Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Game Wrap 7/31/2019: Giants 5 Phillies 1

The Giants did not let a flurry of Trade Deadline activity distract them.  They put together a 5-run outburst in the 6'th inning to make a winner of SP Jeff Samardzija who tossed 6 scoreless frames.  Key Lines:

Buster Posey C- 1 for 5, HR(6).  BA= .259.  YtY led off the 6'th inning with a walk and Buster drove him in with a 2-run blast of SP Vince Velasquez to give the Giants the lead.

Pablo Sandoval 3B- 1 for 3, HR(14), BB.  BA= .265.  Sandoval followed Buster's HR with one of his own off reliever Adam Morgan.

Kevin Pillar CF- 1 for 4, HR(13).  BA= .239.  Brandon Crawford followed Pablo Sandoval's HR with a single and Kevin Pillar capped the Giants scoring with a 2-run bomb of his own.

Jeff Samardzija RHP- 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.75.   Shark's ERA is 2.89 over his last 7 Starts.  He's got 1 year left on his contract and is probably worth keeping around to the end of it.

Bullpen- 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.   The Bullpen is thinner now and it has been huge part of the Giants July success.  We'll see if Bochy can work his magic and pull what's left together for a stretch run.

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The Win left the Giants just 2 games behind the Nationals and Cardinals or Cubs for a Wild Card playoff spot. Currently they are equally behind in both WC spots.

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Dereck Rodruguez tries for a series win tomorrow facing RHP Jake Arrieta who hasn't been very good and whose arm seems to be hanging by a thread.  That means he'll probably no-hit the Giants.

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It was a wild and crazy trade deadline day for the Giants.  Everything was quiet up until about 2 hours before the deadline, then Farhan unleashed the hounds.  The first in a whole series of trades was LHP Drew Pomeranz and RHP Ray Black to the BrewCrew for 2B prospect Mauricio Dubon.  Pomeranz was an offseason signing who was a big disappointment as a SP but had recently found some traction in the bullpen which is probably why he was tradeable to the Crew which makes him a nice sell-high for Farhan.  Black captured a lot of imaginations with his triple digit radar gun readings, but could never stay health long enough to find traction on a MLB career.

So who is Mauricio Dubon?  MLB Pipeline had him ranked as the #3 Brewers prospect.  He's smallish, but athletic at 6'0", 160 lbs.  B-R, T-R.  He has some tools and stole 38 bases in 2017, but only 9 so far this season.  He has had a power surge with 16 HR's so far, but it's in the PCL.  His peripheral stats are very Panikesque with a 4.2 BB% and 13.8 K%.  Dubon was initially assigned to AAA Sacramento but could get a call up anytime and immediately becomes the odds on favorite to be the Giants starting 2B next season.

The next move was surprising as Farhan acquired 2B Scooter Gennett from the Red for cash considerations.  The B-L, T-R 2B is coming off 2 excellent seasons with the Reds but has missed most of this season with a groin strain and has hit just .217 over 72 AB's.  If he's fully healthy and has his timing down, he's a clear upgrade on Joe Panik, who might be out of a job tomorrow when Gennett reports.  Panik has been so bad for so long, Farhan undoubtedly feels he has nothing to lose in seeing if Gennett can regain the form of the last 2 seasons in short order.

The next move might have been Farhan's best of the day.  He somehow got the Braves to agree to pay all of the remaining $18 M on Mark Melancon's contract and still got a couple of interesting pitchers in return.  Tristan Beck was a highly regarded RHP prospect at Stanford whose stock dropped due to an extended back injury.  The Braves drafted him in the 4'th round last year after his senior season.  He has been roughed up in A+ ball this season but his peripherals are solid with 39 K's and 14 BB's in 36.2 IP.  Dan Winkler has MLB experience with a career line of 8-2, 3.68, 100.1 IP, 39 BB, 115 K.

Farhan also made a rare swap of minor leaguers sending LHP Jacob Lopez to the Rays for OF Joe McCarthy.  McCarthy is a highly regarded prospect who was caught in the Rays 40 man roster crunch while Lopez has put up nice numbers at Salem-Keizer but does not have high ceiling stuff by any stretch.  McCarthy has he classic Moneyball combo of patience and power. He can play either corner OF or 1B.

Farhan capped off his day by sending Sam Dyson to the Twins for 3 prospects I haven't heard of, so I have to look them up.  Prelander Berroa is a smallish 19 yo RHP who has pitched with mixed results in the advanced rookie Appalachian League.  Jaylin Davis is a 25 yo corner OF who is another patience and power guy who has put up video game numbers for AA and AAA in the Twins system.  Kai-Wei Teng is a jumbo RHP from Taiwan, 20 yo, 6'4", 260 lbs.  He has pitched well this season in the low A Midwest League.  So 3 lottery tickets for Sam Dyson with Jaylin Davis having a chance to make an impact as early as next season or maybe even this season as the Giants desperately need a RH masher in the OF.

This was clearly a sell day for Farhan Zaidi who managed to maintain a sense of competitiveness for this season.  The big question for this season is whether the bullpen can recover from the loss of 3 pretty significant pieces.   On the other hand, clearing out Melancon's contract might be Farhan's single biggest achievement of the day and went way beyond expectations.  It probably more than makes up for not being able to trade Bumgarner and Smith for prospects.

Game Wrap 7/30/2019: Phillies 4 Giants 2

The Giants had a chance to gain ground on one of the teams ahead of them in the Wild Card race but reverted to early season form with lackluster pitching from Tyler Beede and an offense that produced zilch against lefty Drew Smyly, who came into the game sporting an ERA of 7.69.  Key Lines:

Brandon Belt PH/1B- 1 for 1, HR(12).  BA= .235.
Steven Vogt PH- 1 for 1, HR(5).  BA= .281.  Belt and Vogt homered in the 8'th to make the final score look closer than it was.  The Giants RH platoon continues to be much weaker than the LH platoon, a situation that was evident in the offseason and has never really been addressed.  Hey!  Maybe they can cycle in Joey Rickard?

Tyler Beede RHP- 5 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 5.01.  Rhys Hoskins' 23'rd HR was the ultimate difference maker in this one.

Drew Smyly LHP(Phillies)- 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 6.85.  Like I said, ERA of 7.69 coming in.  Pretty much all that needs to be said.

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The loss left the Giants 2.5 games behind the Phillies and Cubs for the final Wild Card spot.  They have 2 more games to try to make up ground on the Phillies but none before the Trade Deadline.

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Jeff Samardzija tries to even the series tonight facing hard throwing RHP Vince Velasquez.

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I'm starting to get the feeling the Giants aren't buying or selling which seems like the worst of all worlds.  Even the California Dreaming scenario depends on an upgrade or two at the trade deadline.  It's frustrating to see other teams acquire pieces who could upgrade the Giants for affordable prices in prospects.  If Zaidi can't or won't find a deal or two like that, I'd prefer he sell than hold.  Hope I am wrong and this morning brings an early Christmas present or two.

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Weird 3-way trade today which saw the Indians exchange one headcase for another and the Padres join the sellers club.

Reds get RHP Trevor Bauer.  Talented but crazy.  How will he react to pitching in a hitter's heaven?

Indians get OF Yasiel Puig from the Reds and OF Franmil Reyes and LHP Logan Allen from the Padres.  Indians need corner OF power and got it, but at a price.

Padres get OF Taylor Trammell from the Reds.  Trammell has more tools than Reyes, but does not break the logjam of OF's in the Padres organization.

And yeah, the Giants could use Franmil Reyes, but I'm glad they didn't give up Heliot Ramos and more to get him.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Down on the Farm: 7/29/2019

AAA  Sacramento River Cats were idle.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels were idle.

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A+  San Jose Giants were idle.

