It wasn't easy, but in the end, the struggle was worth it as the Giants rallied for 3 runs in the top of the 16'th inning and hung on for the win. Key Lines:
Joe Panik 2B- 0 for 6. BA= .239. Gotta wonder if Joe completely healthy as he is in a deep slump: 3 for 36 since going 6 for 11 in his first 3 games back from the DL.
Andrew McCutchen RF- 3 for 7, HR(8). BA= .267. Cutch hits his second first inning, 2-run dinger in as many games. He is hitting .339 for the month of June. Interestingly, he has not drawn a walk in June and sports a .339/.339/732 slash line.
Evan Longoria 3B- 0 for 1, HBP. BA= .246. The HBP in the. 4'th inning broke the 5'th metacarpal on his left hand. Same injury as Madbum, so he'll be out awhile.
Alen Hanson 3B- 3 for 5, 2 2B. BA= .338. One big difference from last year's team is depth and Alen Hanson has been a huge part of the depth. So much so, that some fans might be happy to see him playing 3B instead of Evan Longoria!
Pablo Sandoval 1B- 1 for 4, 3 BB. BA= .271. Pabs has transformed himself into a more patient hitter, but it was his bases loaded single in the 16'th that broke this one open and led the way to the win.
Mac Williamson LF- 1 for 3, HR(8). BA= .250. Mac homered in the 2'nd inning to give the Giants a 3-0 lead. He was lifted in a double switch in the 7'th inning....for Hunter Pence, who went 0 for 4 the rest of the way. True, the Giants had the lead at that point, but is Hunter Pence the guy you bring in as a defensive replacement?
Gorkys Hernandez CF- 2 for 6, SF. BA= .289. The Magic Wandu is back for Gorkys who is hitting .318 over his last 7 games. His SF gave the Giants an insurance run in the 16'th inning.
Dereck Rodriguez RHP- 6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 4.34. DRod logs his 2'nd QS out of 3 which should be enough to keep him around awhile longer.
Ty Blach LHP- 6.2 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 10/1. ERA= 4.22. Blach may have found his true calling as a long reliever. He's allowed just 1 ER in 14 IP in 5 Appearances, since moving to the bullpen. This yeoman outing brings back memories of Yusmeiro Petit and the 2014 playoffs!
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The NL West leading D'Backs won as did the Dodgers so the Giant remain in 3'rd place, 4.5 games behind the leaders with the Dodgers 2.5 games back in 2'nd place. The Rockies lost to the Phillies to fall 5 games off the pace which the Padres dropped to 6.5 games back in last place.
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The Giants move on to LA for the last leg of the road trip with Derek Holland facing Ross Stripling in game 1 tonight.
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My only comment > Blach is a "bulldog"!
ReplyDeleteRichard in Winnipeg
That was the 8th blown lead of the four game series. At least we won this one.
ReplyDeletePence: I shook my head. The guy, literally, has the worst WAR on the team at -0.7 and sports negative offensive & defensive metrics while Williamson is positive in both offense and defense. I wouldn't put Pence in over Williamson in any non-injury/day-of-rest situation at this point in time.
Panik: I'm wondering if, if not when, he loses his job to Hanson. Hanson isn't in Panik's league as a defender. But he can hit and is a far better threat on the basepaths. Meanwhile Panik just hasn't been hitting and has struggled, on-and-off, at the plate since 2015.
Blach & D-Rod: It was two 'quality starts' in one game. :) And they weren't wasted!
Sandoval: He's certainly a changed man from the guy who left. Massive public humiliation after a major face-plant will do that to you I guess... As a player, his defense is not what it used to be in his salad days, but he's a good guy to have coming off the bench and spot starting and he seems, from what I've read in the press, to be a better team-mate than in the past.
DOC - Good point about the depth that guys like Hanson and Pablo have provided..ANd like you said, it wouldn't be a problem to see Hanson at 2B.or even 3B (until Belt comes back).and Pablo at 3B (even some 2B) when Belt comes back....given the injury to Longoria and Panik's slump.....The one position that the Giants don't have any depth (not talking spot starts) at the ML level or even in the minors right now is SS...gotta keep CRAWFORD healthy..probably the most important Giant even when he cools down
ReplyDeleteSteveVA
**Rant incoming**
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty fed up with Bochy and his inability to develop young bats. Maybe I'm overstating how much getting consistent ABs develops a player, but I think we can all agree that it is important for a young player trying to break into the league. We have seen this story before with Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, and now Mac. If you aren't hitting .350 right out of the gate, you are going to sit for the Vet now matter what type of slash line they are producing. I love me some Hunter Pence, he did great things for us and seems like a real stand up guy. But I don't think you can have him on the roster with Bochy at the helm, like Bengie Molina you have to get him away from Bruce. Over the last 7 days - Hunter Pence 17 ABs, Mac 15 ABs. Yea, Mac is the starting LFer alright. He is struggling, but that's part of baseball. Pence looks terrible in his ABs as well, he gets lucky to slap a few infield singles // hole finding ground ball singles.
**Had to get it off my chest.
Hanson has been huge - He crushed the ball in two separate ABs with a man on in extra innings, can't ask for more then that. Obviously he is eventually going to have a bad stretch of games, but I will be glad to see him in the lineup everyday while his bat is hot. I understand letting Panik play, but it goes into the rant about a .230 vet hitting at the top of the lineup, while a guy with a 1.200 OPS sits on the bench. If you are going to bench cold players, Hanson should have been getting ABs everyday as a utility guy (with panik getting a lot of rest)
IDK, Posey, Belt, Crawford, Pablo all turned out pretty well. Panik was once a young player who got his chances. I don't think you can make a blanket statement that Bochy is terrible at developing young hitters. I don't completely understand what he's doing with Mac, but that's just me. I don't know that his moves are totally indefensible.
DeleteI was exaggerating a bit, but the point is that kids get jerked around with random playing time. Belt turned out well, but you liked the way he would get benched all the time in his younger days?
DeleteI once did an in-depth timeline of Belt's playing time and demotions in his first couple of years. Yes, I believe he was handled correctly and is a better player today than he would have been if he had just been thrown out there and told to play through the slumps. In addition, some of the "demotions" that folks recall and seem to dwell on were actually rehab assignments from injuries.
DeleteI wish they would bat Panik where they should. Second in the lineup. Such as today. He'll be leading off and Hanson hitting second. Should be flip flopped. I wish they'd do that. I think it would better take benefit of Joe and Alen's strengths.
ReplyDeleteIn the "why does Bochy do that" meme, he pontificated a while ago when Pence and Williamson returned to the team about the outfield, that he would go with the best bats but he had to keep everyone onboard, give them some playing time, so they could play should they BE NEEDED. Or something like that.
ReplyDeleteThus Pence and Jackson are playing semi-regularly, getting ABs and not hitting, playing the field not very well, and otherwise keeping Hernandez and Williamson out of the lineup.
Bochy is giving Pence and Jackson some playing time so they could play when needed?
Excuse me for asking, but, Bruce, when will Pence and Jackson ever BE NEEDED?
It's fairly safe to say: Pence and Jackson will never BE NEEDED.
If the Giants start winning, it won't be because Pence and Jackson are needed.
If the Giants keep scuffling along, it won't be because Pence and Jackson are needed.