo(SS)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .329.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 3 for 5, HR(7).  BA= .282.
Brian Ragira(DH)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .248.
Brandon Bednar(3B)- 2 for 4, HR(2), BB.  BA= .239.
Chase Johnson(RHP)- 6.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K's, GO/AO= 9/2.  ERA= 2.77.

I don't know if Arroyo will get an August callup to Richmond, but it would be good to give him a head start on next season's assignment.  On the other hand, it would be good for him to finish this season strong in high A ball too.  The Giants have depth in the organization to make a trade or two at the deadline.  I would point to Chase Johnson as exhibit A.

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Low A  Augusta Greenjackets edged out the Delmarva Shorebirds 5-4 in 10 innings:

Johneshwy Fargas(CF)- 2 for 5, SB(52).  BA= .282.
Will Callaway(3B)- 3 for 5, 3B.  BA= .271.
Dylan Davis(RF)- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .238.
Michael Santos(RHP)- 5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 7/1.  ERA= 1.54.
Tyler Cyr(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.96.

Davis has a 4 game hit streak in which he is 9 for 18 with 2 2B and a HR.  Speaking of depth, nice to have Santos back putting up solid pitching lines.

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Short Season  Hillsboro Hops topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 4-3:

Logan Webb(RHP)- 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 9/3.  ERA= 4.00.

Volcanoes somehow scored 3 runs on just 2 hits.

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Rookie AZL  D'Backs outscored the Giants 11-7:

Nathanael Javier(3B)- 4 for 5.  BA= .185.
Jean Angomas(PR-RF)- 2 for 4.  BA= .174.
Zach Bowers(Catcher)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .138.
Jake Dunning(RHP)- 4 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 2.70.
Grant Watson(LHP)- 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.69.

If you are wondering who Zachary Bowers is, so was I.  24'th round draft pick this year.

Game Wrap 7/26/2015: Giants 4 A's 3

The Giants completed a sweep of their cross Bay rivals by jumping on A's starter Kendall Graveman early then making a 1 run lead stand up over the last 5 innings.  Key Lines:

Angel Pagan- 1 for 4, BB.  BA= .269.  Pagan reached base in his first 2 PA's, then used his speed to stay out of DP's and came around to score both times to account for half of the Giants 4 runs.  He reached base 6 times in 15 PA's for the series.

Matt Duffy- 2 for 4, HR(9).  BA= .302.  Matt Duffy drove in 3 of the Giants 4 runs.  He continues to make a lot of things look silly such as draft and prospect rankings, big longterm FA contracts and trades for suspect veterans to fill holes.  The Duffman has the 3'rd highest fWAR of MLB rookies in a strong year for rookies and is forcing his way into the conversation for ROY.  Matt Duffy!

Buster Posey- 4 for 4, 2B.  BA= .328.  Buster is now 6'th in MLB in BA, 4'th in the NL.  He is also 3'rd in the NL in fWAR at 4.4.  Bryce Harper continues to lead with 6.0.

Brandon Belt- 2 for 4.  BA= .280.  Belt was 5 for 12 in the 3 game series.  He is hitting .375 over his last 7 games and .327 over his last 15.

Tim Hudson- 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.80.  A shaky 5 innings for Timmy against his old team, but he completed 5 to get the W.  Are the Giants looking for a SP at the trade deadline, to replace Huddy in the rotation?

George Kontos- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.46.  Kontos' terrific season continues.  Where would the Giants be without him?  Does he deserve to be in the conversation for team MVP?

Santiago Casilla- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, Save(26).  ERA= 2.97.  Another torture Save.  I still think the Giants biggest need at the trade deadline is a shutdown closer, but Casilla seems to keep getting the Saves, if in heart attack inducing fashion.

The Win cut the Giants deficit in the NL West to just 1 game behind the Dodgers.  So much for Dave Cameron's prediction on Fangraphs that the Dodgers would put the NL West race to bed by the trade deadline or by the All-Star break, I don't remember which, but boo Dave Cameron.  Wrong again!  I realize the Dodgers could pull away at any time.  The Giants have a very tough schedule in August, out right now, they are putting serious heat on the Dodgers and they finally  have both Hunter Pence and Nori Aoki healthy.  The Giants lead in the race for the second Wild Card playoff spot grew to 2.5 games over the Cubs.

The Giants now start a 3 game home series against the Milwaukee Brewers with another ROY candidate, Chris Heston, facing Kyle Lohse in game 1 tonight.

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Down on the Farm: 7/25/2015

I 'm going to do a very abbreviated version of Saturday's minor league highlights to get caught up.  I'll start posting regular versions of Sunday's games in the morning.  

Nori Aoki(AAA)- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .231.  Hopefully this gives Aoki some traction in his rehab assignment.

Ricky Oropesa(AA)- Hits his 12'th HR the day after hitting his 11'th.

DJ Snelton(Low A)- 7.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 2.38.  Snelton continues his dominance since getting sent down to Augusta.

Game Wrap 7/25/2015: Giants 2 A's 1

Madison Bumgarner has gotten the Cain treatment at times this season, but he took matters into his own hands with his 3'rd HR of the season to help his own cause.  With the help of the bullpen, he got the W and took Game 2 of the interleague series against their cross Bay rivals.  Key Lines:

Joe Panik- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .315.  Panik's double set up the winning run as Matt Duffy followed with the RBI single.

Matt Duffy- 1 for 3.  BA= .299.  The hit drove in the winning run.

Madison Bumgarner- 1 for 2, HR(3).  BA= .256.  It's definitely no fluke.  Bummy is a heckuva hitter.

Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.40.  Romo got the 8'th inning in a 1 run game and held the lead.

Santiago Casilla- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Save(25).  ERA= 3.06.  Not a clean appearance and a bit of torture, but ultimately saved the game.

The Win got the Giants to 2 games behind the NL West leading Dodgers who lost to the Mets.  The Giants also expanded their lead over the Cubs to 1.5 games for the last Wild Card Playoff spot.

Tim Hudson tries to finish off the sweep on Sunday afternoon facing Kendall Graveman.

Down on the Farm: 7/24/2015

AAA  Sacramento River Cats defeated the Albuquerque Isotopes 7-2:

Nori Aoki- 0 for 4.  BA= .100.
Everth Cabrera(SS)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .333.
Kelby Tomlinson(3B)- 2 for 4, BB, SB(5).  BA= .306.
Adam Duvall(1B)- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .274.
Jarrett Parker(RF)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .257.
Clayton Blackburn(RHP)- 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.84.
Josh Osich(LHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Aoki seems to need a little more rehab.  Giants seem to be grooming Kelby Tomlinson for the role they envisioned for Matt Duffy this year.  Osich not sulking after being sent down to make room for Affeldt.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels downed the Erie Seawolves 4-1:

Hunter Cole(RF)- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(1).  BA= .311.
Ricky Oropesa(1B)- 1 for 3, HR(11), BB.  BA= .262.
Adlaberto Mejia(LHP)- 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 2.58.
Kyle Crick(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.04.

A dominant start for Mejia.  Not quite a clean inning for Cricky, but any appearance from him with no walks is a plus.

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High A San Jose Giants edged out the Bakersfield Blaze 2-1:

Ty Ross(Catcher)- 2 for 2, BB.  BA= .232.
Martin Agosta(RHP)- 3.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.44.
Christian Jones(LHP)- 3.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.74.

Not sure why Agosta was lifted early.  Pitch count?