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A  Augusta Greenjackets swarmed over the Lexington Legends 9-1:

Ismael Munguia DH- 2 for 5, SB(12).  BA= .292.
Simon Whiteman SS- 2 for 4, BB, SB(3).  BA= .320.
Diego Rincones RF- 2 for 5.  BA= .298.
Frankie Tostado 1B- 2 for 4, HR(14), SF.  BA= .256.
Jacob Gonzalez 3B- 2 for 4, HR(7).  BA= .230.
Seth Corry LHP- 5.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K's.  ERA= 1.85.
Ryan Walker RHP- 2.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.00.
Peter Lannoo RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.50.

I think we can say definitively that Seth Corry is having a breakout season.  5 of his last 6 Starts have been scoreless including his last 3.  He has managed to dramatically reduce his walk rate over his last 6 starts with just 6 BB's in 33.1 IP with 43 K's.  He leads the SAL in total K's with 129 in 92.1 IP.  Can we call this Bumgarneresque?

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes erupted over the Tri-City Dust Levels 11-2:

Hunter Bishop CF- 1 for 4, SF.  BA= .194.
Alexander Canario RF- 1 for 4, HR(3), BB.  BA= .247.
Tyler Fitzgerald SS- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .306.
Matt Martorano C- 1 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .282.
Kwan Adkins LF- 0 for 2, 2 BB, SB(8).  BA= .283.
Jeff Houghtby 2B- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(3).  BA= .303.
Conner Nurse RHP- 4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.84.
Jordan Scott RHP- 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.00.
Israel Cruz RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.14.
Deiyerbert Bolivar LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.66.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Orange crushed the Giants Black 12-5:

Orange:
Najee Gaskins LF- 0 for 2, 2 BB, SB(12).  BA= .340.
Marco Luciano DH- 1 for 2, 3 BB, SB(8).  BA= .339.
Luis Toribio 3B- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .322.
Connor Cannon 1B- 3 for 5, HR(10).  BA= .314.
Patrick Hilson CF- 1 for 4, SB(10).  BA= .198.
Edison Mora SS- 0 for 3, BB, 2 SB(6).  BA= .224.

Black:
Grant McCray CF- 0 for 1, 4 BB, SB(9).  BA= .234.
Garrett Frechette 1B- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .323.
Jin-De Jhang C- 2 for 5, 2B, SB(1).  BA= .258.
Nolan Dempsey 2B- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .136.

Last year in the DSL, Luis Toribio had a BB%= 18.6 and a K%= 22.6.  This year in the AZL, his BB%= 18.7 and his K%= 23.7.
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DSL  Tigers2 devoured the Giants 22-6:

Victor Bericoto 1B- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .339.
Luis Matos CF-1 for 4, BB.  BA= .358.
Robert Gomez DH- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .226.
Melvin Marte RHP- 3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.38.

Victor Bericoto is hitting .512 in 41 AB over his last 10 games.

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Down on the Farm: 7/28/2019

AAA  Sacramento River Cats defeated the Tacoma Rainiers 6-2:

Joey Rickard CF- 2 for 4, 2B, 3B.  BA= .379.
Andrew Suarez LHP- 6.2 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 5.46.
Ray Black RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 5.16.
Fernando Abad LHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.26.

There might not be many openings on the Giants active roster after the Trade Deadline as was anticipated most of the season.

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AA  Altoona Curve wiped out the Richmond Flying Squirrels 3-1:

Bryce Johnson CF- 1 for 3, BB, SB(8).  BA= .300.
Logan Webb RHP- 4.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 8/0.  ERA= 2.27.
Garrett Williams LHP- 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.97.

Logan Webb comes off the Suspended List.  Just say no to supplements!

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A+  San Jose Giants pounded the Modesto Nuts 8-2:

Manuel Geraldo SS- 1 for 5, SB(16).  BA= .230.
Heliot Ramos CF- 1 for 5, 2B, SB(6).  BA=. .311.
Joey Bart C- 2 for 5, HR(12).  BA= .276.
Courtney Hawkins LF- 3 for 4.  BA= .257.
Sandro Fabian RF- 1 for 3, SF.  BA= .338.
Heath Quinn DH- 3 for 4.  BA= .305.
Jose Marte RHP- 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K's, GO/AO= 5/1.  ERA= 4.44.
Camilo Doval RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.75.

This is the kind of dominant start you hope to see a lot more of from Jose Marte.  He has the talent for it.

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A Augusta Greenjackets outscored the Lexington Legends 11-10:

Ismael Munguia RF- 2 for 5, BB.  BA= .291.
Simon Whiteman SS- 2 for 5, Sac.  BA= .286.
Diego Rincones DH- 1 for 5, HR(3).  BA= .296.
Jacob Gonzalez 3B- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .227.
Jeffry Parra C- 1 for 5, HR(5).  BA= .161.
Frankie Tostado 1B- 1 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .253.

My comp for Ismael Munguia is Marvin Benard.  Now, if you think Brandon Belt is a polarizing player......

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes buried the Eugene Emeralds 8-1:

Jeff Houghtby SS- 1 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .287.
Alexander Canario CF- 1 for 3, 2B, BB, SF.  BA= .247.
Carter Aldrete 2B- 1 for 1, HR(1), 2 BB, HBP.  BA= .500.
Kwan Adkins LF- 3 for 4, HR(2), SB(7).  BA= .288.
Jesus Ozoria RHP- 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.38.

Kwan Adkins is quietly having himself a nice summer in Salem-Keizer.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Black topped the D'Backs 6-4:

Jairo Pomares RF- 1 for 3, 3B, BB.  BA= .382.
Jin-De Jhang DH- 1 for 4, 3B.  BA= .231.
Jose Rivero 2B- 1 for 2, HR(1).  BA= .227.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Orange beat the Athletics Gold 9-6:

Luis Toribio 3B- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .315.
Tyler Wyatt RF/3B- 2 for 4, BB, SB(1).  BA= .246.
Enoch Watts 2B- 2 for 4.  BA= .238.
Ismael Alcantara 1B- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .167.

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DSL  Giants were idle.

Game Wrap 7/28/2019: Giants 7 Padres 6

The Giants played a wild and woolly game to win their final series of 2019 in Petco Park.  Madison Bumgarner had a 7-inning non-quality start and got sustained support from the offense.   Key Lines:

Donovan Solano 2B- 2 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .336.   I guess nobody believe he can sustain anything close to this, but is there any reason to not give him that chance and let him be the primary 2B?

Alex Dickerson PH/LF- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .349.  Dickerson might be able to sustain this, if he can stay healthy.

Buster Posey C- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .264.  Boch seems to have found the right playing time mix to keep Buster fresh and keep Vogt from rusting on the bench.

Brandon Crawford SS- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .234.  Craw been slumpin' again.  .214 over his last 7 games.  His single in the 9'th inning drove in the difference-making run.

Mike Yastrzemski LF/RF- 4 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .275.  YtY seems to be settling in.  .375 over his last 7 games, .356 over his last 15.

Madison Bumgarner LHP- 7 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.74.  Bummy really made just one big mistake on the day which was serving up a pitch for Hunter Renfroe to hit.  He knows what to do with those. The 3-run blast kept this from being a QS.  Bummy settled down and pitched 4 scoreless frames after the dinger.

Will Smith LHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(26).   ERA= 2.72.  One of Smith's few ugly Saves on the season.  Good thing the Giants scored 2 runs in the top of the 9'th!

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The Win left the Giants 2.5 games behind 3 teams in the Wild Card race.  One of those teams is the Nationals who are on second place in the NL East.  2 are the Cubs and Cardinals who are tied for the NL Central lead.  Other Wild Card contending teams include the Phillies and Brewers who are 1.5 games ahead of the Giants and the D'Backs who are 1 game behind.

