This game was not as close as the final score would indicate as lefty Robbie Ray dominated the Giants lineup into the 7'th inning and a late Giants rally was too little too late to overcome a 4-0 D'Backs lead. Key Lines:
Hunter Pence RF- 2 for 2, 3 BB, BA= .324. Pence reached base 5 times but his OPB heroics were not enough to overcome an OBP of .100(1 walk in 10 PA) by the first two hitters in the lineup.
Nick Hundley C- 3 for 5, 2 2B. BA= .333. The Giants did not lose this game because Buster Posey was on the Concussion DL, but next time they face Ray, Bochy might want to consider sitting Belt who went 0 for 5(although Belt usually hits lefties pretty well).
Eduardo Nunez SS- 4 for 5, SB(5). BA= .389. Nunez slides over to SS to give Brandon Crawford a rest agains the tough southpaw. I know Nunez does not generally draw enough walks to be a true leadoff hitter, but he's got to be a better option than Gorkys Hernandez!
Joe Panik 2B- 1 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .346. Lefty or no lefty, I'm not sure why Bochy would bat Hernandez leadoff over Joe Panik, another leadoff option.
Jeff Samardzija RHP- 6.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 6.75. Samardzija was dominant for 5.2 of the 6.2 IP and ran into a bit of bad luck in the D'Backs 3-run inning. A couple of hard-hit balls and a walk loaded the bases forcing him to pitch to Giants killer, Jake Lamb. Lamb hit a ball to the left-CF wall bounced away from a tumbling Gorkys Hernandez for a bases-clearing triple. The ball was crushed and it was not an easy catch by any stretch, but it was a ball that Hernandez probably catches more often than not.
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The Loss dropped the Giants early season record to 3-6 and 4 games behind the now 7-2 first place D'Backs in the NL West. The second place Rockies topped the Pesky Padres 3-2 to put their record at 6-3 while the Padres drop to 4-5. The 4-4 Dodgers were idle.
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The Giants send Matt Cain out for his second start of the season tonight against Shelby Miller with hopes of winning the rubber match of the 3-game series.
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Not much of a surprise that Buster Posey was placed on the 7-day Concussion DL after he was hit by a Taijuan Walker FB on the helmet in the first game of the series. Tim Federowicz was called up to be Nick Hundley's backup until Posey gets back.
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I wonder why Nunez isn't leading off? He is hitting good and is a serious base stealing threat. He would be the best option of making the opposing pitcher pitch out of the stretch because of his hitting and he would probably get inside the mind of the opposing battery with his base stealing ability. Why in the world would you put a below average hitter like Hernandez, with a career -1 WAR, at the top of the lineup and technically give him more at bats than anyone else.
ReplyDeleteGreat l/u!
ReplyDeleteOn Cain: 2nd start after today, his 4th if he's still in the rotation, is against LA. Unless he discovers (undetected) HGH between now and then, might be time for Blach?
What a frustrating start to the season. I wrote this a few days back, but we can't overlook the bullpen in this game. Despite Sharks troubles, he left at 3-0, then Ramirez promptly gives up another run - who cares, right? 3-0? 4-0? Well, Giants put up 3 and lose. I know we are falling prey to small sample sizes, but serious question: how many innings do some of these guys get before we just say "screw it" and turn back to Okert, Osich, etc.?
ReplyDeleteI had to listen to the game on the radio and by the time Marrero came up with 2 guys on in the 8th, Jon Miller was more peeved than I've heard him in a long time. "These young guys have to know a veteran like DeLaRosa is going to try to get them to chase... and, Marerro swings and misses. His swing looked geared for a fastball and he got a slider down and in. Let's see if he adjusts, DeLaRosa will likely throw the same pitch, and he does... strike 2, ahead 0-2 quickly now." By the time he grounded into the double play, it seems like Miller was all but giving up on anything positive with him at the plate. If you listened, he said with some strong sarcasm, "well, it's not the worst thing in the world, at least he didn't ground into a triple play!"
Now for some real talk. My understanding (could be wrong) was that Nunez was sort of a "jack of all trades," type. Can be play LF? If so, Gillaspie (or Arroyo or Hwang) should be able to slide in at 3B and that lineup has to be an upgrade, right? Who cares how much power is in a guy's bat if he can't hit real big league pitching. Surely Nunez can field left better than Marrero?
Andy in OC
McCovey Chronicles did an article a while back reviewing Nunez's work on LF in previous seasons, looking at the film. It's not good, he is NOT a good option for LF. Defensively, at least.
DeleteGood to know, thanks RainBall. I figured with his speed and athleticism and decent arm Nunez had to be at least in the same ballpark (pun intended) as Marerro, but guess not. Back to the drawing board! Melvin Upton and Drew Stubbs have to be laughing their butts off right now: "Dude, you realize the first one of us who proves we can bat .200 and not chase every pitch down and in gets to be a MLB starter, right?! This isn't a joke, man!"
DeleteAndy in OC
Hey Andy -
DeleteYeah, watching the film on Nunez kind of put into perspective that isn't so simple to just put an athletic major league baseball player into the outfield and have him be able to play adequately. The ability to judge a ball crushed out your way and determine trajectory and which way to break is clearly a skill only some is these guys have innately. Good perspective on whether we can transition others of these young players..