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Low A  Augusta Greenjackets pounded the Greenville Drive 8-3:

Johneshwy Fargas(CF)- 1 for 3, 2 BB, SB(49).  BA= .281.
Aramis Garcia(Catcher)- 2 for 3.  BA= .273.
Chuckie Jones(LF)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .250.
Dylan Davis(RF)- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(4).  BA= .222.
Mark Reyes(LHP)- 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.42.
Rodolfo Martinez(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.00.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes outscored the Eugene Emeralds 6-5:

Steven Duggar(RF)- 2 for 5, Assist(3B).   BA= .284
Ronnie Jebavy(CF)- 1 for 3, 2 BB, SB(12).  BA= .250.
Andrew Suarez(LHP)- 3.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.84.
Luis Pino(RHP)- 3.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Caleb Smith(RHP)- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(3).  ERA= 2.53.

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Rookie AZL  Giants beat the Padres 7-3:

Roger Edwards(LF)- 3 for 5, SB(4).  BA= .200.
Kevin Rivera(2B)- 1 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .318.
Nick Gonzalez(LHP)- 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Deiyerbert Bolivar(LHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Bolivar's successful stateside debut is the big news here.

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DSL  Rockies topped the Giants 11-7:

Juan Rodriquez(CF, 20 yo)- 4 for 5, 2B.  BA= .348.
Francisco Medina(3B, 17 yo)- 2 for 5.  BA= .275.
Hengerber Medina(RHP, 20 y)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.54.

Game Wrap July 24, 2015: Giants 9 A's 3

This series set up as a big one for the Giants.  They came in hot winning 8 of their previous 9 games.  The A's came in fresh off throwing in the towel on the season with the Scott Kazmir trade.  So why is this a big series for the Giants?  Despite the Giants recent Bay Area dominance, at least in terms of postseason success, the A's always seem to manage to put a big hurt on them in their interleague series over the past few seasons.  At least that is how I recall it without having the W-L numbers in front of me.

In the opening game of the weekend series, the Giants jumped all over Jesse Chavez and kept adding on to make easy work for Jake Peavy and the bullpen.  Key Lines:

Angel Pagan- 3 for 4, BB.  BA= .273.  Pagan has been struggling, so this was a welcome game from him.  Although he once again did not show his trademark gap power, getting on base 4 of 5 times as the leadoff batter helped set the table for hitters with more power.

Matt Duffy- 2 for 5.  BA= .299.  Duffy continues to be a tough out while improving daily on D at 3B.

Buster Posey- 3 for 4, SF, SB(2).  BA= .323.  Buster is starting to look like  contender for NL MVP and with the top 3 batters getting on base ahead of him, he's just cleaning up those Ribeyes!

Hunter Pence- 4 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .311.  Pence continues to be a transformative presence in the lineup.  He not only contributes his own stat line, but he makes the hitters around him better too.

Brandon Belt- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .277.  It's felt like a quiet season for Belt, but when you look at his stat line, it's not bad at all.

Jake Peavy= 6 IP, 5 H 3 R, 0 BB, 2 K, GO/AO= 11/2.  ERA= 4.86.  I don't know how much confidence I would have in Peavy facing another team's ace, but he's been a steady producer of QS's which is a positive development.

Bullpen- 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  1 scoreless IP each from Kontos and Strickland.  Javier and Vogelsong split the 9'th inning in a non-Save situation.

The Win was the Giants 9'th in 10 games.  They maintained their 3 game deficit to the NL West leading Dodgers who bet the Mets 7-2.  They are 0.5 games ahead of the Cubs in the race for the second Wild Card playoff spot.

Madison Bumgarner tries to keep the train rolling against second year pitcher, though technically still a rookie, Chris Bassitt who is 0-3 despite a sub-3.00 ERA.

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Blogger's Note

I am on a road trip to Bay Area to help my daughter run the SF Marathon.  I will be back Sunday evening and will try to do some catch up posts then.

Friday, July 24, 2015

Down on the Farm: 7/23/2015

AAA  El Paso Chihuahuas nipped the Sacramento River Cats 5-2:

Kevin Frandsen(3B)- 3 fo 4, 2B.  BA= .298.
Tommy Hanson(RHP)- 7 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 6.41.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels defeated the Erie Seawolves 4-3:

Engel Beltre(CF)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .311.
Hunter Cole(RF)- 4 for 5, 2B.  BA= .302.
Myles Schroder(LF)- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .252.
Matt Gage(LHP)- 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.64.

Gage backs up his successful AA debut with another QS, so he probably is not going anywhere after what was supposed to be a temporary call up for a spot start.

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High A  Bakersfield Blaze outscored the San Jose Giants 8-5:

Daniel Carbonell(LF)- 3 for 5, HR(2).  BA= .307.
Keury Mella(RHP)- 6 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 3.32.

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Low A  Augusta Greenjackets beat the Greenville Drive 4-3:

Johneshwy Fargas(CF)- 2 for 3, HBP, 2 SB(48).  BA= .280.
Dylan Davis(RF)- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(2).  BA= .205.
Chris Johnson(RHP)- 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 5.26.
Dusten Knight(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.76.
Carlos Diaz(LHP)- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.98.

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Short Season Eugene Emeralds topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 2-1:

Ronnie Jebavy(CF))- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(10).  BA= .248.
Michael Connolly(RHP)- 6.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 11/3.  ERA= 2.95.

3 QS in a row, last 2 with 0 ER allowed for Connolly with 19 K's against just 2 BB in 18.2 IP.

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Rookie AZL  Brewers blanked the Giants 1-0:

Tyler Brown(2B)- 2 for 4.  BA= .333.
Dillon Dobson(1B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .239.
Ricky Romero(LHP)- 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.57.

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DSL  Giants downed the Mariners 6-4:

Manuel Geraldo(2B, 18 yo)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .311.
Norwith Gudino(RHP, 19 yo)- 5 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.64.
Luis Amaya(LHP, 16 yo)- 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.45.

Amaya has 15 K's against just 1 BB in 9.2 IP, over his last 3 appearances.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Down on the Farm: July 22, 2015

AAA  El Paso Chihuahuas savaged the Sacramento River Cats 15-2:

Nori Aoki(LF)- 0 for 3.  BA= .167.
Juan Perez(RF)- 2 for 4, 3B.   BA= .244.
Chris Stratton(RHP)- 4.1 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.25.

Aoki will be activated for Friday's game against the A's.  Stratton allowed a run in each of the first 2 innings then seemed to settle down for a couple of innings before the wheels fell off in the 5'th.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels defeated the Akron Rubber Ducks 5-3

Kelvin Marte(LHP)- 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.14.
Tyler Mizenko- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.56.

I guess you could say Marte was effectively wild.  Mizenko allowed an inherited runner to score unearned to blow the Save, but then got the W.

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High A  San Jose Giants were idle.

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Low A Augusta Greenjackets swarmed over the Greenville Drive 11-3:

Johneshwy Fargas(CF)- 2 for 4, BB, SB(46).  BA= .277.
Jonah Arenado(3B)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .267.
Chuckie Jones(RF)- 2 for 3, HR(1), BB.  BA= .250.
Andrew Cain(LF)- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(7), BB.  BA= .196.
Pat Young(RHP)- 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 9/1.  ERA= 3.23.
Tyler Cyr(RHP)- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.23.

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Short Season Tri-Cities Dust Devils topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 4-2:

John Riley(1B)- 3 for 4.  BA= .184.
Cory Tayler(RHP)- 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 1.53.

Taylor, the Giants 8'th round draft pick, has 28 K's in 17.2 IP with 6 BB's and a GO/AO= 2.14.

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Rookie AZL  Royals edged out the Giants 6-5:

Mikey Edie(CF)- 2 for 3, HBP, SB(7).  BA= .279.
Jordan Johnson(RHP)- 4.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 1.54.
Dylan Brooks(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.00.