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The Giants get a day off to travel east to Philadelphia where they will take on the Phillies in the 2 games before the July 31 deadline plus one on August 1.  Tyler Beede takes on LHP Drew Smyly in Game 1 on Tuesday.

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So buy, sell hold?  The trades of Marcus Stroman and Sergio Romo would be sobering for those who are dreaming of a prospect haul for Bumgarner and Smith.  It's definitely a buyers market out there.  On top of that, I just don't think you can pull the rug out from under a team that is just 2.5 games out of a playoff berth no matter how improbable you think their chances ultimately are.
That's not good for ownership, the fans who attend games or the overall health of the game.  Just for one example:  the Giants were a lot farther back later in the season in 2010.  So I don't see selling as a viable option unless someone out there goes crazy and offers their top prospect and more which is extremely unlikely to happen.

At the same time, I don't want to see the Giants give up one of their top 4 prospects for a rental in a postseason race that is going to be dicey at best.  So no to an all-out buy(I might make an exception for Thor or Whit Merrifield who have controlled contracts beyond this season).  On the other hand, if they can buy a Marcus Stroman level talent for 2'nd or 3'rd tier prospects, then in the immortal words of Tim Lincecum, "F*** Yeah!".

And yeah, it's only been in the last month that I though it was possible I would come to this conclusion because I've been squarely in the sell camp for well over 1 year.

Down on the Farm: 7/27/2019

AAA  Tacoma Rainiers beat the Sacramento River Cats 5-2:

Abiatal Avelino SS- 2 for 4.  BA= .288.
Enderson Franco RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 6.29.
Travis Bergen LHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.85.
Nick Vincent RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Williams Jerez LHP- 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.14.

Avelino is batting .322 in July.  He's actually been remarkably consistent hitting .286 pre All-Star and .300 post All-Star.  Not sure how the Travis Bergen 60-day IL thing plays out, but it seems like if he is well enough to be pitching, he's got to come off sometime and will have to be added back onto the 25-man active roster or be offered back to the Blue Jays.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels outlasted the Altoona Curve 6-5(11 innings):

Ryan Howard 3B- 2 for 4, SF.  BA= .215.
Bryce Johnson CF- 2 for 4, SB(4), BB.  BA= .299.
Jalen Miller PH- 1 for 1, 2B.  BA= .211.
Johneshwy Fargas LF- 2 for 5, 2B, SB(4).  BA= .241.

Ryan Howard is batting .364 over his last 10 games and is 8 for 16 over his last 4.

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A+  San Jose Giants smashed the Modesto Nuts 9-5:

Manuel Geraldo SS- 3 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .231.
Heliot Ramos CF- 2 for 5.  BA= .313.
David Villar 3B- 3 for 3, 2B, 3B, 2 BB.  BA= .283.
Dalton Combs 1B- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .322.
Heath Quinn RF- 2 for 4, 2 2B, BB.  BA= .282.
Jake Wong RHP- 4 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 5.05.
Luis Amaya LHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.70.
Jesus Tona RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Manuel Geraldo hit just .194 pre All-Star and is hitting .286 post All-Star.  He hit .293 in June and is hitting .272 in July.  David Villar is white hot, batting .450 over his last 10 games.  He hit .248 pre All-Star and is hitting .319 post All-Star.  Dalton Combs hit .318 for Salem-Keizer last year and has hit .320 for 3 teams this season.

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A  Lexington Legends defeated the Augusta Greenjackets 6-1:

NTSH.

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Short Season Eugene Emeralds topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 4-3:

Ricardo Genoves C- 2 for 4.  BA= .252.
Jeff Houghtby 2B- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .288.

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Rookie AZL  Angels crushed the Giants Black 18-5:

Grant McCray CF- 2 for 5, 2B, SB(8).  BA= .243.
Dilan Rosario SS- 3 for 5, SB(4).  BA= .247.
Jin-De Jhang C- 2 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .227.
Jesus Reyes RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 6.92.
Patrick Ruotolo RHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

After a slow start to his pro career, Grant McCray is batting .341 over his last 10 games and .309 for the month of July.

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Rookie AZL  Cubs 2 outscore the Giants Orange 7-5:

Javeyon Williams LF- 2 for 5, 2B, SB(14).  BA= .275.
Marco Luciano SS- 2 for 3, HR(9), BB, HBP, SB(7).  BA= .348.
Taylor Rashi RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

If you thought Marco Luciano was cooling off, you thought wrong.  .359 over his last 10 games to raise his BA from .329.  2 HR's and 3 SB's in the process.

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DSL  Mariners sank the Giants 9-4:

Robert Gomez LF- 1 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .216.
Diego Verbel 2B- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .259.
Jose Hernandez CF- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .245.

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Ty Blach was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Logan Webb to come off the Suspended list.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Game Wrap 7/27/2019: Padres 5 Giants 1

The Giants offense was quiet again and this time the pitching was not able to pick them up.  Key Lines:

Mike Yastrzemski RF- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .260.  YtY scored the Giants only run when Pablo Sandoval singled him home on B2B hits in the 6'th inning.

Shaun Anderson RHP- 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 5.06.  Not quite as bad as the line looks.  Anderson committed the unpardonable sin of walking the pitcher to lead off the 5'th inning.  He then brushed back Fernando Tatis and Tatis got up and crushed one to R-CF for a 2-run blast that was the big blow of the game.  Anderson was lifted after allowing a leadoff double in the 6'th inning that eventually scored.

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The Loss left the Giants 2.5 games behind 3 teams who are tied for the 2 Wild Card berths.

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Madison Bumgarner takes the mound tomorrow afternoon facing TBD in his last start before the Trade Deadline.  Ironically the outcome of this game may determine whether Farhan buys or sells and Bummy's performance may impact his trade value.  Drama!

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Sergio Romo traded to the Twins.  Derek Holland traded to the Cubs for cash.  Oh, and maybe I'm late to the party, but I'm pretty sure that twitter piece about his "secret sauce" is satire.  "Holland Ace Sauce!"  LOL!

Down on the Farm: 7/26/2019

AAA  Sacramento River Cats pounded the Tacoma Rainiers 18-3:

Steven Duggar CF- 1 for 1, 5 BB.  BA= .333.
Joey Rickard LF- 2 for 5, 2B, SF.  BA= .380.
Mike Gerber RF- 3 for 6, HR(23).  BA= .320.
Chris Shaw 1B- 4 for 6, 2 2B, HR(13).  BA= .320.
Francisco Pena DH- 2 for 4, HR(12), SB(1).  BA= .341.
Abiatal Avelino SS- 2 for 5.  BA= .286.
Conner Menez LHP- 4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 4.12.
Bullpen- 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.

More sillyball from the PCL.  5 relievers, Okert, Vincent, Selman, Rogers and Gustave all pitched 1 scoreless inning.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels defeated the Altoona Curve 5-3:

Ryan Howard SS- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .209.
Caleb Baragar LHP- 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.73.
Sam Moll LHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.60.
Caleb Simpson RHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.57.
Sam Wolff RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, Save(3).  ERA= 2.49.

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A+ San Jose Giants cracked the Modesto Nuts 5-2:

Heliot Ramos CF- 3 for 5.  BA= .311.
Joey Bart C- 2 for 4, 2B, BB, SB(4).  BA= .273.
Matt Frisbee RHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.94.
Rodolfo Martinez RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.55.

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A  Augusta Greenjackets nosed out the Lexington Legends 4-3:

Simon Whitman SS- 2 for 5.  BA= .308.
Jose Layer CF- 2 for 4, SB(6).  BA= .223.
Keaton Winn RHP- 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 3.38.

