Mac Williamson's promotion paid immediate dividends for the Giants as his 2-run HR in the 5'th inning sparked a 6-run rally that turned a close game into a cakewalk. Key Lines:
Andrew McCutchen RF- 1 for 4, HR(3). BA= .213. Cutch's 3- run blast capped the 6-run outburst.
Nick Hundley C- 2 for 4, HR(1), 2B. BB. BA= .222. Hundley had a great night driving in the first run of the game with a solo HR halfway up the RF bleachers in the 2'nd inning. His leadoff walk ahead of Williamson's dinger started the 5'th inning rally and he later doubled in Evan Longoria to drive in the final run of the game.
Mac Williamson LF- 1 for 4, HR(1). BA= .250. His other AB's were not too impressive, but the dinger came at a great time in the game and was a laser shot to the opposite field. I was at the game so did not hear Kruk and Kuip's call, but a commenter last night said the ball left the bat at 114 MPH. It definitely looked like it!
Kelby Tomlinson SS- 2 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .269. The thing I love about Kelby Tomlinson is he gives you a battle every single AB. He needs to be starting either SS or 2B against all LHP's, IMO.
Jeff Samardzija RHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 0.00. There were some loud outs and the 4 walks, but Shark got the outs he needed including a very loud FB out by Upton to end the 5'th inning after Shark walked the bases full.
Reyes Moronta RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.82. Dominant 2 innings from Moronta.
Shohei Ohtani DH(Angels)- 2 for 4. BA= .342. I'll say this about Ohtani: The kid sure looks good in a baseball uniform!
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The D'Backs, Rockies and Dodgers all lost so the Giants gained a game on the pack and are now 5 games out of first place, but still in 4'th place in the NL West. The D'Backs continue to lead the Rockies by 3 games and the Dodgers by 4.5. The Padres bring up the rear at 6 games off the pace.
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Derek Holland tries to secure the Giants first series win of the season tonight facing RHP Garrett Richards.
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Samardzija: I think he got tired in the 5th because he was pretty sharp, for a first-start after a long layoff, through the first 4. Then... He wasn't so hot. And when the bases got loaded and Upton hit that loud flyball... I thought 'uh-oh, grandslam.' Fortunately it wasn't.
ReplyDeleteTomlinson: I agree to the extent they schedule rest for Crawford & Panik on the LH days. Crawford and Panik are really just abysmal against lefties (so far) this year. They're still better defenders.
Panik: Regardless of Tomlinson, I think a lot of Panik's 'problem' is his .156 BABIP against lefties and his being BABIP dependent for average. I don't know why... Shifts... Small sample size... I just don't know. But I think the problem resolves itself as he is striking the ball well.
Williamson: What I liked about that HR is how he was able to drop his hips and get his swing plane under the ball and drive it instead of his usual 'hands to high' swing that produced all those grounders. So I think it's clear that new stance/swing is really something when it comes to harnessing his power.
Moronta: Krukow was saying he needed just one more pitch, like a cutter or some such, and he'd have the stuff to be a closer.
Hopefully Mac can sort of relax now that he got an early HR - Vs pressing because he was expected to produce day one to stay in the lineup during other call ups
ReplyDeleteMy (Hopeful) Thesis is that Williamson will do for us what Cody Bellinger did last year for the Dodgers. Immediate impact bat from AAA. As for Cody B. hhe has cooled off this year - is this because teams have found a way to get him out? Now a question - I am not an expert on baseball swings but is it fair to say that Cody B. has a non-traditional uppercut swing that has a hole in it whereas Williamson is using more raw power over a fundamentally traditional swing?
ReplyDeleteIt took longer for pitchers to "get a book" on Bellinger than I thought it would, but they eventually did and now he will have to make the adjustment. It will happen to with Williamson too, but I do agree that Williamson has better raw tools for power than Cody B.
DeleteI think we are already seeing the pitchers adjust to the uppercut/launch angle craze through increased use of breaking balls and high 4-seam FB's.
For whatever reasons, after he missed 9 games in August, he hit 243/.341/.477/.819 in his final 31 games (30 starts), compared to .292/.338/.444/.782 so far in 2018 in 18 games. Obviously, big difference there still, 234 ISO vs. 152 ISO, plus less walks, leading to similar OBP despite much higher BA, and similar OPS.
DeleteThe story of MLB prospect hitters, get hot, get figured out, adjustments. BABIP takes three full seasons for a hitter to settle into his talent level.
To me, it was amazing how hard and far Mac hit that homerun, cause after seeing the video of it, it looked like he got under it some, and didn't get all of the ball (obviously, he did, since it took off, but the visuals for me was otherwise): https://twitter.com/SFGiants/status/987532949074554880
ReplyDeleteFrom up in the stands, Mac's shot had a remarkably low trajectory and did not take long to leave the yard, so I think he hit is about as square as possible.
DeleteApparently Jon's comment on the radio after Mac's HR:
ReplyDelete"Yes, it got to the bleachers faster than the speed of sound, that’s my story."
Jon is priceless. We are lucky, the broadcasters we have.
We could see into the radio and TV booths from where we were sitting. Jon was not there. Dave called the first 3 on KNBR then switched places with Kuip for innings 3-6 then back to the radio booth for the final 3 innings. Not saying someone did not say that or that Jon did not after the fact, but he was nowhere in sight during the game.
DeleteSomeone posted that on MC. Maybe Jon said it on the post game show, and I assumed it was live?
DeleteAnywho, fun quip!
For reasons I'm unable to articulate, I cannot abide Dave.
DeleteI turn off the sound for innings 4-6.
Someone please say what they like about him, I'm willing to try. Again. Actually, several times a year.