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DSL  Mariners pounded the Giants 13-5:

Robert Antunez(2B, 19 yo)- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .326.
Francisco Medina(3B, 17 yo)- 2 for 5.  BA= .271.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Game Wrap 7/22/2015: Giants 7 Padres 1

Matt Cain had a vintage performance and the Giants offense came to life against the Padres bullpen in the late innings to get him the Win.  Key Lines:

Joe Panik- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .316.  Strangely, Panik did not figure in the scoring despite getting on base 3 times.  He's on a pace for something like 190 hits.

Buster Posey- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .318.  Buster broke a 1-1 tie in the 7'th inning with a 2 run double, past a diving Matt Kemp in the RF corner, then came around to score on  Hunter Pence's single.

Brandon Belt- 1 for 3, HR(10), 2 BB, SB(5).  BA= .275.  Belt got the Giants on the board and guaranteed Matt Cain would not lose the game 1-0 with a long HR to straightaway CF.   He has a 4 game hit streak and has 5 BB's for an OBP of .529 in that span.  Belt has really run hot and cold this year, but is hitting .321 for the month of July and has the 9'th highest fWAR of all MLB starting 1B.

Brandon Crawford- 1 for 4, HR(14), BB.  BA= .266.  Crawford is closing in on a 20 HR season.  If you are looking for a sell high candidate, Crawford would be my top choice.  The Giants are just not a sell-high organization, and who's to argue with them?

Matt Cain- 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 1/8.  ERA= 4.09.  It was vintage Matt Cain as he was able to successfully elevate the FB against the Padres even if it did not have the old velocity.  If Cain can pitch like this more often than like his last start, the Giants will be in good shape for the stretch run.

The Win enabled the Giants to remain 2.5 games behind the Dodgers who beat the Braves 3-1.  The Giants gained 0.5 games on the Cubs and now trail in the race for the second Wild Card playoff berth by 0.5 games.

The Giants get a day off before starting a homestand against the crosstown rival Oakland A's with Jake Peavy facing Jesse Chavez on Friday night.

Down on the Farm: 7/21/2015

AAA  El Paso Chihuahuas defeated the Sacramento River Cats 6-3:

Nori Aoki(LF)- 1 for 3.  BA= .333.
Ryan Lollis(CF)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .355.
Mac Williamson(RF)- 2 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .256.
Ty Blach(LHP)- 6 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.17.

Aoki starts rehab assignment.  Expect he will be back in SF on Friday.  Welcome back to Mac Williamson after a 2 week stint on Team USA.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels blanked the Akron Rubber Ducks 8-0:

Engel Beltre(CF)- 2 for 5.  BA= .310.
Rando Moreno(SS)- 1 for 2, 3 BB, SB(9).  BA= .296.
Mitch Delfino(3B)- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .252.
Austin Slater(2B)- 3 for 4.  BA= .307.
Joan Gregorio(RHP)- 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.61.
Kyle Crick(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.10.

Gregorio started this game.  Crick used 21 pitches in a scoreless inning.  Progress?

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High A  San Jose Giants downed the Lancaster Jethawks 10-2:

Brandon Bednar(3B)- 2 for 4, 2 2B, BB.  BA= .235.
Christian Arroyo(SS)- 1 for 3, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .333.
Tyler Horan(RF)- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(11).  BA= .245.
Seth Harrison(CF)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .249.
John Polonius(2B)- 2 for 4, 3B, BB.  BA= .223.
Ray Black(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.86.
Luis Ysla(LHP)- 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 6.27.

Horan has 4 dingers in his last 6 games and is hitting .438 over his last 10.  Black used 30+ pitches in his one inning.  Ysla has allowed just 2 R in 14 IP with 4 BB, and 20 K's over his last 4 appearances.

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Low A  Augusta Greenjackets were idle.

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Short Season  Tri-Cities Dust Devils outscored the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 15-8:

Steven Duggar(CF)- 3 for 5, SB(1).  BA= .293.
Chris Shaw(1B)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .286.
Miguel Gomez(DH)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .374.
Jose Vizcaino, Jr.(3B)- 2 for 5, HR(4).  BA= .349.
Nolan Riggs(RHP)- 4 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.25.

NWL is a hitter's league but some interesting performances from Giants draftees so far, especially my man, Vizcaino.

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Rookie AZL  Giants beat the A's 5-3:

Dillon Dobson(1B)- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .238.
Phil Bickford(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 5.40.
Jake Dunning(RHP)- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.50.

*********************************************************************************

DSL  Giants pounded the Orioles2 8-4:

Mecky Coronado(DH, 18 yo)- 2 for 5.  BA= .379.
Francisco Medina(3B, 17 yo)- 3 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .266.
Jose Rivero(SS, 17 yo)- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .216.
Raffi Vizcaino(RHP, 19 yo)- 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 1.54.

Game Wrap 7/21/2015: Giants 9 Padres 3

The Giant broke out the longball while Chris Heston allowed just a broken bat single, 2 BB's and an HBP over 7.1 IP and the Giants crushed the Pathetic Padres at AT&T Park South.  Key Lines:

Hunter Pence- 2 for 4, HR(5).  BA= .295.  Pence started the scoring with an extra long ball that went well beyond the deepest part of the ballpark in left-CF.  I've watched a lot of Petco games and I don't remember seeing a HR to that area before, let alone one that went way beyond the fence.  This one never got very high off the ground either.  Baggs reported that exit velocity was l13 MPH.  Pence has always been able to put a charge into the ball, but he has added a considerable amount of upper body muscle this year.

Brandon Crawford- 3 for 4, HR(13).  BA= .266.  The Giants have hit 6 grand slams this year, but I think this was just the second 3-run dinger of the season for the entire team.  It put the Giants up 5-0 and with the way Heston was pitching, you had to be feeling pretty good about the outcome at that point.  This one would not have been out of the park in it's original configuration.

Hector Sanchez- 1 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .194.  The Padres intentionally walked Gregor Blanco to load the bases for Hector Sanchez, so if he admired this mammoth shot for just a second or two, you really can't blame him.  Dale Thayer took exception and met Hector in front of first base flinging his gum at Hector close enough that some spittle might have sprayed him.  Later in the game, after he grounded out to first base, another Padres pitcher started jawing at Hector and both benches ended up emptying.  No punches thrown, just a bunch of dancing and standing around.

I've always thought Hector should be more of a power hitter, but he's been in protect mode from the beginning of every AB for a couple of years now.  Maybe this is a sign that he's going to take some harder swings earlier in the count?  That would be a good thing, IMO.

Chris Heston- 7.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.18.  Hesto Presto's stuff was working in this game.  He took a perfecto into the 5'th inning when he hit Matt Kemp with a pitch.  The only hit was a broken bat bloop single by Melvin Upton, Jr.  Heston lowered his ERA below Madison Bumgarner's on the season and he's looking mighty comfortable out there on the mound.

The Win cut the Dodgers lead in the NL West to 2.5 games.  The Giants remain 1 game behind the Cubs in the race for the final Wild Card playoff spot.

Matt Cain tries to finish off a series win this afternoon facing James Shields.

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Down on the Farm: 7/20/2015

AAA  Sacramento River Cats defeated the El Paso Chihuahuas 5-4:

Nik Turley(LHP)- 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 4.89.

6 hitless IP for Turley.  He has an ERA of 3.83 over his last 10 starts with 7 QS.  He's a 6'4", 195 lb lefty who is still just 25 years old.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Akron Rubber Ducks 4-3:

Rando Moreno(SS)- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .289.
Hunter Cole(RF)- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .278.
Tyler Beede(RHP)- 6 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, GO/AO- 8/5.  ERA= 3.95.

Beede also hit 2 batters and was charged with a WP.