I hadn't noticed that Simon Whiteman had moved from Salem-Keizer to Augusta for the last series against the Columbia Fireflies.  Keaton Winn has a 2.49 ERA over his last 10 appearances

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Eugene Emeralds 3-2:

Tyler Fitzgerald SS- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .313.
Jeff Houghtby 2B- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .280.
Kervin Castro RHP- 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.68.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Orange and Giants Black were both idle.

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DSL  Mariners 2 edged out the Giants 2-1:

Diego Verbel 2B- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .248.
Jorge Garcia RHP- 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 1.95.
Yoniel Ramirez RHP- 2.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.67.

Game Wrap 7/26/2019: Giants 2 Padres 1(11 innings)

Remember "Torture", the term Kuip coined to describe the cliffhanging finishes the Giants gave fans in 2010?  Yeah, well, it's back.  And BTW, is it just me or have the Giants played a lot of extra-inning games lately?  They were at it again last night with Pablo Sandoval finally putting the Giants ahead to stay with a HR out of the RH batter's box in the 11'th inning.  Key Lines:

Pablo Sandoval PH/3B- 2 for 2, 2B, HR(11).  BA= .264.  With lefty Joey Lucchesi on the mound for the Padres, Bochy sent out a RH heavy lineup to start the game with Zach Green at 3B.  When Lucchesi came out, he took out several RH hitters including Green with Pabs taking over at 3B.  By the time the 11'th inning rolled around another LHP was out there so Pabs was hitting RH, his weaker side.  No matter, I don't know if there is any hitter in baseball better at getting on top of a high pitch, and Pablo definitely did, sending it out into the LF stands for the game winner.

Jeff Samardzija RHP- 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 8/0.  ERA= 3.95.  Shark had his FB command going to both sides of the plate and down in the zone from the get-go and turned in a strong QS.

Bullpen- 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  Another command performance by the bullpen after on off day. Moronta, Dyson, Watson, Melancon, Smith.  That's the Big Five with Drew Pomeranz and Trevor Gott backing up.  Ideally you want to only use 2-3 per game to keep them fresh, but Boch has had to turn to all 5 several times which is why Pomeranz and Gott have been lifesavers for this pen.  Oh yeah, Will Smith recorded his 25'th Save.

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The Win left the Giants 2.5 games behind both the Nationals and Cubs who are currently tied for first in the Wild Card race.  Meanwhile, the surging Cardinals came from behind to beat the Astros and take over first place in the NL Central.

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Shaun Anderson gets the chance to keep it all going tonight against Cal Quantrill who is coming off 2 scoreless Starts.

Friday, July 26, 2019

Armchair GM: Trade Deadline Drama- To Buy or Not to Buy?

The Trade Deadline is fast approaching and the heat is on Giants GM Farhan Zaidi.  "Buy" vs "Sell" debates are reaching a crescendo.  A month ago, it all seemed settled.  Farhan was, at minimum, going to trade off all players who are pending free agents and hopefully a bad contract or two in the process.  He was going to get back prospects in these trades that would transform a moribund farm system into the envy of MLB.  Then a funny thing happened.  Farhan's roster churning turned up a some hot hitters.  Rookies started pitching well.  Jaded veteran players started acting like they wanted to be out there playing again.  Bruce Bochy resurrected his almost magical ability to manage a pitching staff.  The Giants won game after game and reeled in the pack in the Wild Card race.  Suddenly it wasn't crazy to think the Giants might have one more improbable championship run in them in the 2010's.

And so the debates began.  Remember the Belt Wars?  Maybe in a few years we'll look back on this moment in time as the Trade Wars!  Our debates are playing out on websites and social media and maybe some sports talk shows.  It is also quite possible that the same debates are going on behind closed doors among ownership, upper management and field management.  Players are taking notice and reportedly passing threats of mutiny in the clubhouse to beat reporters.  The arguments break down along 3 lines:  Buy, Sell, Hold.

Pro Buy:  The Giants have closed the gap in the Wild Card race.  With a little help from a trade deadline acquisition or two, they can keep the momentum going, take a wild card spot and repeat the run of 2012.

Con Buy:  This hot stretch is a mirage.  It's still a bad team at it's core.  Trading prospects for veteran help will only weaken an already weak farm system with close to zero chance for a payoff.

Pro Sell:  Giants are still a distant long shot at best.  They have to take advantage of this unique opportunity to re-stock the farm system by trading pending free agents who won't be here next season anyway.

Con Sell:  Trading away an icon like Madison Bumgarner midseason will crater clubhouse and fan morale.  August and September will be a bloodbath much like September was last year.   Attendance will plummet cutting into revenue the team needs to remain competitive into the future.

Pro Hold:  The farm system is much improved and the need to restock no longer critical.  Besides, they can make Qualifying Offers to Bumgarner and possibly Will Smith and replenish the farm system through the compensation draft picks.  Meanwhile, the Giants will remain just competitive enough to keep the fans coming out without additional cost in payroll or prospects. And hey!  Anything can happen.  They might just keep the magic going and win with this latest Band of Misfits.

Con Hold:  This team is doomed without at least 1 or 2 significant upgrades.  It's the worst of all worlds in which they both lose out on postseason play and fail to upgrade the farm system.

Each of those is a rational argument.  Farhan Zaidi and Giants ownership have to make their choice which also depends on the choices and values of potential trading partners.  As Kris Kristofferson put it, "we take our own chances and pay our own dues...."

Down on the Farm: 7/25/2019

AAA:  Fresno Grizzlies slapped the Sacramento River Cats 3-1:

Steven Duggar CF- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .324.
Dereck Rodriguez RHP- 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K's, GO/AO= 8/1.  ERA= 3.97.

DRod keeping himself in the conversation in case reinforcement needed for the MLB club.  Is he potential trade bait?

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels straightened out the Altoona Curve 3-1:

Bryce Johnson RF- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .292.
Johneshwy Fargas CF- 2 for 3, BB, SB(39).  BA= .241.
Ryan Howard SS- 2 for 4.  BA= .199.
Brandon Lawson RHP- 6 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.64.
Tyler Cyr RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.17.
Melvin Adon RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(14).  ERA= 2.60.

Ryan Howard is having the hitting equivalent of the pitching season Tyler Beede had last year.  We'll hope for a similar positive regression next year.

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A+  Visalia Rawhide whipped the San Jose Giants 4-3:

Manuel Geraldo SS- 1 for 5, HR(2).  BA= .225.
Joey Bart C- 2 for 4, HR(11).  BA= .268.
Heath Quinn DH- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .271.
Aaron Phillips RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.48.

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A  Augusta Greenjackets defeated the Columbia Fireflies 4-3:

Ismael Munguia LF- 2 for 4, SB(11).  BA= .290.
Jacob Gonzalez 1B- 2 for 4.  B .226.
Jose Layer CF- 2 for 4, HR(4).  BA= .218.
Trent Toplikar RHP- 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 5 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.45.
Sandro Cabrera LHP- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(3).  ERA= 1.99.

Jose Layer is hitting .351 over his last 10 games and .313 for the month of July.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes blanked the Hillsboro Hops 2-0:

Hunter Bishop CF- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .200.
Logan Wyatt 1B- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .296.
Armani Smith DH- 2 for 4.  BA= .329.
Matt Martorano C- 1 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .323.
Travis Perry RHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.65.
Cooper Casad RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.38.
Israel Cruz RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.38.

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AZL  Giants Orange crushed the Giants Black 9-1:

Orange:

Javeyon Williams CF- 0 for 3, 2 BB, SB(13).  BA= .268.
Marco Luciano SS- 2 for 3, 2 BB, SB(6).  BA= .339.
Luis Toribio 3B- 1 for 4, HR(3), BB.  BA= .308.
Connor Cannon 1B- 2 for 5, HR(9).  BA= .306.
Najee Gaskins LF- 3 for 4, BB.  BA= .378.
Juan Sanchez LHP- 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 4.42.
Cory Taylor RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 5.14.

