This game started with word that Manager Bruce Bochy was in the hospital suffering from an undisclosed ailment(He was probably sick of watching the team for the last 3+ weeks!). It ended with Brandon Crawford setting a Giants record with 7 hits in one game to lead the Giants to a grueling extra-inning win. Key Lines:
Denard Span- 3 for 7, BB, SB(12). BA= .265. Span scored 3 runs in the game. He had just 2 hits in 13 AB in the Washington series.
Angel Pagan- 2 for 7, BB. BA= .282. Pagan has been steady Eddie all year.
Brandon Belt- 1 for 6, 2B, 2 BB. BA= .283. Belt had just one hit, but was a loooong 2 run double off the R-CF wall. He also drew a 2 out walk in the 14'th and eventually scored the winning run on Crawford's 7'th hit of the game.
Buster Posey- 2 for 6, 2B, 2 BB. BA= .291. Buster had a rough game as he did a face plant while trying to slide headfirst into 3B which shook him up pretty good. Later, the TV showed him and Hunter Pence sitting side-by-side in the dugout with Pence sporting the shiner and Posey a strawberry on his right cheek between the corner of his mouth and jaw. Quite a sight, which pretty much summed up the game and the road trip so far.
Brandon Crawford- 7 for 8, 2B, 3B, SB(4). BA= .278. What a game! One for the record books! Crawford just kept stroking the ball all game long and it eventually paid off with the game-winning hit driving in Brandon Belt from 2B after a pair of 2 out walks to Belt and Posey. Crawford also made at least 1 great defensive play ranging up the middle almost to the OF grass to glove a Dee Gordon grounder then flip it backhand to Panik covering 2B for the force out. I wonder how many fWAR points Crawford accumulated in this one?
Johnny Cueto- 5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 5 K's ERA= 2.93. Cueto again was not his sharpest and left the game trailing 5-1, but the offense and the bullpen eventually picked him up.
Bullpen- 7 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K's. Will Smith gave up 2 runs on 3 hits without retiring anyone. Aside from that, the Bullpen was nails as Peavy, Law and Romo all pitched scoreless innings and Strickland, Casilla and Kontos went 2 each.
Ron Wotus- Wotus managed this game and was pretty much flawless. He certainly milked every inning he could out of his bullpen and it paid off in the end as the Marlins ran out of arms before the Giants did. Now, he just has to hope he gets at least 7 out of Matt Moore tomorrow.
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The Dodgers topped the Phillies 9-4 so the Giants maintain their 1 game lead in the NL West.
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Matt Moore takes the mount tomorrow with the added burden of needing to go deep into the game. He'll face Tom Koehler.
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That was a heck of a game by Crawford. I think Moore will be up to it today. When the Marlins ended up ahead 7-6 I was thinking it was all over since it's pretty much been that way since the All-Star break.
ReplyDeleteYep, that shot after in the dugout of Buster and Hunter after Posey was forced at home said it all. Looked like two guys in the corner waiting for the bell for the 15th round of a heavyweight bout.
ReplyDeleteIs it just me, or does seeing.. Brandon Crawford- 7 for 8 .. make anyone else reminisce on when Brandon Crawford was a dropped-stock draftee in A+ San Jose lighting up the box scores with power, and you'd wonder whether we'd some day get to see him lighting up the big leagues as a premier short stop?
ReplyDeleteWell, It takes me back to those days many years ago - And here we are! Wow, what a gift Brandon Crawford is to this organization and the fans here. Just a pleasure to have this guy putting on the Orange and Black. I don't think he's reached his ceiling yet. With the consistency he shows, he could be an all-timer.
I don't remember Crawford lighting up boxscores in SJ, but I do remember seeing him chase down a ball in the home bullpen, pick it up and throw in one motion and almost nail a runner at home it looked like he had no chance for. I didn't know if he'd ever hit, but that was when I knew he had a special arm and a special motor.
DeleteLooks like Crawford did hit .371 with 6 HR in just 25 games for the SJ Giants in 2009. His struggles at the plate came later in AA.
DeleteAs a rule I want defense out of my SS and if he hits better than .250... It's better than butter & biscuits.
DeleteThe Giants FO usually doesn't whiff on reliever acquisitions, but Will Smith is looking like a whiff in the early goings. I really hope he starts to turn his season around because he has been pretty much useless for the Giants so far.
ReplyDeleteFWIW, it's way too small a sample size. And his xFIP, in his way too small sample size, is 2.62 and his FIP is 0.13. Which is second best of the relivers. And his 13.5 K/P, in his entirely too small sample size, is 13.5 while his BABIP is an incredible .667!
DeleteI see more of than a blip of bad luck than a swing-and-a-miss. But we'll see. It's certainly going to take more than 2 innings of failure for me to get concerned.
Crawford is at 4.5 fWAR and 3.9 rWAR, a gain of .5 and .4 respectively.
ReplyDeleteWill Smith has pitched badly once, yesterday, and was ineffective once because of an infield dribbler and a fly ball that some thought Pence should have caught. Otherwise he's been OK. I trust the Giants' FO who were willing to give up two valued players for the guy.