The Giants offense continued to sputter as they failed to build on a first inning run and Jeff Samardzija was once again vulnerable to the longball. Key Lines:
Giants Lineup: With Nunez a late scratch due to a sore hammy, the 6,7,8 spots in the lineup are hitting .222, .160 and .191 respectively. That's not an MLB caliber lineup and definitely not a lineup that can compete with a team like the Cubs. They went a combined 0 for 10.
Jeff Samardzija RHP- 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 4.50. Again, Shark had fantastic K and BB ratios. The K's would indicate he had excellent stuff. It's those darn dingers! 3 solo shots out of 6 hits were the difference in this game as I am sure Bochy's bullpen use would have been different with a 1-0 lead.
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With the Loss, the Giants remained 11 games behind the NL West leading Rockies and dropped 8.5 games off the Wild Card pace.
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The Giants return home with Matt Cain facing the Braves and lefty Jaime Garcia in tonight's opener.
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Nunez is listed as DTD, but hammy's are notoriously unpredictable. With Aaron Hill nearing a return, Nunez injury may influence the Giants to send down Arroyo rather than Williamson, or they could send down one of the struggling lefties, Okert or Osich. They could also place Nunez on the DL, but he's been their best hitter of late and if they think he won't be out a full 10 days, they might keep him DTD.
As for sending down Arroyo and/or Williamson, if it is a developmental decision with issues they need to work on, no problem, but development can occur at the MLB level too and it may be better to let them keep grinding with an eye for next season as this season is about done.
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GREAT idea: "grinding with an eye to next season" -- and apply it to Slater, Heathcott, Tomlinson, Williamson, Arroyo, even Osich and Okert, maybe Ryder and Shaw, start the September callup in May! Put Nunez on the DL until he's healthy, then play him for a month with an eye to trade. No Hill's and Ruggiano's and Hernandez's and Gillaspie's, etc
ReplyDeleteSamardzija's MO: eats innings and gives up HRs in an otherwise QS.
ReplyDeleteBryant's HR was off the first pitch in the AB, a 2-seam FB
Heyward's was the 4th pitch, 2nd 2-seam FB in a row
Zobrist's was 3rd pitch, 2nd cutter in a row
1st HR was fan aided -- definitely reached out beyond "basket" and made contact with the ball. Nice catch by a smug kid.
From the angle and distance of the (infield) umpires, this would have been difficult to see -- it was really quick. From the dugout, no chance.
I think that both Willaimson and Span had to have seen it -- they have to squawk.
How about Denard's being picked off first to kill a potential rally. About as stupid a play ever, top of the lineup, 1st and 3rd!
Then there's the RISP. Belt did his job in the first but Posey and Crawford failed, although Craw's was hit hard, just bad luck that plagued the Giants all afternoon. Mac had a great shot in the 4th after a mind blowing double steal by Posey and Crawford. That should have rattled Butler but ...
And that was that. Barely a squeak the rest of the game.
The 2-out, 2-run wild pitch/error in the 8th was just the frosting for a frustrating fruitcake afternoon.
Giants did not look like an even-year championship team, too many missed opportunities, too many bad decisions, too much bad luck.
A season we all wildly anticipated flamed out in the first week, looks the same in week 8!