Juan Sanchez has allowed just 1 Run in 11 IP over his last two Starts with 14 K's and 3 BB's.

Black:

Grant McCray CF- 2 for 4, SB(7).  BA= .235.
Jairo Pomares RF- 1 for 4, 3B.  BA= .388.
Garrett Frechette 1B- 2 for 4.  BA= .325.

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DSL  Pirates2 beat the Giants 7-3:

Victor Bericoto DH- 1 for 2, 2 BB, HBP.   BA= .344.
Rayner Flores 1B- 2 for 4, SF.  BA= .331.

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Down on the Farm: 7/24/2019

AAA  Sacramento River Cats tamed the Fresno Grizzlies 9-1:

Mike Gerber RF- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(22), BB.  BA= .318.
Francisco Pena C- 1 for 4, HR(11), BB.  BA= .341.
Cristhian Adames 2B- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(4), BB.  BA= .316.
Levi Michael 3B- 2 for 4.  BA= .256.
Chris Shaw PH- 1 for 1, 2B.  BA= .306.
Yoanys Quiala RHP- 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 9/3.  ERA= 6.12.
Sam Selman LHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.38.
Travis Bergen LHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.91.
Williams Jerez LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 3.83.

Will we be seeing some of these names on Giants uniforms a week from now or will they be part of "buy" trade packages to other organizations?  Only Farhan knows, and maybe he doesn't know yet!

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AA  Bowie Baysox downed the Richmond Flying Squirrels 8-1:

Gio Brusa LF- 1 for 1, HR(10).  BA= .247.
Raffi Vizcaino RHP- 1.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 2.56.
Melvin Adon RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 2.66.
Sam Wolff RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.59.

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A+  San Jose Giants whipped the Visalia Rawhide 4-0:

Joey Bart C- 1 for 4, HR(10).  BA= .263.
David Villar 3B- 1 for 4, HR(7).  BA= .274.
Sean Hjelle RHP- 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 9/0.  ERA= 2.54.
John Gavin LHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 5.60.
Camilo Doval RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.99.

David Villar is hitting .357 over his last 10 games and .309 since the All-Star break.

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A  Augusta Greenjackets blanked the Columbia Fireflies 5-0:

Frankie Tostado 1B- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(13).  BA= .255.
Seth Corry LHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 1.97.
Matt Seelinger RHP- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.70.
Ryan Walker RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.16.

Seth Corry has issued just 5 walks in 27.2 IP while striking out 32 over his last 5 Starts.

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Short Season  Hillsboro Hops topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 4-1:

Franklin Labour DH- 2 for 4.  BA= .324.
Conner Nurse RHP- 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.25.

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Rookie AZL  D'Backs pounded the Giants Black 9-2:

NTSH.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Orange defeated the Brewers Gold 4-3:

Abdiel Layer 3B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .304.
Edison Mora 2B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .232.
Nick Morreale RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.50.
Wilkelma Castillo RHP- 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.42.
Jorge Labrador RHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.38.

Wilkelma Castillo was so invisible last year in the DSL(9 ER in 12 IP) I didn't recognize the name when he showed up in AZL boxscores this season despite a very recognizable first name.  He has actually put up the most impressive numbers of the impressive DSL pitching contingent that graduated to the AZL from last year.

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DSL  Pirates2 edged out the Giants 2-1:

Luis Matos CF- 3 for 3, 2B.  BA= .382.
Jose Peralta SS- 2 for 4.  BA= .273.
Jason Bonilla RHP- 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.94.

Not sure how many more ways I can say that Luis Matos is dominating the DSL and should be playing at a higher level.

Game Wrap 7/24/2019: Cubs 4 Giants 1

Cubs SP Jon Lester, who is generally quite tough on the Giants, fell ill prior to the game and was replaced by Tyler Chatwood who is generally quite tough on the Giants.  That, and a letdown performance by the Giants resulted in a loss to close out a 5-2 homestand.  Key Lines:

Steven Vogt C- 3 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .275.  Vogt's double in the 3'rd inning drove in Austin Slater for the Giants lone run of the game.

Donovan Solano 2B- 2 for 4.  BA= .336.  Solano tried to get something going with 2 outs on the 9'th inning.  PH Alex Dickerson followed with another single to bring the tying run to the plate in Brandon Belt who lined out to end the game.  While Solano is no sure bet to continue to outproduce Joe Panik at the plate, there is currently little justification for him to not be the full time starter at 2B.

Tyler Beede RHP- 5.2 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 4.85.  The K/BB looked good but Baez, Bryant and Almora all looked like they knew what was coming when they teed off on FB's and sent the into the LF bleachers.  It didn't help that all 3 gofer balls were middle-in at the belt.

Drew Pomeranz LHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 5.83.  Pomeranz has been sensational out of the bullpen which might make Watson or Smith expendable or maybe make Pomeranz a trade candidate himself.

Sam Coonrod RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 1.50.  Coonrod has been electric out of the pen while riding the Sacramento shuttle.

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The Loss dropped the Giants 3 games behind he surging Cardinals for the 2'nd Wild Card playoff spot and 4 games behind the Nationals for the first.  A 3-game deficit may be the buy-sell tipping point for Farhan Zaidi as the Trade Deadline bears down.

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The Giants get a day off tomorrow before hitting the road for 9 games that will take them through the trade deadline.   Interestingly, they will be in Philadelphia on July 30 and 31.  Jeff Samardzija will try to do better than his last start on Friday agains the Padres facing lefty Joey Lucchesi.

Down on the Farm: 7/23/2019

AAA  Sacramento River Cats outlasted the Fresno Grizzlies 8-6(10 innings):

Abiatal Avelino SS- 2 for 5, SB(12).  BA= .290.
Joey Rickard LF- 1 for 5, HR(2).  BA= .388.
Mike Gerber CF- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(21).  BA= .315.
Francisco Pena PH- 1 for 1, HR(10).  BA= .343.
Andrew Suarez LHP- 5.2 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 K, GO/AO= 11/3.  ERA= 5.82.
Nick Vincent RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Joey Rickard's 2-run HR came in the 10'th inning to break the tie.  Gotta think Mike Gerber woulda gotten another shot in SF had YtY not gotten hot just in time.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels vs Bowie Baysox postponed.

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A+  San Jose Giants whipped the Visalia Rawhide 5-4:

Courtney Hawkins LF- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .257.
Sandro Fabian RF- 2 for 4.  BA= .400.
Dalton Combs 1B- 2 for 3, 2B, SF, SB(2).  BA= .323.

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A  Columbia Fireflies edged out the Augusta Greenjackets 2-1:

Ismael Munguia LF- 2 for 4.  BA= .291.
Frankie Tostado 1B- 2 for 4.  BA= .249.
Keith Weisenberg RHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.92.
Logan Webb RHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 8/1.  ERA= 0.90.

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Short Season  Hillsboro Hops topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 5-4:

Alexander Canario CF- 1 for 3, HR(2), BB, SB(3).  BA= .275.
Tyler Fitzgerald SS- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .315.
Jeff Houghtby 2B- 2 for 3, 2 2B.  BA= .263.
Jesus Ozoria RHP- 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.67.

Alexander Canario showing off his tools!  Has his success(SSS) in S-K moved him into the top tier of Giants prospects?

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Rookie AZL  Angels outscored the Giants Orange 8-7:

Javeyon Williams LF- 2 for 4, 2 2B, Sac, SB(12).  BA= .281.
Marco Luciano SS- 2 for 5.  BA= .337.
Connor Cannon 1B- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .310.
Abdiel Layer 3B- 2 for 5.  BA= .292.
Najee Gaskins RF- 2 for 4, 3 SB(11).  BA= .351.
Rodolfo Bone C- 2 for 4.  BA= .222.
Nick Avila RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.50.
Norwith Gudino RHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Evan Lumbert RHP- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.69.