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High A  San Jose Giants outlasted the Lancaster Jethawks 5-4 in 11 innings:

Angel Villalona(1B)- 1 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .289.
Brian Ragira(DH)- 2 for 5, HR(8).  BA= .243.
Ty Ross(Catcher)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .224.
Tyler Rogers(RHP)- 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.66.
Christian Jones(LHP)- 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.95.
Jake Smith(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.71.

Villalona has 11 BB against 15 K's in 83 AB since moving down to SJ.  I wonder if Christian Jones will get  a chance to start at some point?

*********************************************************************************

Low A  Augusta Greenjackets downed the Hickory Crawdads 3-1:

Johneshwy Fargas(CF)- 0 for 4.  BA= .274.
Aramis Garcia(Catcher)- 1 for 4, HR(14).  BA= .268.
Jonah Arenado(3B)- 2 for 4.  BA= .265.
Sam Coonrod(RHP)- 8 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 12/3.  ERA= 2.45.
Carlos Diaz(LHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(2).  ERA= 2.06.

Fargas is in a brutal slump.  0 for his last 10, 2 for his last 24, .167 BA over his last 10 games.  Same Coonrod has 8 QS over his last 10 starts and pitched 5.2 shutout innings in one other game.  He has a 1.39 ERA over that span.  Probably needs to be challenged at a higher level.  Giants may be gun-shy about a promotion from Augusta to SJ after their experience with Jose Reyes.

********************************************************************************

Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes outscored the Tri-City Dust Devils 8-5:

Steven Duggar(CF)- 3 for 5, 3B.  BA= .271.
Chris Shaw(1B)- 2 for 5, HR(4).  BA= .274.
CJ Hinojosa(SS)- 2 for 5, 2B, HR(1).  BA= .261.
Shilo McCall(LF)- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(4).  BA= .283.
Logan Webb(RHP)- 1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 3.12.
Mac Marshall(LHP)- 3.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.12.
Ryan Halstead(RHP)- 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.31.

Maybe Shilo McCall is finally finding some traction?  He is hitting .333 with 3 dingers over his last 10 games.

*********************************************************************************

Rookie AZL  Giants were idle.

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DSL  Giants pounded the Orioles2 10-4:

Jose Rivero(SS, 17 yo)- 2 for 3, 2B, BB, SB(2).  BA= .202.
Jose Patino(CF, 17 yo)- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .261.
Melvin Adon(RHP, 21 yo)- 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 2.98.
Luis Amaya(LHP, 16 yo)- 3.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 1.59.

Monday, July 20, 2015

Game Wrap 7/20/2015: Padres 4 Giants 2

Tim Hudson struggled through 4+ innings and the Giants could not muster enough offense to pick hymn up as their 6 game winning streak came to an end.  Key Lines:

Joe Panik- 2 for 4.  BA= .317.  The hit machine keeps on purring.  Panik started string of 3 consecutive 2-out singles to tie the game in the top of the 5'th inning with Buster Posey getting the RBI single to cap it off.

Gregor Blanco- 1 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .304.  Blanco got the Giants on the board with a line drive over the RF wall.  Not easy to do.  He does not seem to go into slumps after hitting HR's anymore.  Hopefully that pattern continues.

Tim Hudson- 4 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.76.  Huddy couldn't hit the broadside of a barn with his FB, especially in the first inning. He was also working with an ump who did not seem to have a clear mental picture of the strike zone, but that was the case for both pitchers.  He did show a hard, tight, snapping slider we had not been seeing, so if he can get the FB under control, his next start might be pretty good.  With one more start before the trade deadline, that may be the only chance Huddy gets to stay in the rotation for the stretch run.

Yusmeiro Petit did a good job of pitching out of a no-out, bases loaded jam that Huddy left in the 5'th inning, but he gave up another run in the 6'th that probably put the game out of reach.  Vogey mopped up with 2 scoreless innings of work.  Those two are probably auditioning for a single long relief role down the stretch.

The Loss cost the Giants a  chance to move up on the Dodgers as the bad guys lost to the Braves 7-5 to remain 3.5 games in front of the NL West.  The Cubs also lost so the Giants remain 1 game behind in the race for the second Wild Card Playoff spot.

Chris Heston tries to get the Giants back in the Win column tomorrow evening facing Odrisamer Despaigne who doesn't seem to pitch well against anyone but the Giants.

Down on the Farm: 7/19/2015

AAA  Sacramento River Cats outscored the Tacoma Rainiers 7-6:

Ryan Lollis(1B-RF)- 2 for 4, HBP.  BA= .352.
Kelby Tomlinson(2B)- 1 for 3, HR(2), BB, Sac.  BA= .319.
Adam Duvall(3B-1B)- 2 for 5, 2 HR(23).  BA= .275.
Darren Ford(CF)- 2 for 2, 2 BB, 2 SB(21).  BA= .267.
Clayton Blackburn(RHP)- 6 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA=  3.97.
Mike Broadway(RHP)- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(8).  ERA= 1.03.

Blackburn has allowed 80 Hits in 65.2 IP this season.  For comparison, Chris Heston in 2014 allowed 152 Hits in 173 IP.  Blackburn's BAA= .300. Heston's in 2014 was .286.

*********************************************************************************

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels defeated the Altoona Curve 6-3:

Engel Beltre(CF)- 2 for 5, 2B, 3B.  BA= .306.
Hunter Cole(RF)- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .265.
Austin Slater(2B)- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .299.
Joe Biagini(RHP)- 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.91.
Kyle Crick(RHP)- 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 3.17.

*********************************************************************************

High A San Jose Giants edged out the Lancaster Jethawks 3-2:

Angel Villalona(1B)- 1 for 3, HR(6), SF.  BA= .269.
Chase Johnson(RHP)- 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 2.87.

Someone on Covechatter's blogroll had Johnson hitting 95 MPH in every inning.  In his last 4 starts, Johnson has a 1.26 ERA in 24.1 IP with 6 BB and 31 K's.  Should we be considering Chase Johnson a top tier pitching prospect?

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Low A Augusta Greenjackets beat the Hickory Crawdads 4-1:

Aramis Garcia(Catcher)- 2 for 3, 2B, SF.  BA= .269.
Dylan Davis(RF)- 1 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .210.
Michael Santos(RHP)- 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.35.
Dusten Knight(RHP)- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(1).  ERA= 1.84.

*********************************************************************************

Short Season  Tri-Cities Dust Devils topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 5-4:

Miguel Gomez(3B)- 2 for 4.  BA= .368.
Shilo McCall(LF)- 2 for 3, 2B, 3B, BB.  BA= .263.
Andrew Suarez(LHP)- 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB,  1 K.  ERA= 0.00.
Luis Pino(RHP)- 3.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Eric Sim(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.45.

*********************************************************************************

Rookie AZL  Giants downed the Mariners 3-2:

Everth Cabrera(SS)- 0 for 1, 2 BB.  BA= .000.
Byron Murray(LF)- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .271.
Nick Gonzalez(LHP)- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Eury Sanchez(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, Save(1).  ERA= 1.17.

Gonzalez and Sanchez are both in Arizona on rehab assignments.  Everth Cabrera too as he makes his Giants organizational debut.

*********************************************************************************

DSL Giants were idle.

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According to BA's Transactions list, the Giants signed 12'th round draft pick Hector Santiago, SS.  They also released Ryan Bradley, Guillermo Quiroz, Ryan Jones, Ronny Cedeno, Brett Jackson and Brennan Metzger.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Game Wrap 7/19/2015: Giants 2 D'Backs 1

Madison Bumgarner needed help early from the bullpen, but Giants pitchers held the Dangerous D'Backs offense to just 1 run while the offense scored 2.  Key Lines;

Joe Panik- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .315.  More of the same from the Giants All -Star 2B.  

