Saturday, May 19, 2018

Game Wrap 5/19/2018: Giants 9 Rockies 4

The Giants wore their hitting shoes today and overwhelmed Jon Gray and the Rockies on a clear, breezy afternoon at AT&T Park.  Key Lines:

Gregor Blanco LF/RF= 1 for 5, 3B.  BA= .257.  Blanco tripled and scored a run but he also struck out 4 times.  I guess that gives him an OPS of .800 on the day, but the overall OBP of .300, .286 over his last 30 games is a problem out of the leadoff spot, or anywhere in the lineup for that matter!

Andrew McCutchen RF- 3 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .248.  Cutch had been in a mini-slump going just 1 for his last 17 coming into the game, but he broke out bigly in this one.  He also made a fine throw from RF to nail a baserunner at 3B which helped keep the Rockies from getting back into the game.  He's hitting .303 for the month in spite of that 1 for 17 slump.

Buster Posey C- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .307.  A typical day at the office for Buster.

Brandon Belt 1B/LF- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .308. Belt missed one game with a "sore knee".  I suspect that may have had more to do with meeting with Joe Torre and a tough lefty on the mound than with his knee, but whatevs.  He came back with a 3-on-base game today for a season OBP of .408.  Even if he wasn't crushing it in BA and power, he'd still be a fantasy asset in OBP leagues like mine.

Brandon Crawford SS- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(4).  BA= .302.  How hot is Brandon Crawford.....I mean at the plate?  .577 over his last 7 games, .446 over his last 15, .449 for the month of May.  His BA stood at .189 on April 30.  My goodness!

Miguel Gomez 2B- 2 for 4.  BA= .273.  With Kelby Tomlinson hitting just .184 over his last 15 games and .222 over his last 30, this game should get Gomez another start or two, especially against RHP's.

Chris Stratton RHP- 5 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.92.  This was a hang-with-em start for Stratton against a tough lineup.  Not a QS but just enough on a day for the offense.  Stratton has had his share of luck with that as evidenced by his 5-3 record.  Stratton had 3 consecutive fairly dominant starts and an ERA of 2.32 before going on paternity leave.  Since then, he's allowed 21 ER in 22 IP.  Parenthood!

Bullpen- 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  Will Smith looked unhittable in his inning of work.  Pierce Johnson, Sam Dyson and Tony Watson chipped in scoreless frames of their own.  The Giants now have 4 solid bullpen arms in Strick, Watson, Dyson and Smith.  2 more that are fairly reliable in Johnson and Reyes Moronta.  Cory Gearrin and Jose Valdez need to step it up.  I'm not counting on anything from Mark Melancon yet, but if he came back close to normal, the Giants could have a formidable pen in the second half.

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The Giants sit 3.5 games behind the NL West leading D'Backs and 2.5 behind the Rockies pending the outcome of the D'Backs game later tonight.  The Dodgers are looking to sweep the Nationals in a DH in Washington.  The Padres are 4 games behind the Giants after topping the Pirates 6-2.

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Ty Blach tries for a series split tomorrow afternoon facing lefty Tyler Anderson.

8 comments:

  1. So you posted Hernandez has not hit a double this season and now he hits one. Maybe you should post Blach has not pitch a complete game shutout this season. See if that works.

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  2. The Rhinestone-Backs (Swarovski-Backs?) have now, as I write, gone 1-9 in their last ten games, and we’re only three behind. As Baggarly notes in the most recent The Athletic, we now sport the statistically best offense in the NL West, and as DrB says above, we’re moving toward having a formidable ‘pen. We’ve been able to bob at about .500 despite our missing our two top starters, our closer, our second baseman and his replacement, and our left fielder as well as his replacement. I feel pretty good, though cautious, about the Giants, with such a team in place under such circumstances

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    Replies
    1. Thumbs up.

      Mac, get that toonder tuned up again, that'll be an actually serious lineup with youth & grizzled experience, both.

      C'mon Bum, Johnny, let's get on this thing.

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  3. So im back to being a firm believer that Stratton isn't good.

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  4. Sergio Romo got his 1st major league start yesterday and struck out the side facing just 3 batters. With 8 pitches called balls, he had 2 full counts.
    Rays scored in the top of the 2nd when Romo was the "pitcher of record" but, alas, Ryan Yarbrough came in with a 4-run lead and snagged the win.
    Guess what? Romo gets another start today!
    Has to be a thrill for our boy!

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  5. And rather then put whoever is playing CF at the leadspot, Bochy needs to just move everyone up in the lineup with Cutch leading off. I like the way Cutch is swinging the bat and he has been a bit unlucky lately, but the HR power just isn't there anymore. I don't love Posey hitting 2nd because he is a threat to hit into DPs, but he doesn't really have HR power either.

    Cutch
    Posey
    Belt
    Longoria
    Mac
    Crawford
    Jackson/CF
    2B

    Swap 2B-CF spot depending on who is playing to keep two LHH from being next to eachother (hate Crawford-Belt getting a LOOGY late in games seemingly every game early in the season)

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    Replies
    1. LOL, you're getting your #2 -- it's Posey. He won't hit into too many DPs because the 3 batters before him (8,9,1) won't get on often with .294, .050, & .302 OBPs.
      Jackson might should lead off rather than Hernández because his OBP is .015 higher leading off the a game.
      Leading off an inning, however, Hernández is the best @ .333 (2-6), with Tomlinson and Jackson both below .200, & Blach is ZERO.
      Hernandez

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  6. if the giants are still in it by the trade deadline they should look to acquire a back end starter, doug fister and andrew cashner shouldn't cost too much and will be part of fire sales.

    ReplyDelete