Unfortunately haven't had many chances to call Rodolfo Bone's name in Down on the Farm.  A Norwith Gudino sighting!

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Rookie AZL  Giants Black defeated the D'Backs 4-3:

Ghordy Santos 2B- 0 for 2, 2 BB, SB(10).  BA= .314.
Grant McCray CF- 2 for 4.  BA= .233.
Jairo Pomares RF- 1 for 3, SF.  BA= .411.
Richgelon Juliana LF- 1 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .250.
Jasier Herrera RHP- 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 7/0.  ERA= 2.11.
Patrick Ruotolo RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Ben Strahm RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, Save(2).  ERA= 0.93.

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DSL  Giants beat the Royals2 8-5:

Luis Matos CF- 1 for 4, BB, HBP, SB(14).  BA= .371.
Victor Bericoto 1B- 2 for 4, 2 BB.  BA= .349.
Jose Hernandez RF- 2 for 4, HBP.  BA= .238.
Roberto Monegro SS- 1 for 2, 3B, HBP, 2 BB.  BA= .257.
Jose Mullings RHP- 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 3.41.

They play wild and wooly down in the DSL.  There were a total of 7 HBP's in this game.

Game Wrap 7/23/2019: Giants 5 Cubs 4(13 Innings)

The Giants went to extra innings for the 3'rd time this homestand.  Pablo Sandoval, who had a frustrating 0 for 5 up to that point, hit a walk-off, opposite field HR(does that sound familiar) to make it all worth it.  Key Lines:

Brandon Belt 1B- 1 for 4, 2 BB.  BA= .243.  Leadoff guy gets on base 3 of 6 PA's.  Doesn't figure in the scoring.

Pablo Sandoval 3B- 1 for 6, HR(12).  BA= .261.  See Intro.  He'll get a rest with Jon Lester going today.

Alex Dickerson LF- 2 for 5, 2B, HR(6).  BA= .351.  This year's Pat the Bat.  Dick, Dick Dick!  Dickerson has been a transformative acquisition so far.

Kevin Pillar CF- 2 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .247.  The stats say he is not very good, but he's been the other transformative acquisition.  He helped the team win a few games during the Dark Days and has been a solid contributor over the last 30 games hitting .282.

Madison Bumgarner LHP- 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.66.  Bummy left with the lead, but the bullpen gave it up sending it way into extra innings.

Bullpen- 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.  This bullpen is so good, you are surprised when they give up a lead, but that's still a darn good combined pitching line!  After being unavailable yesterday, Will Smith goes 2 innings as does Mark Melancon.  Bochy took a look at the matchup for Game 3 and decided to go all in for this one.  Still, with a day off Thursday and another on Monday, it's likely everyone will be available today, but Boch will hope he doesn't have to use Melancon or Smith.

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The Win put the Giants two games above .500.  They remain 2 games behind the surging Cardinals in the race for the 2'nd Wild Card spot and just 2.5 games behind the Nationals for the first WC spot.

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Tyler Beede goes against Jon Lester, who always seems to dominate the Giants, in the finale of the series and the homestand.  Hoping for a sweeeeep!

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To those who point to overall W-L to compare negatively to the teams from the Glory Days, I say you also have to look at what other teams are doing and deficit in the standings.  At this point in 2010 or even later, the Giants were still so far behind the Padres in a race where it was win the division or go home, Aubrey Huff was filmed giving a couple of teammates a pep talk by saying if they made up 1 game per week the rest of the way, they would win the division.  That's pretty much what happened.  I don't recall the standings in 2012, but I do recall that things looked so bleak on the day Hunter Pence was acquired the TV broadcast spend more time filming the curb outside the stadium where he was expected to disembark than the game and Lou Seal was standing out there to greet him!  2014 is a blur in my mind. About all I remember is Madison Bumgarner putting the entire team on his shoulders and carrying to the finish.  So yeah, I still say those of you who still insist this team has to sell were probably saying the same thing in 2010, 2012 and 2014.

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So what should the Giants be buying if, IF, they buy?  Well, they still need a RH power bat for either LF or 2B.  They could also use a #2/3 SP who they can count on to rack up QS's and get deep into games to preserve the bullpen.  I have no idea where the Giants are going to find those, but I wouldn't put it past Zaidi to go bold.  The CW is he is desperate to hang onto his prospects and build the farm system, but don't forget he traded for Manny Machado just last year. I think he just might be arrogant enough to think he can trade a couple of top prospects and still build up the farm system, especially if what he's getting back has an extra year or two of control.  I'll put a couple of names out there:  Mike Minor, Noah Syndergaard.  Package Mike Minor and Hunter Pence?  What about Whit Merrifield?

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Down on the Farm: 7/22/2019

AAA  Sacramento River Cats were idle.

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AA  Bowie Baysox shellacked the Richmond Flying Squirrels 5-0:

Jacob Heyward LF- 2 for 3.  BA= .221.
Garrett Williams LHP- 6.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.97.

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AA  Bowie Baysox whitewashed the Richmond Flying Squirrels 2-0:

Jacob Heyward DH- 1 for 2, BB.  BA= .223.
Ryan Halstead RHP- 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.73.

Squirrels got just 1 hit in the game.

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A+  Lancaster Jethawks strafed the San Jose Giants 7-2:

Heliot Ramos CF- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .316.
Jake Wong RHP- 5 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.78.
Jesus Tona RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 0.00.

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A  Augusta Greenjackets were idle.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Boise Hawks 6-5:

Tyler Fitzgerald SS- 1 for 5, 3B.  BA= .300.
Alexander Canario RF- 4 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .273.
Hunter Bishop CF- 0 for 4, BB, SB(2), Assist 3B).  BA= .167.
Jacob Lopez LHP- 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 2.89.
Miguel Figueroa RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Woo hoo!  Alexander Canario's BA jumps .043 on this one game.  Jacob Lopez and Kervin Castro are 2 of 8 qualifying NWL pitchers with ERA's less than 3.00.  The 9'th guy is at 4.00.

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Rookie AZL  Athletics Gold no-hit the Giants Orange 2-0:

Jesus Gomez LHP- 4 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.50.
Cory Taylor RHP- 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 7.20.
Taylor Rashi RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Julio Rodriguez RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Julio Rodriguez has fanned 6 batters in 2 IP.  He's the guy with the legendary spin rate on the curveball.

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Rookie AZL  Cubs 2 defeated the Giants Black 7-3(7 innings):

George Bell LF- 0 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .324.
Carter Aldrete 1B- 2 for 4.   BA= .276.

Game called early due to lightning.

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DSL  Royals2 outscored the Giants 6-5:

Luis Matos CF- 2 for 4, 2 2B, BB.  BA= .373.
Rayner Flores C- 2 for 4.  BA= .331.
Adolfo Valdez DH- 3 for 5, SB(12).  BA= .211.
Carlos Cuevas LF- 1 for 3, 3B, BB.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Game Wrap 7/22/2019: Giants 5 Cubs 4

Wow!  Talk about waking up the echoes!  If that game didn't bring back memories of the Glory Days and not send chills up your spine, well, I really don't know what would.  It's the Band of Misfits all over again.  They hung tough and ground out a 3-run rally in the 8'th inning for a thrilling come-from-behind win.  Key Lines:

Mike Yastrzemski LF- 2 for 4.  BA= .265.  Yesterday, YtY hit a walk-off HR.  Tonight he collected 2 base knocks and drove in a run.  Batting .393 with 3 HR's over his last 7 games.

