Chris Stratton pitched 6 dominant innings of shutout ball and the bullpen completed the combined shutout to get the Giants off to a winning start to their weekend series and homestand. Key Lines:
Joe Panik 2B- 2 for 3, 2 BB. BA= .280. Good to have Joe Panik back at 2B which has been a weak spot since Alen Hanson went down with an injury after replacing the injured Panik. Can't have a much more successful return that reaching base 4 times from the leadoff spot in the lineup.
Brandon Belt 1B- 0 for 1. BA= .307. Belt left the game early with an acute gastrointestinal illness. He should bounce back quickly from that.
Chris Stratton RHP- 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 4.50. This is the big news of the game. Stratton had been scuffling since coming off paternity leave on April 28. Today's game was more like the the Stratton we saw last year and early this season. Having him back in form would be a huge boost to a beleaguered rotation.
Tony Watson LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 2.42. I wasn't thrilled with the Watson signing, but where would this team be without him? A key piece of a bullpen that has saved the first 3'rd of the season.
Sam Dyson RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 2.39. Dyson nonchalantly struck out the side in his inning of work and looked like he didn't break a sweat. He just threw one nasty sinking, tailing fastball after another and the Phillies hitters did not come close to making contact.
Hunter Strickland RHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.52. Strick's first batter, Scott Kingery, legged out a slow roller that Panik was late breaking in on. Then Odubel Herrera pulled one down the RF line that stayed fair to put runners at 2'nd and 3'rd with no outs. Wow! Did Strickland ever go to work! His pitches were crisp and he was in complete command. He looked like he couldn't wait to throw the next pitch. Strikeout, comebacker, flyout to CF. Game over!
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The Giant gained a tie for 3'rd place in the NL West with the Dodgers yesterday when the Dodgers lost on a Giants off-day. Tonight's Win, coupled with the Dodgers 11-8 defeat of the division leading Rockies leaves both teams 3 games behind in 3'rd place. The D'Backs pounded the Marlins 9-1 to move 0.5 games behind the Rockies. The Padres lost and are 6 games off the pace.
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Andrew Suarez tries to clinch a series win tomorrow evening facing Vince Velasquez.
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Late word on Brandon Belt is he was taken to the hospital for evaluation of possible appendicitis. If that proved to be the diagnosis and if he requires surgery, he could be out for awhile, which would be a blow to the lineup and create more moving parts on the roster. Pablo Sandoval would likely get the most innings at 1B with Kelby Tomlinson, who just got sent down to make room for Joe Panik, or Alen Hanson getting called up to be the reserve MI.
Hunter Pence is slated to come off the DL tomorrow. We'll see what corresponding roster move is made.
Jose Valdez was DFA'd from the 40 man roster to make room for Mark Melancon coming off the 60 day DL. The Giants had 13 pitchers on the 25 man roster as of tonight with 2 reserve OF's and Pablo Sandoval as the only reserve IF. Bruce Bochy indicated Joe Panik would play SS if Brandon Crawford couldn't and Pablo is taking some grounders at the position just in case. Now THAT would be worth the price of admission to see!
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Belt (or perhaps his wife) just posted a picture on Twitter. Looks post-op, but I can't be 100% sure. Appendix recover, btw, is about 2 weeks.
ReplyDeleteUh thanks, Moses.
DeleteRecovery for appendix surgery is typically 2-3 weeks for baseball players, although Matt Holliday of the Cardinals and Adam Dunn of the White Sox returned from laparascopic appendectomies in about one week in 2011.
ReplyDeleteWould love to see Slater get called up to play 1B.
ReplyDeleteJust when the lineup is intact, a rejuvenated Pence coming, Melancon repaired with bionic arm, Hanson ready, Bumgarner with a scheduled start (does that make 4 with Stratton, Holland, and Suarez?), 5 RPs performing well (Melancon 6, Blach ?) and the wild card (Rodriguez) -- THE WHEEL comes off!
ReplyDeleteOh well, the Dodgers have 5 SPs the DL (6 if you count Tom Koehler)!
we'll see if ryder jones gets called up while belt is out to at least to be showcased for a possible trade to upgrade the rotation.
ReplyDeleteLike his showcase last year? 53 games: .173/.244/.273 and negative dWAR
Deletehe deserves another opportunity, he's done really well in sacramento this season. he was called up by default last year and i think he'll be improved.
DeleteSlater has earned the call up. Like to see the Giants bite the bullet and move AJax. Jackson was a gamble bargain bin guy who really doesn’t fill a need. Last year was a bit of an outlier for him offensively. I don’t think the Giants can expect much improvement.
ReplyDeleteLet AJ go. (Probably a release) Bring up Slater. Get a bit of an OF rotation going. Cutch has not earned the automatic start.
Blanco DFA'd, has cleared waivers and will be outrighted to Sacramento. Pence reinstated. Tomlinson back up and will be playing 2B tonight. Ritzo says Hansen is not in the SJ Giants lineup. Not sure what that means exactly.
ReplyDelete