This was a game between two #5 Starters who both pitched like #5 Starters. The difference in the game might be that Bruce Bochy was a little less patient with his Starter then D'Backs Manager Torey Lovullo was with his. Key Lines:
Brandon Belt 1B- 2 for 3, 2B, 3 BB. BA= .296. Belt had a very Belt-like game and showed why he needs to be hitting at or near the top of the lineup reaching base 5 out of 6 PA's. In addition, he made a fantastic play on a squibber in the 4'th inning that could have saved the game. The situation was bases-loaded, 2 outs, a run in. Christian Walker hit a squibber that snaked down the 1B line. Belt scooped it up off the ground while on the run and in 1 motion got off a throw to Cory Gearrin who was running to cover 1B but still several feet away. Gearing caught it and kept going to barely beat Walker to the bag. Belt doesn't make that throw and at least 1 run scores. He doesn't get to the ball and at least 2 runs score and the inning stays alive.
Brandon Crawford SS= 2 for 5, 2B, BB. BA= .315. Crawford keeps rolling along. Has the lead for team MVP in my book.
Nick Hundley C- 3 for 5, 2B, BB. BA= .265. Giants don't lose much when Hundley subs for Buster Posey. Another terrific game for Nick.
Pablo Sandoval 3B- 1 for 1, HBP. BA= .266. Pabs took a Godley pitch off the back of the elbow which appeared to give him quite a stinger down the ulnar nerve. He had to leave the game. X-rays reportedly negative.
Austin Slater LF- 2 for 3, 2 BB. BA= .409. Slater got the start in LF with a RHP on the mound and made the most of his opportunity. He should now be the full time starter until he proves he is not worthy.
Joe Panik 2B- 2 for 5. BA= .254. Panik had nice series going 5 for 13 with a HR. A strong second half from him would go a long ways toward taking the Giants to the next level.
9'th Batter- 3 for 5, 3 2B. SP Derek Holland had a leadoff double in the 4'th and scored a run. PH Hunter Pence roped a double down the LF line to drive in 2 in the 5'th inning. PH Austin Jackson led off the 9'th inning with a double to L-CF and scored a run.
Derek Holland LHP- 3.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 4.36. This was painful to watch as both Holland and D'Backs SP Zack Godley threw a ton of pitches. Credit Holland for not letting the game get away completely. 90 pitches in 3.2 IP. Whew!
Pierce Johnson RHP- 2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 5.87. Johnson pitched better than the line looks. He threw 2 scoreless frames. The 5-run cushion allowed Bochy to try to squeeze another inning out of him. Nick Ahmed led off the 7'th inning with a triple and Paul Goldschmidt followed with a drive to the same location except a lot further for a 2-run dinger.
Sam Dyson RHP- 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 3.29. Dyson is now officially back in a 7'th inning role. He made this appearance successful. Baby steps.
Mark Melancon RHP- 0.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 3.27. Melancon warmed up while it was still a Save situation. By the time he entered the game in the 9'th, the Giants had a 4 run lead so no Save Op. He did not look sharp and could not get out of the inning. My guess is he's still not right physically as his pitches looked like they had nothing on them. Regardless, it is clear he is not ready to re-assume the Closer role.
Will Smith LHP- 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(2). ERA= 1.11. Smith got the 1-out Save by striking out Jake Lamb who was the tying run. He made Lamb look silly in the process with a series of nasty and nastier sliders. I would say Smith is now firmly ensconced in the Closer role. He may not be available tomorrow in Coors Field since that would give him appearances in 3 consecutive games.
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The Win completed a series sweep on the road against the first place team in the NL West and that is huge, folks! Giants are now just 2.5 games out of first place and trail the 2'nd place Dodgers by a fraction of a percentage point. The Rockies lost to the Dodgers and remain 6 games behind in 4'th place. The Padres lost to the Pirates 7-5 and bring up the rear, 11 games behind the leaders.
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The Giants move on to Denver and Coors Field with Madison Bumgarner facing fellow lefty Kyle Freeland. I bet the Giants bribed the MLB schedule makers to make sure there were no off-days in Colorado!
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Happy Slater getting chance to prove himself - he is a reliable line drive machine. Also glad that he was not the 8th place hitter (those honors went to Panik)
ReplyDeleteDelighted that Bochy played this game to win.
SAH-WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!
ReplyDeleteBelt: I have argued Belt for second-in-the-order for two years now. The guy's OBP over the last three years is .374 (which is 15th in the majors over that time period). And while he's no Ricky-Jackson-like threat to steal, stealing really isn't a significant part of baseball anymore. Add in a .480 slug over the same time and the Giants would find their run production increasing. Also, yet another GG play at 1B.
Slater: I'd make him permanent and put him top-of-the-order. While his MLB sample size is small, and he's not a major power-threat, he's a table-setter with an outstanding OBP wherever he's been. And he has some base-stealing hops as we saw yesterday. He really needs to stay up here as a starter and be the Giants lead-off man.
Melancon: His velocity was fine. That HR was a 92MPH fastball (which is slightly above average for him). He just didn't locate well and it cost him.
Smith: Jeeze Louise, but he embarrassed Lamb. Especially with that last slider that must have been 18" outside and he still got Lamb to bite.
McCutchen: what was wrong with him last night, not just 0-6, but he looked awful, never advanced a runner in 6 opportunities and 4 different pitchers?
ReplyDeletewhen the game is on the line I choose Slater over McCutchen, Hansen over Longoria ,,,, play the young studs
DeleteCompliment to rookie Slater with 2 outs in 8th when he got walked intentionally to get to Panik and L-L matchup. Before the AB, Panik was 1-2 with a 2B and an RBI against De La Rosa.
ReplyDeleteLovullo not only stayed with Godley too long he was foolish to let Dyson steal 2nd leaving 1st open for when Goldschmidt came up and AZ just a run behind -- obvious IBB there. Goldschmidt hit a HR in his next AB.
BB not only got Holland out just in time, he also managed the relief pitching extremely well bringing in Gearrin to get the one out (rather than the "long" guy -- Johnson) as his spot came up in the next inning and BB was able to PH for Gearrin. Pence delivered and Johnson wasn't burned.