Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Game Wrap 8/15/2016: Pirates 8 Giants 5

The Giants got a subpar start from Matt Moore and another wretched performance from the bullpen for another loss.  Key Lines:

Denard Span- 3 for 5, HR(6).  BA= .263.  Span his hitting .289 over his last 30 games, but with a disappointing OBP of .328.

Angel Pagan- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .292.  Pagan has an OBP of .345 compared to Span's .330 on the season.  Pagan also has a .302 BA with a .367 OBP over his last 30 games.

Brandon Belt- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .282.  Belt is 6 for 18 over his last 4 games.

Eduardo Nunez- 2 for 5, HR(13).  BA= .287.  Nunez' first HR as a Giants was hit pretty good, several rows back in the LF stands.  It cut the Pirates lead to 5-3.  Span's dinger later in the same inning made it 5-4.

Matt Moore- 6 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.14.  Moore got away with a high walk rate in his first 2 starts but walks and location mistakes are a deadly combination.  Moore 4 of the 5 RBI's off Moore were off the bat of the only lefty hitter in the Pirates lineup, Gregory Polanco.

George Kontos- 0.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 2.53.  Kontos has been pitching well, but he allowed hits to the first 2 batters he faced and got the hook.

Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.78.  The first hit Romo gave up was a blooper over a drawn-in IF.  He allowed Kontos' other run to score on a double by Starling Marte.  Around all that, he struck out the side.

Will Smith- 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 4.91.  Smith simply has not been what the Giants hoped they were getting. We are seeing just how valuable Jeremy Affeldt has been to this team over the years.

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

The Dodgers were idle so the Giants lead in the NL West shrinks to 0.5 games.

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

Jeff Samardzija takes the mound tonight against flamethrower Jameson Taillon.

4 comments:

  1. happiest ive ever been after a loss as the vogey saga continues. was he at his best? nope. but he was good enough to beat what seems to be a team that is totally imploding. and by all rights, after he was hit by a pitch (that shouldnt have been thrown where it was) he should not have played again this season, if ever. vogey is everything good about this game and i am so happy that he is being given the chance to finish his career on his own terms.
    i dont think i have ever seen an opposing pitcher get two standing O's....at any stadium.
    bucs have what is arguably the best of in the bigs...giants were fighting back and got robbed with two amazing of plays....cutch's was the best ive seen all season...he should not have been able to make the catch that saved two runs
    as for the giants pen...it boggles the mind
    bacci

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I am NEVER happy when the Giants lose, but it was nice to see the fans give Vogey the standing O's. He deserved them.

      Delete
    2. For years I've thought, at the very least, our system had the goods to produce a solid bullpen to take over as the core four aged out. Hoping for the starters and position guys, but knowing that we had the relief core. Hasn't worked out that way.

      Delete
    3. They had to influx upwards of 4 new guys all at the same time. You can't do that to your bullpen - replace 4 spots with rookies all at the same time.

      Over the last 2 years before this season, they did not replace guys who were clearly on their way out with equivalent young talent. Young RPs take years to hit their stride. Look at Lopez's first 3 years (ages 25-27) - totally miserable! Similarly Affeldt's first 5 years, and Santiago Casilla's first 150 appearances with the A's over 6 years (5.00 ERA). After that all three guys began sporting their ERAs down in the 1's and 2's, but it takes time.

      So, the Giants added a lot of talent from the minors, but they were dependant on all of them delivering off the bat (no pun intended). That was short sighted, but also very difficult to remedy, given the state of trade markets and FA.

      Long point short, we got SPOILED over the last 5 years, and now we're getting to see what it was like for the rest of baseball to struggle through a season - so many things right, but without a bullpen you can't scrape out those wins that make a team feel like they can win a game no matter the odds.

      I see Sabian & Evans going all out to counteract this weakness in the offseason, but until then....

      Delete