The Giants spotted Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers a 2-0 lead in the first inning which is usually game over. Johnny Cueto settled down to throw goose eggs for 7 more innings and the offense tied it up at 2-2 only to have Santiago Casilla give it up on a gofer ball to Justin Turner in the top of the 9'th inning. Key Lines:
Matt Duffy- 1 for 4, HR(3). BA= .237. Duffy got one run back on a dinger off Kershaw in the bottom of the first.
Buster Posey- 1 for 4. BA= .256. Buster Posey was back in the lineup after taking a cortisone shot to reduce inflammation in a nerve in his thumb. He delivered an RBI double in the 6'th inning to tie it up.
Johnny Cueto- 8 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 2.16. Cueto struck out 5 fewer batters than Kershaw, but allowed 2 fewer hits over matching 8 inning starts. The runs were equal. They say you have to get the good one early and 3 of the 4 runs Cueto and Kershaw gave up came in the first inning.
Cueto actually pitched even better than the final line looks like. The first inning started with Chase Utley leaning into a pitch and being awarded first on a HBP. Then Corey Seager was safe on a swinging bunt. A WP move the runners to second and third. Cueto chose to pitch out of a windup and did a double shoulder shimmy that the first base ump called a balk. Needless to say, Cueto and the Giants do not agree with that interpretation. I mean, if you go into a windup, you have to come home with the pitch, right? How are you deceiving the runners if you are committed to making the pitch?
Santiago Casilla- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.96. What can I say? Casilla is just not a reliable pitcher right now. The stuff looks great. Just too many mistakes. Problem is there is nobody else looking like they are ready to step up and take the role. Giants might have to make a trade, but for whom?
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The loss cut the Giants lead over the Dodgers in the NL West to 3 games.
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Jeff Samardzija tries to even the series facing Scott Kazmir in a 4:15 game which means shadows.
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Lots of moves to note:
Kelby Tomlinson sprained his thumb diving for a ball in Wednesday's Red Sox game. He hit the DL and Ramiro Pena was called up to take his place. Sergio Romo went to the 60 day DL to make space on the 40 man roster.
The Giants also signed veteran OF Chris Denorfia to a minor league contract with an obvious eye for bringing him up as a utility OF. Not sure what I think of that. Denorfia has been a thorn in the Giants side over the years, but there's a reason he was available.
The Giants also re-signed Travis Ishikawa to a minor league contract for seemingly the umpteenth time.
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From MLB Trade Rumors -- Top 10 Trade Candidates (May 31st)
ReplyDeleteArodys Vizcaino, RP, Braves — Vizcaino, 25, has been about as dominant as any reliever in baseball. Even if the Braves would like to keep their pen ace around for his three remaining seasons of arbitration eligibility, the Ken Giles deal serves as a reminder of both the value of controllable late-inning arms and their volatility.
Fernando Abad, RP, Twins — This spot probably could have gone to any number of relievers, several of whom are listed below, but I felt that Abad edged the field with his eye-opening work thus far. He’s allowed just a single earned run on 13 hits and five walks in 19 1/3 innings — while racking up 18 strikeouts and posting a career-best 57.1% groundball rate. Plus, he’s a lefty and he’s been effective against hitters from both sides of the plate this year. Additionally, he’s controllable through the 2017 season
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/05/top-ten-trade-candidates.html
Denorfia has 3 homeruns against Kershaw!
ReplyDeleteMaybe if Strickland is given the closer job he'll rise to the occasion. He can't be worse, can he?
Giants saw the best the Dodgers can throw (Kershaw and Jansen) and almost fought to a draw. Bad luck in the first inning or maybe the Giants win that one 2-1.
K & K said that the umps called Cueto's balk a "start and stop" in the windup. Not sure how that is covered in the rules. Perhaps Boch should have protested for misinterpretation of the rule. If they were to get a replay from that call, it can only be as bad (lose), not worse.
Strange isn't it: it's a disadvantage at this moment to be a LHB in the Giants' farm system. Starting 5 LHB of 8 position players against Kershaw may be a first for any team ever.
Grant Green bats right and can play OF, maybe not great, but he has nearly 200 MiL games in the OF. The Giants made a spot for Peña -- could have been Green. Not that Peña hasn't earned it but he and Green are doing about the same hitting-wise. Green has more power but Peña is probably slicker in the field.
If Carter Capps can hop a full step forward off the rubber with their back foot before delivering the ball, then I don't see how they can get too picky about calling Cueto's shoulder shimmy a stop. IMO, it's time for the league to take a long look at the delivery rules and start enforcing whatever they decide about them, but it should not be left up to individual umps to define the rules in the middle of games.
Deletetravis is a good luck charm. im glad that with the ws monies he has earned, he can stick around and chase his dream
ReplyDeletecain back in the rotation starting monday, suarez to 6th-7th inning, long relief and spot starts
if casilla's probs are mechanical and mental, they should be able to fix that.
agree with the need to examine the balk calls and funky deliveries. this should be addressed during the winter meetings
kershaw is having an amazing season...i hate him
bacci