Matt Cain pitched what might be his best game in 2-3 years, but predictably got Cained as the Giants offense went from being cold to frozen over. Key Lines:
Kelby Tomlinson- 3 for 3. BA= .319. Kelby is like the Energizer Bunny. He just keeps going and going. It went for naught in this game though as the rest of the Giants offense is parked on the side of the track.
Jarrett Parker- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .250. Not that getting on base twice in 4 PA's is a bad night, but when Parker came to the plate in the 9'th with the bases loaded and two outs, I really thought he had a chance to hit one out. He just had that look in his eye. Kruk and Kuip seemed to think he might hit one out there too. Instead, he was looking FB on the first pitch and got a curve for a strike. He was hacking after that and Osuna seemed to know it. He swung through a high tailing FB that he was trying to pull and then a curveball in the dirt for strike 3.
Giants Offense- Here's my take on what's going on here: 1. Buster Posey has not hit since his foot injury. Is he completely healthy? 2. Ditto Joe Panik. 3. Once again, Pagan is out and takes a dynamic part of the offense with him. 4. Maybe Matt Duffy was too good to be true last year? The league seems to have caught up with him. Can he make the re-adjustment?
So, there you have it. 4 key members of the offense either out or struggling for a variety of reasons, mostly injuries, which is what has always sunk the Giants when they don't play well in the odd seasons, except this is an even season.
Matt Cain- 8 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 6.68. Silver lining. Cain has a dominant start, possibly his best in 2-3 seasons. Of course, he got Cained, but if he's found his groove, the future sure looks a lot brighter. He's gotta do it consistently to feel too confident, but it's a great start.
JA Happ(BJ's)- 8.2 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 2.05. Not complaining at all about Cueto and Samardzija, but Happ was a lower cost option to consider in the offseason and not just because he blossomed under Ray Searage in Pittsburgh. Happ's velocity had been increasing for a couple of years before he landed in Pittsburgh last year, so the tools were there.
*********************************************************************************
The Dodgers beat the Mets 3-2 and the D'Backs topped the Rockies 5-1, so the Giants drop into a 2'nd place tie with the Snakes, 1 game behind the Dodgers. The Rockies are 2 games behind in 4'th place and the Padres lost to the Cubs 8-7 to drop 4 games off the pace.
*********************************************************************************
Madison Bumgarner tries to salvage a game out of the Toronto series today facing the BJ's ace, Marcus Stroman.
*********************************************************************************
A couple of minor league promotions of note: Joan Gregorio gets called up to Sacramento. He's on the 40 man roster, so watch him closely. Andrew Suarez gets the call from San Jose to Richmond.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
First time I've ever been ok with a Caining. I hope this is the start of a trend. His stuff looked good yesterday.
ReplyDeleteMajor bummer that the Giants finally get acceptable pitching from JP and good stuff from MC and can do nothing with it.
ReplyDeleteIt is puzzling to look at the line up and see a lot of averages between .240 and .280 from guys who have always hit above .280.
Do we chalk it up to a spell of bad luck or BABIP gods?
Yeah... Last time I looked, I think Joan was the only 40-man roster minor league starter-path pitcher that was pitching well.
ReplyDeleteI'm really worried about the offense. Except Belt and Pence, nobody is hitting.
But, the bright side is we might not have to give Cain the Old Yeller treatment behind the barn...