Pablo Sandoval 3B- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .263.  Pabs started the winning rally with a leadoff double.

Brandon Crawford SS- 2 for 4.  BA= .238.  Crawford singled up the middle to drive in Pabs in the 8'th.  Per Kuip, Crawford is 10 for his last 16 with RISP.

Austin Slater RF- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .255.  Slater has been scuffling since coming down with some illness in Colorado, but he absolutely smoked one up the CF alley(not Triples Alley because that was covered) with 2 outs in the 8'th to drive in the tying run.  A huge clutch hit!

Joe Panik 2B- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .239.  I've been hammering Panik pretty good this year, but tonight he collected 3 hits out of the 8-hole including the game winning RBI double to drive in Austin Slater to cap off the scoring in the 8'th inning.

Shaun Anderson RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 5/1.  ERA= 4.91.  Not a pretty line, but the Cubs have some scary hitters in their lineup and Shaun kept his cool through a couple of dingers and didn't let the game get away from him.

Drew Pomeranz LHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 5.93.  Pomeranz was good in his last start which makes his bullpen assignment a bit curious, but he gave 2 electric innings tonight to give his bullpen mates a breather.

Sam Dyson RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, Save(2).  ERA= 2.57. Will Smith was unavailable due to recent workload.  Dyson, who has done some work himself, caused some anxiety by putting a couple of runners on, with 2 outs, but got out of it on a pop up by Kyle Schwarber for the Save.

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The Win put the Giants one game over .500 for the first time this season and upped their July record to 15-3.  It left the 2.0 games behind the Cardinals for the final Wild Card playoff berth and 2.5 games begind the Nationals for the first Wild Card berth.

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Madison Bumgarner puts not only his own pride, but the pride of the team and the organization on the line tomorrow evening in a matchup against a resurgent Yu Darvish who is coming off B2B dominant starts.  That is one you don't want to miss!

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OK, I realize a lot can happen over the next 7-8 days, but if there is anyone out there who is still convinced the Giants should not be buyers after what we witnessed tonight, I challenge you to explain how this is different than 2010, 2012 or 2014 when the Giants were also pretty big underdogs.  Not that they have to give up the farm for an All-Stat rental, but the Giants made judicious adds in all 3 of the championship years which helped get them all those trophies Well, I guess Hunter Pence was an All-Star, and they gave up what seemed like a lot for him, but I think you get what I'm saying.

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Oh, and one more thing:  For all of you who gave up on Bruce Bochy and thought he was all washed up and the game had passed him by(yeah I might have wavered a bit there myself), are we not seeing an absolute genius manager at work here?  Has any manager ever managed a pitching staff better?  It was Bochy's virtuoso orchestration of the pitching that won those 3 championships and he might be even more brilliant this year.  How has he managed to nurse this staff through 4 games in 3 days in Coors Field followed by a 16-inning game and another extra-inning game?  You can take your Openers and stick 'em.  I'll take Bochy's pitching management any day, any season.  Add in keeping this team together during the darkest of days through the first 2 months of the season and get it to this point....that is Hall of Fame stuff were watching here!

Down on the Farm: 7/21/2019

AAA  Sacramento River Cats outscored the Tacoma Rainiers 6-5:

Abiatal Avelino SS- 1 for 3, HR(10), 2 BB.  BA= .288.
Chris Shaw 1B- 1 for 3, HR(12), HBP.  BA= .299.
Williams Jerez LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.79.
Fernando Abad LHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.22.

Abiatal Avelino has been remarkably consistent hitting .286 over his last 10 games.  .286 pre-All-Star and .308 post-All-Star.  Again, Jerez, Abad and Selman are nice replacement options for potential Watson/Smith trades, but I would not count on them the way the Giants can currently count on Watson and Smith.

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AA  Erie Seawolves doubled up the Richmond Flying Squirrels 2 touchdowns to 1(14-7):

Zach Houchins RF- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .252.
Jonah Arenado 1B- 2 for 4.  BA= .250.
Sam Moll LHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.80.
Casey Mize RHP(Seawolves)- 0.2 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.91.

This was Casey Mize' 3'rd appearance after coming off the DL.  He's clearly not the same pitcher he was before he got hurt.

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San Jose Giants downed the Lancaster Jethawks 4-3:

Joey Bart C- 1 for 2, 2 BB, SB(2).  BA= .264.
David Villar 3B- 2 for 4.  BA= .278.
Sandro Fabian RF- 1 for 3, HR(4), BB, SB(3).  BA= .385.
Matt Frisbee RHP- 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.24.

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A  Greensboro Grasshoppers defeated the Augusta Greenjackets 6-3:

Ismael Munguia DH- 2 for 4.  BA= .289.
Shane Matheny 3B- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .222.
Jose Layer CF- 2 for 4, HR(3), Assist(2B).  BA= .217.
Adam Oller RHP- 5 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.17.
Peter Lannoo RHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
JJ Santa Cruz LHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.61.

Ismael Munguia has been remarkably consistent.  .317 over his last 10 games.  .274 pre-All-Star.  .323 post-All-Star.  Jose Layer is hitting .361 over his last 10 games, .323 in July(16 games).

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Giants 4-3(12 innings):

Simon Whiteman 2B- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .279.
Yorlis Rodriguez PH/3B- 1 for 1, 2B.  BA= .273.
Armani Smith DH- 1 for 5, HR(2).  BA= .339.
Kervin Castro RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 2.63.
Tyler Schimpf RHP- 2.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.42.
Ben Madison RHP- 3.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.98.
Deiyerbert Bolivar  LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.75.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Orange and Giants Black were both idle.

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DSL  Giants were idle.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Game Wrap 7/21/2019: Giants 3 Mets 2

Conner Menez pitched 5 solid innings in his MLB debut and the bullpen picked it up for 7 more sensational innings of pitching.  It all finally paid off when Mike Yastrzemski hit an opposite field walk-off HR in the 12'th inning to send everyone home happy.  Key Lines:

Buster Posey C- 2 for 3, 2B, BB, HBP.   BA= .260.  Buster scored both Giants runs in the first 9 innings.  The HBP by reliever Seth Lugo definitely caught the attention of Madison Bumgarner and the Giants pitchers who undoubtedly filed it away for future reference.  Lugo first threw one right at Buster's earhole.  Buster ducked forward while reflexively throwing the bat up in his right hand.  The ball struck the bat for a foul strike.  The very next pitch came in just under his chin.  It hit Buster in the hand or arm and caromed off his right shoulder.  The TV camera panned over to Bummy, Shaun Anderson and a couple other pitchers in the dugout.  Yeah, they were definitely paying attention.  Just another interesting subplot to the game which makes baseball so interesting.

Zach Green 3B- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .667.  Zach Green made his presence in the lineup felt almost immediately.  His single in the 2'nd inning put Buster Posey in scoring position for Brandon Crawford to drive in with another single.  Greenie drove Buster in himself in the 4'th inning as he followed up Buster's ground-rule double with a double down he LF line.

Mike Yastrzemski LF/CF- 1 for 4, HR(8), BB.  BA= .259.  YtY earned the ol' Gatorade Bath when he lifted one into the LF stands for the walk-off in the 12'th.

Conner Menez LHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.60.  Menez got some help in the first inning from a sensational catch by Kevin Pillar in shallow R-CF and a questionable baserunning decision by JD Davis who was on 2B and was out by a mile at 3B.  Menez then gave up 2 dingers in the 2'nd inning and you had to be thinking, "well, he has some interesting stuff, but maybe he needs to polish it up a bit more."  Instead, he came back out for the 3'rd inning and struck out the side and then pretty much breezed through the 4'th and 5'th innings.  Just a guess, but I bet he had a hard 5-inning limit from the get-go because he was definitely not laboring at that point.

