Game Wrap 4/10/2017

The Giants got a scare in the first inning of a scoreless game when Taijuan Walker hit Buster Posey with a pitch square to the helmet.  Posey appeared to be a bit dazed but left the field under his own power and was reportedly feeling fine after the game.  Matt Moore started a chain of errors by the D'Backs when he hit a bases-loaded swinging bunt followed by two D'Backs throwing errors which resulted in 3 runs crossing the plate.  Moore then made it stand up with 8 innings of 1-run ball for the Home Opener Win.  Key Lines:

Hunter Pence RF- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .281.  Pence doubled to start a rally in the 7'th that added an insurance run  He took 3'rd in a flyball and scored on a SF by Crawford.

Brandon Crawford SS- 1 for 3, 2B, SF.  BA= .367.  Crawford's double started the 3-run rally in the 4'th inning.  Walks to Panik and Parker set up the scamper that followed Moore's swinging bunt.

Matt Moore LHP- 8 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.70.  After a shaky first start in Arizona, Moore came back with the best start by a Giants pitcher so far this season.  I believe Moore and Jeff Samardzija are the linchpins of the season for the Giants.  Barring injury, we pretty much know what to expect from Bumgarner and Cueto and we know the 5'th starter position is likely to be problematic all season.  Moore and Shark are the swing arms on which the season will be won or lost.

Mark Melancon RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, Save(2).  ERA= 6.75.  It will take awhile to whittle that ERA down after the Opening Day fiasco.

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The Win brought the Giants record to 3-5 and allowed them to gain a game on the now 6-2 first place D'Backs in the NL West, 3 games behind and still in last place.  The Pesky Padres topped the Rockies 5-3.  The Rockies are 1 game behind the D'Backs in second place while the Padres trail by 2 games at 4-4.  The Dodgers record was also evened at 4-4 with a 3-2 loss to the Cubbies.

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Jeff Samardzija takes on Robbie Ray tomorrow evening in Game 2 of the series.