Jarrett Parker led an offense that built a 5-1 lead behind Jeff Samardzija and the Giants held off the team with the worse record in MLB for the Win. Key Lines:
Hunter Pence RF- 1 for 2, 2 BB. BA= .257. After hitting just .186 in July, Pence is hitting .340 in August.
Jarrett Parker LF- 2 for 3, 2 2B, BB. BA= .268. After a 1 for 14 skid to start the just completed road trip, Parker is 5 for 12 over his last 3 games.
Buster Posey C- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .319. Hey! The Killer P's are alive and well. If Joe Panik was healthy, there would be 4 of 'em.
Kelby Tomlinson 2B- 2 for 4. BA= .256. Kelby is 6 for 15 since taking over at 2B for the injured Joe Panik. He made a very nifty play to start a GIDP to bail Shark out of the near-disastrous 5'th inning.
Jeff Samardzija RHP- 6 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 4.79. Shark was excellent through 4 innings, good through 5 and barely escaped the 6'th. See Kelby Tomlinson above.
Mark Melancon RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 3.80. Melancon followed a familiar script as he quickly retired the first 2 batters he faced then struggled to end the inning.
Hunter Strickland RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 2.30. Dominant 8'th inning for Strick.
Sam Dyson RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 5.44. I doubt the Giants want to pay Melancon $60 M to be the 7'th inning guy, but for now this was an effective 7'th, 8'th, and 9'th inning combination.
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Matt Moore tries to build on his last dominant start facing Zach Eflin who I don't think the Giants have seen before. They tend to not do well against pitchers they have not seen before.
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In case you were wondering, if the season ended today, the Giants would have the #3 pick in the 2018 draft with Cincinnati threatening to overtake them for #3. Looking ahead, it appears likely the Giants will pick no lower than #5. At this point, there is no clear #1 and the top tier of 2018 draft prospects is at least 5 deep so that's OK. Why pay #1 money when you can get the same player for #5 money?
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Melancon is making too much to not close, but Dyson, Strickland, Smith and Law (when ready), Gearrin, and the near minimum salary extras sort of balance the cost of the bullpen.
ReplyDeleteDyson should be kept into next season just to make sure The Closer is ready to do what he was bought to do.
Melancon needs arm surgery. He hurt the pronator muscle in his forearm during Spring Training. That's why he's been bad all year.
DeleteFrom MLB Thursday:
ReplyDeleteSeeing Red -- 6 homers can't save Cubs.
It really does come down to pitching, doesn't it?