Hunter Pence- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .298.  Pence has a knack and this is a different team with him in the lineup.

Justin Maxwell- 1 for 4, HR(7).  BA= .216.  Maxwell is hitting .286 over his last 7 games, so I don't think he is going anywhere soon.  He hit another ball that Kuip clearly thought was going out, but was caught at the fence in right-CF.  He also made a terrific running, diving catch in left-center to save at least a hit if not more.

Madison Bumgarner- 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.27.  Taking Bummy out after 5 innings in a game he was leading raised some eyebrows.  Word is it was just his pitch count of 93, but Bummy is usually good into the 100 and teens.  Hopefully it was just Bochy recognizing when a guy needed a break.

George Kontos- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.58.  Kontos 2 shutout innings were critical in this one and he's become a real go-to guy in the pen.

Santiago Casilla- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, Save(24).  ERA= 3.15.  No K's but Casilla had a relatively uneventful Save.

The Win completed a sweep of the Dangerous D'Backs and left the Giants 3.5 games behind the NL West leading Dodgers who blanked Max Scherzer and the Nationals 5-0 behind Zack Greinke whose  scoreless innings streak is now at 43 IP.  The Giants also maintained their 1 game deficit to the Cubs in the Wild Card race. 

The Giants now move on to soggy Southern California to face the Pesky Padres in Petco Park.   Tim Hudson comes off the DL to pitch game 1 tomorrow evening.  Bets on who gets sent out?  I'll wager Machi or Petit. 

Down on the Farm: 7/18/2015

AAA Tacoma Rainiers outscored the Sacramento River Cats 6-5 in 10 innings:

Hector Sanchez(Catcher)- 2 for 3, SF.  BA= .280.
Trevor Brown(PR-Catcher)- 1 for 1, 2B.  BA= .295.
Jarrett Parker(LF)- 1 for 4, HR(14), BB.  BA= .260.
Tommy Hanson(RHP)- 5 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 7.11.
Jeremy Affeldt(LHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K,  GO/AO= 4/0.  ERA= 0.00.

Hector Sanchez left the game early, presumably to catch a flight to Phoenix to replace the injured Andrew Susac.  Hector is hitting .400 over his last 10 games raising his BA from .225 in that span.  Tommy Hanson does not seem to be getting much traction in AAA.  Affeldt's rehab seems to be right on schedule.  Is Trevor Brown the 3'rd string catcher until Susac recovers?

*********************************************************************************

AA  Altoona Curve defeated the Richmond Flying Squirrels 4-2:

Rando Moreno(SS)- 3 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .291.
Engel Beltre(CF)- 1 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .302.
Adalberto Mejia(LHP)- 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.82.

Moreno keeps hanging in there with the bat.  QS for Mejia.

*********************************************************************************

High A  San Jose Giants downed the Lancaster Jethawks 4-1:

Daniel Carbonell(LF)- 1 for 4, SB(7).  BA= .310.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 1 for 4, HR(5).  BA= .286.
Tyler Horan(RF)- 1 for 2, HR(10), BB. BA= .233.
Seth Harrison(CF)- 2 for 3, HR(3).  BA= .247.
Jason Forjet(RHP)- 6 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.73.

Horan has hit 3 dingers in 3 games.  Forjet has allowed 1 ER in 13 IP with 12 K's and 1 BB over his last 2 starts.  His season line includes 46 K's against just 6 BB's in 52.2 IP.  Maybe another sleeper pitching prospect in the system?

*********************************************************************************

Low A  Hickory Crawdads shut out the Augusta Greenjackets 3-0:

DJ Snelton(LHP)- 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 2.58.

This was Snelton's 5'th QS in a row.  His line over those 5 starts is 2-0, 1.32, 34 IP, 8 BB, 44 K's.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes smothered the Tri-Cities Dust Devils 1-0:

Kevin Rivera(2B)- 2 for 4.  BA= .286.
Michael Connolly(RHP)- 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K's, GO/AO= 9/0.  ERA= 3.55.
Cory Taylor(RHP)- 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 1.85.

Taylor is a 6'2", 250 lb pitcher drafted in the 8'th round this year out of Dallas Baptist.  He has 22 K's in 14.2 IP, with 5 BB's for S-K so far.

*********************************************************************************

Rookie AZL  Giants blanked the D'Backs 3-0:

Kelvin Beltre(2B)- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .281.
Jean Angomas(RF)- 2 for 4, HR(1), SB(1).  BA= .133.
Ricky Romero(LHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.50.
Stetson Woods(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.14.
Charles Owen(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 5.40.
Jose Morel(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.68.

Carmot will be happy when he sees this boxscore and Angomas' line.  Maybe this game will buy him some more PT?  Charles Owen is a 19'th round draft pick from this year.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Game Wrap 7/18/2015: Giants 8 D'Backs 4

The Giants parlayed 13 singles, a triple, 5 walks and a HBP into 8 runs while Jake Peavy and the bullpen held the D'Backs offense at bay.  Key Lines:

Angel Pagan- 2 for 4, SF.  BA= .272.  Pagan looked terrible in last night's game but came back with a decent game at the plate, although he still appeared tentative in the OF.

Joe Panik- 2 for 3, BB, HBP.  BA= .315.  More of the same for Joe Panik who has raised his walk rate and lowered his K rate this season.

Matt Duffy- 3 for 5.  BA= .302.  Running out of things to say about the Duffman.  I guess all you can say is Matt Duffy!

Buster Posey- 3 for 4, BB.  BA= .318.  The top 3 batters in the order on base 9 times in 15 PA's, helping Buster Posey drive in 4 run with his 3 singles.  Talk about keeping the line moving….

Hunter Pence- 1 for 2, 3 BB.  BA= .300.  The top 5 batters in the lineup reached base a combined 17 times in 25 PA's.

Andrew Susac- 1 for 2, 3B.  BA= .241.  Susac's triple was the only XBH of the game.  The Giants he ended up scoring a run on Pagan's SF, but the Giants might be wishing he had stopped at 2B as he sprained his right thumb sliding into 3B.  He will be out at least 7-10 days and will have to go on the DL to make room for Hector Sanchez to be the backup catcher.  According to Baggs, Hector missed some time earlier this season with another concussion.  At least he won't have to catch Timmy for awhile.

Jake Peavy- 6.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.94.  Peavy missed out on a QS when Cliff Pennington hit a PH HR with 1 out in the 6'th prompting Boch to take him out of the game.  Given the ballpark he was pitching in and the team he was pitching against, it is probably would have been a QS in AT&T or against another team.  Peavy has an ERA of 3.20 since his return from the DL.

Hunter Strickland- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.05.  Strickland finished up the 7'th inning then got the first batter of the 8'th.

Sergio Romo- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(1).  ERA= 4.71.  Romo stranded 2 inherited runners from Josh Osich, then pitched the 9'th earning his first Save of the season, probably because by the time the bottom of the 9'th rolled around, it was no longer a Save situation.  I would have predicted at the beginning of the season that Romo would have more than 1 Save by this time.

The Win move the Giants a half game closer to the Dodgers who lost their suspended game from last night and then won the regularly scheduled game agains the Nationals 4-0 behind Clayton Kershaw.  The Giants now trail by 3.5 games and remain 1 game behind the Cubs in the race for the second Wild Card playoff spot.

Madison Bumgarner goes for the series sweep tomorrow afternoon facing lefty Patrick Corbin.

