Christian Arroyo broke open a 3-3 tie with a bases loaded double in the 9'th inning and the Giants hung on for the win. Key Lines:
Buster Posey 1B/C- 2 for 4, HR(5), BB. BA= .367. Buster hits his 3'rd dinger in 3 games. At this point, it looks like he could be headed for this best season yet. He is currently tied for 8'th in fWAR in the NL at 1.6.
Christian Arroyo SS- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .242. Arroyo's reputation as a clutch performer continues to grow with his game-winning hit today. With Crawford coming back, Arroyo will move over to 3B and has to be the full time starter there. If the Giants do not get anything more out of this season than 500 MLB PA's for Arroyo, it will not be a lost season.
Justin Ruggiano LF/CF- 2 for 4, SF. BA= .250. OK, here's the deal. Ruggiano may not be the greatest hitter in the world, but neither is Eduardo Nunez. Ruggiano can field the LF position and Nunez cannot. Since the IF is covered by Panik, Crawford and Arroyo, Nunez has to go to the bench. Now, if the Giants could get Mac up and get him at least 450 PA on the season to go with Arroyo's 500, it would be a double positive from a down season.
Matt Cain RHP- 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 4.54. Not a great start, but a whole lot better than his last one and something to build on. He won't be facing the Reds again.
Derek Law RHP- 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(2). ERA= 3.38. Whew! Fortunately Law was handed a 3-run lead and made it stand up....barely. Do you trust him with a 1-run lead? Do the Giants have any choice?
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With the Win, the Giants remained in last place 10 games behind the Rockies who topped the Cubs 3-0.
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The Giants will fly home with a sense of relief. They get a 4 game shot at their tormentors from Cincinnati with Ty Blach getting the first chance at revenge facing long time Giants tormentor, Bronson Arroyo.
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Arroyo = Clutch. Your right Doc about making a positive out of a negative. I would be very surprised if the Giants didn't have a few guys come up prior to September and get experience this season. Law should get better with experience (I hope.). Another silver lining is the Giants should be able to draft a "Blue Chip" pitching prospect next year.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather see Strickland getting save opps. Law just doesn't have an out pitch.
ReplyDeleteNot sure Strickland has an out pitch either.
DeleteThe answer is: SCORE MORE RUNS!
DeleteGet runners ON for Posey.
Move the line.
Who was the last 21-year old to make such a splash?
If Arroyo learns to lay off marginal pitches ahead in the count, he will have arrived.
After Williamson, at 26+ Slade Heathcott may be the most ready in maturity to step into the major leagues. With nearly 500 professional games, he's hot in Richmond now, he had a good performance for the Yankees in 2015, and has played some CF.
This weekend series with the Reds is a key turning point: it's just about now or never for 2017. Monday's game with the Dodgers is the 40th game -- a quarter of the season gone. If they're still getting kicked around and flailing at the plate for the next week, some hard decisions will be made in the next couple months to "fix" it, if possible. The All Star game is in 2 months. Then the trading deadline.
Were there clues 40 games ago?
I'm hesitant to blame Law for anything right now. His BABIP against is .388. And we've seen just how bad LF and CF have been this season. Something that could play havoc on a FB pitcher like Law.
DeleteStill, he's got an 82% LOB (3rd on team) and a decent ERA even if he's not quite as sharp as last year.
Most of the contact and swing metrics favor Strickland. His curve and fastball both have solid swinging strike rates, but I'm not saying it has to be Stick. I just trust him more than Law.
DeleteWith Span beginning his rehab, Crawford joining the team,and Mac all but ready, the Giants will be back to the team on the field they expected (Parker /Williamson) PLUS The Kid.
ReplyDeleteTomlinson, Ruggiano, Hernández, Morse, Núñez, Gillaspe, and Moronta are competing for 5 spots, 4 when Melancon returns.
Since Kelby is the first to go in the Giants' veteran first philosophy, isn't Núñez better utility sub than Gillaspie because he can play middle infield however marginally?
He also probably has the most trade value although how much is questionable.
Maybe the Giants can trade Nunez to a team such as the Pirates (put Josh Harrison back at 2nd base).
ReplyDelete