As they have done so many times this season, the Giants picked themselves up off the mat and got after it a day after getting knocked on their backsides by a soul crushing loss. Johnny Cueto stood in the gap after the previous game's bullpen meltdown and went the distance for a wire-to-wire win. Key Lines:
Grant Green- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .320. Greenie again stayed within himself, not trying to do too much and ended up scoring 2 Runs for his efforts. He also turned 2 GIDP's, but might have cost the Cueto his only ER when he was just a bit methodical on a relay from 3B Ruben Tejada with the bases loaded which allowed the lead runner to score.
Brandon Belt- 2 for 4, 2B, 3B. BA= .300. Both of these XBH's would have been HR's in almost any other ballpark, the triple off the bricks in Triples Alley definitely would have been in ANY other ballpark! BTW, Belt is the early leader in the balloting for final All-Star Game roster spot.
Buster Posey- 1 for 3, HR(11), BB, SB(5). BA= .289. I wish I could say the SB won the game, but it went for naught as Posey was left stranded at 2B. Maybe Rockies reliever Chad Qualls didn't care as he never bothered to look at Buster at 1B, but the catcher made a desperation looking throw that was high and late, so it wasn't stolen due to total indifference. On a night when HR drives were dying like flies on the warning track, Buster's shot bounced high off the top railing of the tunnel in the middle of the LF bleachers, a tremendous shot he must have gotten all of and more.
Brandon Crawford- 1 for 3, SF. BA= .271. Crawford stays hot and deserves to be an All-Star. Only Corey Seager has a higher fWAR among NL SS's and Crawford is by far the better defensive player.
Johnny Cueto- 9 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 2.47. Cueto's remarkable season continues. Whatever was bothering him a few weeks ago seems completely healed. He had one shaky inning in this game which he might have gotten out of with a quicker relay from Green at 2B. He allowed just one baserunner after that and his 9'th inning, pitches 111- 118 facing the 2, 3 and 4 hitters in the lineup might have been his most dominant. His CG was #4 on the season which leads MLB. His 13 Wins are the most prior to the All-Star Break since John Burkett in 1993.
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The Win extended the Giants lead in the NL West to 6 games over the Dodgers who lost to the O's 6-4 in 14 innings. It also gave the Giants the best record in MLB by percentage points over the Cubs who are 4-6 on their last 10 games and have lost 2 straight. What is remarkable about the Giants having the best record is they also are tied with the Cincinnati Reds for the most Blown Saves in MLB at 16. In a way, that is a good thing as most of their losses are games they feel like they should have won. They just aren't getting blown out of very many games. Getting the bullpen in order is obviously the highest priority for the second half.
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The Giants get a rare day off at home today before starting the final series of the first half against the D'Backs at AT&T. Jeff Samardzija will start game 1 Friday night against lefty Patrick Corbin. Think maybe opposing teams are lining up their LHP's to face the Giants? Not that it's done them a lot of good.
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Cory Gearrin hasn't looked right for about 4 appearances. The Giants placed him on the DL with a sore shoulder before the game and recalled Albert Suarez.
The Padres claimed RHP Jake Smith off waivers after he was DFA'd to make room on the 40 man roster for Sergio Romo coming off the 60 day DL.
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With the win last night, the Giants now have the best record in baseball. You wouldn't know it from reading ESPN which doesn't give them a story until you've scrolled half-way down your browser to find the 'Insider' article that says Kinsler & Crawford should be in the All-Star game.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately the rampant homerism of the Cubs fans have distorted the All-Star game (NL team, I'll pass on the AL) beyond meaning. One expects some homerism, but their short-stop is hitting .242 and is only average defensively. He's just not an All Star at this point in his career even if people think he'll develop into one. As a starter, he's a joke. Yet there he is.
I lost interest in the All-Star Game a long time ago, so I wasn't planning to watch it anyway, but yeah, Crawford clearly should be on the team.
DeleteLA used 23 players in their grueling loss to Baltimore yesterday, play SD today.
ReplyDeleteAt least 2 were SP's as PR's
the as game and voting is now a total joke and they need to change the whole "this time it counts" thing. the ws home field advantage should not depend on the outcome of this game, it should be decided by interleague results. as for craw not making it, even though he deserves to, i much prefer he get the down time. and thats why im not joining the crowd and trying to get belt on the as roster. i want all the giants to get rest. hope posey is only in for a couple of innings. but i would like to see maddy be used to ph, since he cant pitch.
ReplyDeletewith all the injuries, early season rotation issues and pen issues, im amazed at the giants record. shows what a team can do with 2 aces at the top of the rotation and a lot of heart
giants do need to do something about the pen. as we saw with the dodgers, almost impossible for teams with a weak pen to go deep in the post season
bacci
The Giants have faced the most LH Starters in MLB this year: 33 (21-12)
ReplyDeleteTeams are definitely lining them up when they can.