Down on the Farm: 7/17/2015

AAA  Sacramento River Cats outlasted the Tacoma Rainiers 4-3 in 12 innings:

Ryan Lollis(LF-CF)- 5 for 6, 2 2B.  BA= .347.
Kelby Tomlinson(2B)- 2 for 5, Sac.  BA= .313.
Adam Duvall(1B)- 2 for 5, HR(21), HBP.  BA= .271.
Kevin Frandsen(3B)- 2 for 6, 2 SB(3).  BA= .307.
Chris Stratton(RHP)- 8 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 8/3.  ERA= 2.42.
Erik Cordier(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R,  1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.20.
Mike Broadway(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.07.

Stratton continues to rack up QS's in the very tough PCL.  The Giants bullpen is ridiculously deep.  I am pretty sure Cordier and Broadway could help several MLB bullpens right now.

*********************************************************************************

AA Game 1  Richmond Flying Squirrels blanked the Altoona Curve 2-0:

Kelvin Marte(LHP)- 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K, GO/AO= 11/3.  ERA= 2.31.

Marte pitches a complete 7-inning game.

*********************************************************************************

AA Game 2  Richmond Flying Squirrels edged out the Altoona Curve 2-1:

Matt Gage(LHP)- 5 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 8/1.  ERA= 1.80.

Gage gets the 2-step promo from Augusta and has a successful AA debut.

*********************************************************************************

San Jose Giants smothered the Stockton Ports 3-0:

Christian Arroyo(SS)- 2 for 4, 3B. BA= .337.
Tyler Horan(RF)- 1 for 3, HR(9).  BA= .230.
Martin Agosta(RHP)- 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 4.52.

Not sure if Arroyo has anything left to prove in A ball.  It would be nice to give him a head start on AA in the month of August.   On the other hand, August is the dog days back east.  Horan hits a HR in his second consecutive game.  He is hitting .303 over his last 10.  Agosta had his second scoreless start of at least 6 IP in a row and 3'rd of 4.  He has 62 K's against just 7 BB's in 54 IP over his last 10 appearances.  He may be moving up into top 20 Giants prospect consideration again.

*********************************************************************************
Low A  Hickory Crawdads pounded the Augusta Greenjackets 12-1:

Jonah Arenado(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .265.
Richard Rodriguez(2B)- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .750.

Impressed by Arenado's tenacity pulling out of several mini-slumps this season.  Can he hang on for a strong finish?  Richard Rodriguez gets called up from S-K despite hitting just .152 in 33 AB for the Volcanoes.

*********************************************************************************

Short Season  Boise Hawks outscored the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 9-5 in 10 innings:

Steven Duggar(RF)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .258.
Jose Vizcaino(3B)- 2 for 5, HR(3), SB(1).  BA= .370.
Julio Pena(LF)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .323.
Eric Sim(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.63.

*********************************************************************************

Rookie AZL  Giants squeaked by the Dodgers 2-1:

Jordan Johnson(RHP)- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 1.42.
Jake Dunning(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.00.

Giants had just 2 hits and 0 RBI's in this game.  LOL Dodgers!

*********************************************************************************

DSL  Giants pounded the Rojos 10-2:

Juan Rodriguez(LF, 20 yo)- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(2), SB(16).  BA= .352.
Beicker Mendoza(RF, 17 yo)- 1 for 2, 2B.  BA= .298.
Mecky Coronado(DH, 18 yo)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .384.
Sandro Cabrera(LHP, 20  yo)- 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 2.68.
Alejandro De La Rosa(RHP, 20 yo)- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.55.

Gam Wrap 7/17/2015: Giants 6 D'Backs 5

The Giants brought torture back into their vocabulary as they used 10 pitchers to literally outlast the D'Backs in the opening game of the second half pushing across a run in the 12'th inning then making it stand up.  Key Lines:

Joe Panik- 3 for 6, Sac.  BA= .311.  Panik has really settled into a groove.  Lefty, righty, hard-thrower, soft-tosser, doesn't seem to matter.  He just keep stroking that ball.  He continues to show tremendous range at 2B too.

Matt Duffy- 3 for 7, 2B.  BA= .297.  Duffy doesn't look like a bulldog, but he sure is one at the plate.  He might be the toughest out in that lineup and the Giants have become of team of tough outs.  He is just not having that 3'rd strike!

Hunter Pence- 3 for 6, 2B, HR(4).  BA= .296.  Pence is looking noticeably bulked up and so far it seems to be paying off.  When you consider what the Giants were able to accomplish with him on the DL for most of the first half and how much of an impact he makes in the lineup, you have to be feeling bullish on the second half.

Brandon Crawford- 3 for 6, 2 2B.  BA= .267.  Crawford might have needed the All-Star break more than any other Giants position player.  He came out smoking in the first game back.

Matt Cain- 5 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 5.06.  Cainer was not fooling either of the first two batters in the D'Backs lineup, AJ Pollack and David Peralta.  Thank god for Yasmany Tomas, who went 0 for 6 out of the cleanup spot, or this game might have been a route for the D'Backs.  I will say, Cainer's stuff did not look that bad and the strike zone was ridiculous.  I did not recognize the home plate umps name, so he may have been a rook or a fill-in, but wow!  That was bad!  Cainer's FB was 91 MPH and the breaking balls had good movement, but his command was shaky….and the ump.

Sergio Romo- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.94.  Romo looked like the rest did him some good too.  

Santiago Casilla- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.24.  Casilla is a guy who needs his rest and he looked sharp too.

Ryan Vogelsong- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.15.  Vogey was Bruce Bochy's ace in the hole.  He's out of the rotation, but Huddy doesn't need to activated for his turn until next week, so Vogey gave Bochy a 9 man bullpen.  He used all 9 and Vogey being a starter and coming off the 4 day break could have gone 6 or 7 innings if he had to.  He ended up needing to go 2 and came away with the W.

The Win cut the Giants deficit in the NL West to 4 games pending the outcome of the Dodgers suspended game against the Nationals which the Nats lead 3-2.  The Giants also gained a game on the Cubs in the Wild Card race and now trail by 1 game for the second WC spot.  They also put another game of distance between themselves and the 3'rd place D'Backs with the D'Backs now 8 games off the Dodgers pace.

Jake Peavy tries to extend the Giants 4 game win streak this evening against Chase Anderson or the D'Backs.

Friday, July 17, 2015

Blogger's Notice

Sorry, everybody.  I was messing with editing some stuff via my cellphone and hit a wrong button.  That's why a whole bunch of comments got deleted.  No malice or anger.  Just a stupid mistake.

Dr B

Down on the Farm: 7/16/2015

AAA  Sacramento River Cats pounded the Tacoma Rainiers 11-3:

Juan Perez(RF)- 2 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .239.
Hector Sanchez(Catcher)- 2 for 5.  BA= .269.
Ryan Lollis(CF)- 2 for 5.  BA= .326.
Brandon Hicks(2B)- 3 for 4, 2B, 3B, BB.  BA= .444.
Ty Blach(LHP)- 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 8/2.  ERA= 4.23.
Jeremy Affeldt(LHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

*********************************************************************************

AA  Altoona Curve blanked the Richmond Flying Squirrels 5-0:

Edwin Quirarte(RHP)- 4 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.86.
Stephen Johnson(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.51.
Joan Gregorio(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 3.99.
Kyle Crick(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.00.
Tyler Glasnow(RHP, Curve)- 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 2.12.

Glasnow is one of the elite pitching prospects in all of baseball in the Pirates organization.  He was on the DL for a month in May and June, but appears to be fully healthy now.  He has 16 K's against 0 BB's in 13 IP over his last 2 starts in which he has allowed 0 R.

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High A San Jose Giants defeated the Stockton Ports 7-2:

Christian Arroyo(SS)- 2 for 5.  BA= .333.
Daniel Carbonell(LF)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .329.
Tyler Horan(RF)- 1 for 3, HR(8), BB.  BA= .243.
Keury Mella(RHP)- 7 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.09.

