Well, maybe there is something to this new month theory. One day after hitting what we all have to hope was rock bottom, the Giants opened a new month with what might have been their best game of the season against Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers. On any day in April, this would have ended as a another lead that got away. Last night, they held on for the win helped by some nifty managing decisions by Bruce Bochy in the 9'th inning. Key Lines:
Christian Arroyo 3B- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .250. Arroyo continues to be a spark for the offense as he singled and scored ahead of Hunter Pence's first inning HR and then drove in Gorkys Hernandez with what proved to be the winning run after Hernandez reached on a bunt single and took 2B on a Kershaw throwing error.
Hunter Pence RF- 1 for 4, HR(2). BA= .265. Pence has been flailing a bit at the plate, so the first inning dinger was a welcome site. That it came against Kershaw was even more welcome!
Buster Posey C- 1 for 4, HR(2). BA= .348. Buster hit the ball hard 3 times in Sunday's game and this time he got enough elevation to get it out of Dodger Stadium on an offshore flow day.
Johnny Cueto RHP- 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 4.86. Offshore flow days can be tough on pitchers in Chavez Ravine but Cueto hung in there against the Mighty Kershaw and got himself another W and QS.
Steven Okert LHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 5.14. Here's where it gets interesting. Okert pitched the scoreless 8'th inning. Then, with 2 LH batters due up to start the 9'th for the Dodgers, Bochy left him in there to face Adrian Gonzalez and Cody Bellinger. He retired both of them on soft contact. With 2 outs and Yasiel Puig coming up, Bochy lifted him for……Derek Law!
Derek Law RHP- 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.84. Law came in and dispatched Puig on 3 pitches. Game over!
*********************************************************************************
The rest of the NL West was idle so the Giants Win gained them 0.5 games on the first place Rockies but they remained in the division cellar at 6.5 back. The 3'rd place Dodgers slipped 0.5 games to 2.5 back. The D'Backs are in 2'nd place, 0.5 games behind the Rockies and the Padres are in 4'th, 5.5 games off the pace.
*********************************************************************************
Hopefully the Dodgers struggles against LHP's will continue tonight as Matt Moore faces another lefty, Alex Wood.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Arroyo was impressive grinding out abs against Kershaw! He's playing like he belongs in mlb. Nunez may end up as a utility player. I was wondering about Melancon, but announcers speculated he got the night off due to heavy workload the past week. Couldn't believe Okert was left in to face Justin Turner!
ReplyDeleteLG