Mella took a no-hitter into the 7'th inning when he gave up a solo HR.  His line would indicate that he did not have any of the command issues he showed in the Futures Game which my have been due to some anxiety over pitching in front of a full MLB stadium.

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Low A Greenville Drive beat the Augusta Greenjackets 11-5:

Aramis Garcia(Catcher)- 3 for 5, HR(13).  BA= .268.
Chase Compton(1B)- 1 for 2, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .500.
Tyler Cyr(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Garcia stays hot.  He is hitting .455 over his last 10 games and .344 for the month of July so far.  Chase Compton moves up from S-K.

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Short Season  Boise Hawks topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 11-8:

Ronnie Jebavy(CF)- 2 for 4, BB, 2 SB(7).  BA= .269.
Steven Duggar(RF)- 1 for 3, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .246.
CJ Hinojosa(SS)- 3 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .257.
Nathanael Santiago(RHP)- 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.93.

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Rookie AZL  Angels dominated the Giants 11-4:

Jalen Miler(SS)- 2 for 5, 3B.  BA= .322.
Kelvin Beltre(2B)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .308.
Nathanael Javier(3B)- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .167.
Mikey Edie(CF)- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .271.
Phil Bickford(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 6.00.

With Beltre moving over to 2B, Kevin Rivera did not have a place to play, so he got promoted to Salem-Keizer.  Rivera hit .295 in 44 AB over 15 games in the AZL this season.

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DSL  Giants outscored the Rojos 9-7:

Francisco Medina(3B, 17 yo)- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .258.
Jesus Tona(Catcher, 19 yo)- 2 for 4.  BA= .357.
Hengerber Medina(RHP, 20 yo)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.77.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Down on the Farm: 7/15/2015

AAA  The PCL was idle for the PCL vs IL All-Star Game.

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AA  The EL was idle for the El All-Star Game.

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High A  Stockton Ports pounded the San Jose Giants 9-1:

Ray Black(RHP)- 3.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 2.77.

It was all  or nothing for Ray Black as 9 of the 10 outs he recorded were K's, but 2 of the 3 hits he allowed were HR's.

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Low A  Augusta Greenjackets defeated the Greenville Drive 6-2:

Travious Relaford(SS)- 2 for 4, SF.  BA= .280.
Jonah Arenado(DH)- 2 for 4.  BA= .265.
Jeremy Sy(2B)- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .247.
Will Callaway(3B)- 3 for 4.  BA= .272.
Pat Young(RHP)- 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.23.

Young allows just 1 run in 7 IP in his second consecutive start.  He has 16 K's against just 2 BB's in 14 IP in those 2 appearances.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Boise Hawks 5-4:

Ronnie Jebavy(CF)- 1 for 4, HR(3), HBP.  BA= .257.
Chris Shaw(1B)- 2 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .291.
Jose Vizcaino(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .381.
Logan Webb(RHP)- 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 8/2.  ERA= 3.30.
Mac Marshall(LHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 5.40.

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Rookie AZL  Giants were idle.

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DSL  Giants outscored the Dodgers 7-6.

Nothing to see here.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Mid-Season Q/A

We have a couple of days of downtime here after the All-Star Game.  Good time for a Q/A.  Ask me anything baseball related, State of the Giants, Deadline Trades, Prospects, Fantasy Baseball….I'll do my best to answer.  Challenge questions are OK.  Feel free to chime in with your own answers as I might not be able to answer all of them immediately.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Down on the Farm: 7/14/2015

First a couple of comments about the All-Star Game:

I know his peripheral numbers are still good, but something is not quite right with Clayton Kershaw.

Bummy and Buster hooking up on a scud that went through the wickets was definitely not a good look.

Otherwise the Giants representatives performed OK.

I am very happy to have Jake DeGrom on my fantasy baseball team.

If the Giants make a trade for a shut-down closer, they might as well go all the way and go get Aroldis Chapman.  My goodness!  I would give up the entire farm system for 2 months of watching that guy pitch for MY team!  OK, maybe not the whole farm system, but what would it take?  Get it done, Bobby!

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OK, on to the minors recap.  There were just 1 games played by Giants affiliated minor league teams as most minor leagues got the day off to watch the All-Star Game:

Low A  Greenville Drive outscored the Augusta Greenjackets 7-6:

Travious Relaford(SS)- 2 for 5.  BA= .275.
Aramis Garcia(Catcher)- 4 for 5, 2 HR(12).  BA= .262.
Will Callaway(LF)- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .265.
Sam Coonrod(RHP)- 6 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.69.
Yoan Moncada(2B, Drive)- 2 for 5, HR(3), E(13).  BA= .268.
Michael Chavis(3B, Drive)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .218.

Garcia is red hot, slashing .327/.352/.596 in July after going .282/.386/.494 in June.  Check out a scouting report on Coonrod by Wrenzie linked to the left.  Just checking in on a couple of BoSox prospects of interest to our readership.

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DSL Giants squashed the Dodgers 9-0:

Juan Rodriguez(LF-CF, 20 yo)- 2 for 6, SB(15).  BA= .352.
Sandro Fabian(RF, 17 yo)- 3 for 4.  BA= .271.
Mecky Coronado(DH, 18 yo)- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .392.
Francisco Medina(3B, 17 yo)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .242.
Raffi Vizcaino(RHP)-5.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 1.30.
Luis Amaya(LHP, 16 yo)- 3.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's, Save(2).  ERA= 0.72.

I was getting worried that Amaya's name was coming up too often, but his last appearance was on 7/11.  He has 27 K's and 16 BB's in 25 IP on the season.  This was his first appearance without allowing a BB in awhile.  Still, gotta be excited about what he is doing as a 16 yo.

Down on the Farm: 7/13/2015

AAA  Sacramento River Cats were idle.

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AA  Trenton Thunder defeated the Richmond Flying Squirrels 7-1:

Adalberto Mejia(LHP)- 2.2 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 5 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.78.
Tyler Mizenko(RHP)- 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 4/0.  ERA= 1.78.

Disaster start for Mejia.  Mizenko might be a potential SP candidate.  His season line includes 30.1 IP, 10 B, 18 K's, GO/AO= 3.06.   That GB ratio might not be sustainable over more innings, but is dominant.

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High A  San Jose Giants pounded the Modesto Nuts 8-2:

Daniel Carbonell(LF)- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(6).  BA= .324.
Tyler Horan(RF)- 3 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .229.
Brian Ragira(DH)- 3 for 3, 2B, HBP.  BA= .232.
Luis Ysla(LHP)- 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 6/2.  ERA= 6.88.

Horan is 6 for 10 in his last 3 games and is hitting .286 over his last 10.

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Low A Augusta Greenjackets were idle.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Vancouver Canadians 7-3:

Steven Duggar(CF)- 2 for 5.  BA= .260.
Miguel Gomez(3B)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .352.
Julio Pena(RF0- 2 for 4.  BA= .315.
Luis Pino(RHP)- 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

This was Pino's second appearance since being promoted from Arizona.

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Rookie AZL  Giants edged out the Athletics 5-4:

Jalen Miller(SS)- 2 for 5, 2 2B, 2 SB(6).  BA= .315.
Kelvin Beltre(2B)- 1 for 2, 2B, 3 BB, SB(3).  BA= .273.
Byron Murray(LF)- 2 for 2, 2B, BB, HBP, SB(5).  BA= .288.
Michael Santos(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Andrew Suarez(LHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.80.
Eury Sanchez(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(1).  ERA= 1.59.

I'm going to start calling Miller, Beltre and Murray The 3 Kids.  Love to see them dominating the AZL boxscores!

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DSL  Twins outscored the Giants 9-8:

Juan Rodriguez(CF-RF, 20 yo)- 3 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .352.

Monday, July 13, 2015

Down on the Farm: 7/12/2015

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies defeated the Sacramento River Cats 5-3:

Adam Duvall(1B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .270.
Tommy Hanson(RHP)- 3.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 5.87.
Mike Broadway(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.10.

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AA  Trenton Thunder edged out the Richmond Flying Squirrels 2-1:

Mitch Delfino(3B)- 1 for 2, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .254.
Engel Beltre(CF)- 2 for 3.  BA= .298.
Edwin Quirarte(RHP)- 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, GO/AO= 11/3.  ERA= 3.53.
Kyle Crick(RHP)- 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.06.
Phil McCormick(LHP)- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.72.

In 2 starts, Q has a line of 12 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K's, GO/AO= 18/6.  Cricky is consistently inconsistent.

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High A  San Jose Giants beat the Modesto Nuts 4-1:

Christian Arroyo(SS)- 3 for 5.  BA= .333.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .300.
Tyler Horan(DH)- 2 for 3, 2B, BB, SB(3).  BA= .216.
Brandon Bednar(3B)- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .242.
Jose Reyes(RHP)- 8 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 8.80.
Dan Slania(RHP)- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, Save(13).  ERA= 2.45.

Reyes finally puts up a line befitting his stuff.  Hopefully this is a breakout game for him at this level.

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Low A Augusta Greenjackets outscored the Rome Braves 4-2:

Aramis Garcia(Catcher)- 2 for 4.  BA= .25l.
Jonah Arenado(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .263.
Will Callaway(LF)- 1 for 3, HR(3).  BA= .266.
DJ Snelton(LHP)- 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.05.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes erupted for a 10-5 win over the Vancouver Canadians:

Ronnie Jebavy(CF)- 1 for 4, HBP, SB(5).  BA= .257.
Chase Compton(3B)- 2 for 3, 2 2B, Sac.  BA= .320.
Jose Vizcaino, Jr(DH)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .373.
Fernando Pujadas(Catcher)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .308.
Julio Pena(RF)- 4 for 5, HR(3).  BA= .300.
Shilo McCall(LF)- 1 for 5, HR(3).  BA= .235.
Michael Connolly(RHP)- 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 4.33.

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Rookie AZL  Royals blanked the Giants 2-0:

Scott Price(1B)- 1 for 2, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .600.
Ricky Romero(LHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 9.00.
Stetson Woods(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.65.
Grant Watson(LHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.
Matt Pope(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Scott Price is on a rehab assignment as is Ricky Romero who is trying to make a comeback.

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DSL  Giants were idle.

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Futures Game:

Tyler Beede pitched an inning.  Threw mostly sinkers and cutters.  I saw a couple of 91 MPH.  He reportedly topped out at 92.  Good pitch movement.  A couple of curveballs had nice bite.  Didn't get a good look at a changeup.  Kept hitters off balance.  Gave up 1 hit on a hard hit ball.  Got 1 groundout, 1 pop out, 1 long fly out.

Keury Mella faced 3 batters, gave up 2 line drive hits.  Hit 94 MPH on the gun.  Didn't seem to have much of an idea where the ball was going.  Appeared to be a bit nervous in front of the big crowd.

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Game Wrap 7/12/2015: Giants 4 Phillies 2

Andrew Susac capped a 4 run rally with a 2-out 3-run HR to dead CF to support another excellent start by Chris Heston to complete a sweep of the Phillies to end the official first half of the season.  Key Lines:

Angel Pagan- 3 for 4.  BA= .271.  If you are looking for omens for the second half, look no further than Angel Pagan.  Since Bruce Bochy publicly wondered if he should be playing hurt, Pagan had an excellent series going 7 for 15.  He's hitting an even .300 over his last 10 games.  With a 4 day rest coming up, he should be good for a strong second half and we all know what he can do for this team when he is fully healthy and productive.

Buster Posey- 3 for 4.  BA= .314.  Buster had 3 hard hit singles contrasting with the squibbers and bleeders that got him 3 hits in the previous game.  He still did not look like he felt good running the bases.  I haven't heard anything about him sitting out the All-Star Game, but hopefully he only plays a token inning or two and gets the heck back on the bench.  The 4 days rest for his legs should help him get read for a big second half.

Brandon Crawford- 1 for 3.  BA= .266.  Chad Billingsly had been frustrating the Giants until Crawford smoked a single back up the middle which drove in a run with 2-outs in the 4'th inning which also set up Susac's crusher.

Andrew Susac- 1 for 3, HR(3).  BA= .236.  Susac had the big hit in this game sending a ball just over the CF fence at the 399 ft mark.  Susac has had his struggles but seems to be settling into a backup C role both at the plate and behind it.  He handled the pitching staff with aplomb today.

Chris Heston- 6.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.39.  Heston was masterful through 6.2 IP and should have been out of the 7'th inning but both Blanco and Pagan went to sleep on a towering popup by Ryan Howard into short CF which left Duffy trying to catch it with his back to the plate.  Since there were 2 outs, the runner at first was going all the way and came around to score the Phillies first run.  Howard inexplicably only made it to first base.

Heston has added a nice cutter to his repertoire since the start of the season and has really perfected a very nasty changeup that he uses effectively against LH batters.  He still has razor sharp command of a running two seamer what runs back over the plate when he throws it to his glove side.  Do you know who else did that?  Greg Maddux!  I think it's pretty clear that when Huddy and Timmy come off the DL, it ain't gonna be Hesto Presto going out of the rotation.

Josh Osich- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  Osich is another guy who isn't going anywhere when Jeremy Affeldt comes off the DL.  At least I would hope not!  Osich faced 4 RH batters in this one and absolutely abused them with high heat at 95-96 MPH along with a devastating breaking ball at the back foot and a deadly changeup on the outside corner.  Gotta think it's bye-bye Machi when Affeldt comes back.

Santiago Casilla- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(23).  ERA= 3.34.  If the Giants have just one trade to make for the stretch run, I'm going to say they need a shutdown closer with big game experience.  I just don't think Casilla is that guy and I don't see him on the current roster.  Strickland has the talent to be that guy someday, maybe as soon as next season, but I don't think you can depend on him for this season.

Chad Billingsly- 5 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 6.75.  Billz didn't pitch badly until the pivotal 4'th inning.  The reason why I list him here is his rather odd shape.  He's always had a very heavy bottom half, but in the 2 years since he last pitched, he looks like he might have died and been reincarnated as Ron Cey.  Yeah, he looked downright Penguinesque on the mound today and maybe now we know why he always wore baggy pants when he was a Dodger!  LOL!

The Win kept the Giants 4.5 games behind the Dodgers who came from behind to top the BrewCrew 4-3.  The Giants also stay 2 games behind the Cubs in the race for the final Wild Card Playoff spot.

The Giants now get a 4 day break for the All-Star Game.  Madison Bumgarner, Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and Joe Panik will be participating in the festivities in Cincinnati.  The Giants will start the official second half against the D'Backs in Arizona.  I assume Matt Cain will start the first game of that series.

The Giants got more good news from Nori Aoki who was bouncing around like a young colt before the game.  His timetable is getting shorter by the day and I would not be shocked if he was in the starting lineup Friday in Arizona.  More likely it a full 7-10 days away.  The Giants have to be feeling very bullish about the second half with Pence already looking healthy and Aoki due back very soon.  Cainer and Peavy stay healthy and they are in good, good shape to make a big run in the second half.  Of course you know the Dodgers are going to make a big trade for a frontline starter or two, but %$#& the Dodgers!