As for stuff, his delivery looks a lot like Ty Blach's with a quick windup that is on the awkward side, with a quick arm acceleration that seems to create some deception.  The FB is 92-94 with command to both sides of the plate and both up and down in the zone.  It's a swing and miss pitch, especially when up in the zone.  He backs the FB up with a tight breaking ball and a changeup that seems to have good deception and keeps hitters off balance.

Bullpen- 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.  I keep hearing and reading comments about the Giants trading bullpen pieces but not Bumgarner.  I don't think they should trade either Bumgarner or relievers if they want to stay in the Wild Card race, but if it did come down to one or the other, I think I might trade Bummy and keep the relievers.  This team would be nowhere and ain't goin' nowhere without this bullpen!  Yeah, they have some bullpen depth in AAA, but there is a reason those pitchers are in Sacramento and not San Francisco right now.

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The Win got the Giants back to .500 and 2.5 games behind the BrewCrew for the 2'nd Wild Card spot and 3 games behind the Nationals for the first slot.

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Shaun Anderson tries to improve on his last start tomorrow evening facing the Cubs and fellow rookie RHP Alec Mills.

Down on the Farm: 7/20/2019

AAA  Sacramento River Cats doubled up the Tacoma Rainiers 8-4:

Mike Gerber CF- 2 for 3, HR(20), SB(4).  BA= .316.
Dereck Rodriguez RHP- 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 5.40.
Travis Bergen LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 6.00.

Dillon McNamara, Sam Coonrod and Jandel Gustave also pitched 1 scoreless inning each.  Travis Bergen is apparently able to continue pitching a rehab assignment despite being moved to the 60 day IL on July 18.  He originally went on the IL May 21 and has started and stopped several rehab assignments since.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels outscored the Erie Seawolves 9-7:

Bryce Johnson CF- 2 for 5, 2B, BB.  BA= .303.
Caleb Baragar LHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.62.
Raffi Vizcaino RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, Save(4).  ERA= 2.70.

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A+  San Jose Giants downed the Lancaster Jethawks 10-4:

Manuel Geraldo SS- 3 for 5, 3 2B.  BA= .228.
David Villar 3B- 3 for 4, 2B, HBP.  BA= .275.
Dalton Combs 1B- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .311.
Sandro Fabian RF- 2 for 4, HR(3)., Assist(3B).  BA= .388.
Nick Vincent RHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Camilo Doval RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 5.12.

Manuel Geraldo is hitting .292 in 27 games Post All-Star.  David Villar is hitting .315 Post All-Star.

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A  Augusta Greenjackets smothered the Greensboro Grasshoppers 8-1:

Anyesber Sivira SS- 3 for 4, HR(2), BB.  BA= .275.
Diego Rincones DH- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .304.
Shane Matheny 2B- 2 for 4, SF.  BA= .221.
Randy Norris LF- 2 for 3, Sac.  BA= .231.
Keaton Winn RHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.40.
Dylan Davis RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.
Sandro Cabrera LHP- 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 2.08.

Anyesber Sivira is hitting .343 over his last 10 games.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes outslugged the Boise Hawks 15-12(10 innings):

Sean Roby 3B- 3 for 5, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .336.
Franklin Labour RF- 3 for 6, 2B, HR(14), Assist(3B).  BA= .338.
Logan Wyatt 1B- 2 for 5, BB.  BA= .455.
Tyler Fitzgerald SS- 2 for 5, 2 2B, BB.   BA= .350.
Alexander Canario CF- 2 for 4, BB, SF.  BA= .230.
Armani Smith LF- 2 for 5, 2B, HR(1), BB.  BA= .351.
Matt Martorano C- 2 for 5, HR(1), BB.  BA= .310.
Harrison Freed DH- 2 for 5, 2B, BB.  BA= .206.

Nice game for padding the ol' stat line.  NWL has been an extreme hitter's league for the past several years so interpret results with caution.  Good to see several 2019 draft picks hitting well over .300, though. After a slow start, Alexander Canario is hitting .316 over his past 10 games at age 19.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Orange edged out the Dodgers Lasorda 2-1:

Marco Luciano SS- 2 for 4, HR(8).  BA= .344.
Najee Gaskins RF- 1 for 1, BB, HBP.  BA= .367.
Juan Sanchez LHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.99.
Kanoa Pagan RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.50.
Jorge Labrador RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.49.

Not much more to say about Marco Luciano.  Do you give him a preview of higher level pitching for the month of August or do you leave him in Arizona as a confidence builder?  Juan Sanchez was part of a group of exciting 17 yo DSL pitchers last year.  After a rough start in Arizona, he seems to be finding his footing allowing 4 ER in 14.1 IP over his past 3 starts with 13 K's and 3 BB's.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Black defeated the Cubs1 12-9:

Grant McCray CF- 2 for 5, BB.  BA= .233.
Jairo Pomares RF- 4 for 6, 2 2B, HR(3).  BA= .413.
Garrett Frechette 1B- 2 for 5, BB.  BA= .315.
Dilan Rosario SS- 1 for 5, HR(5), SF.  BA= .257.
Jean Pena 3B- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .221.

After a slow start, Grant McCray is hitting .293 over his last 10 games.  Giants should also consider an August promotion for Jairo Pomares to give him a preview of higher level pitching for next season.  He is destroying the AZL.

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DSL  Giants beat Colorado 6-3:

Victor Bericoto LF(17 yo)- 3 for 4.  BA= .345.
Rayner Flores 1B(17 yo)- 2 for 4.  BA= .325.
Eduardo Jaramillo C(17 yo)- 2 for 4.  BA= .238.
Jorge Garcia RHP(17 yo)- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.28.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Game Wrap 7/20/2019: Mets 11 Giants 4

Intensity is an intangible part of sports with a long history of making a big difference.  The problem is it is almost impossible to measure.  It's a little like pornography, you can't define it, but you know it when you see it.  The Giants had intensity on their side in 2010, 2012 and 2014.  Intensity is hard to maintain.  After awhile the brain, adrenal glands and autonomic nervous system need to rest and recharge.  The Giants have played with a high level of intensity for close to 2 weeks.  Today, it looked like the intensity took a day off in a game what was not nearly as close as the score would lead you to believe.  As so often seems to be the case, they did their faceplant against a rookie pitcher who has not even been that good in the minor leagues while Jeff Samardzija was his usual frustrating combination of great stuff, inconsistent command and gofer balls.  Key Lines:

Pablo Sandoval 3B- 4 for 4.  BA= .266.  Pabs has been scuffling so he seemed to focus on making contact and came up with 4 mostly harmless basehits which is OK if the rest of the lineup is keeping the line moving, but in this game it wasn't.

Alex Dickerson LF- 1 for 4, HR(5).  BA= .352.  Nice dinger for Dick but it was too little, too late after the deficit was 11-1.

Mike Yastrzemski RF- 1 for 4, HR(8).  BA= .259.  Ditto Alex Dickerson.

Jeff Samardzija RHP- 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 7 K's, 2 HR.  ERA= 4.08.   I feel like this is pretty much Shark's composite line for his career.

Derek Holland LHP- 1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 HR.  ERA= 5.90.  Holland has been pretty good out of the bullpen lately,  but the ol' ERA took a major hit with this appearance.

Ty Blach LHP- 3 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 14.21.  Blach ate some innings in a game that was lost anyway.  Not sure how many more chances with the Giants he has left.

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The Giants deficit in the Wild Card race grew to 2.5 games pending the outcome of later games today.

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Conner Menez will be added to both the 40 man and 25 man rosters tomorrow and make his MLB debut.  Drew Pomeranz will move to the bullpen which is interesting since his last start was actually quite good.  Menez has pitched very well in both AA and AAA this season even thriving in the PCL sillyball league, so the promotion is well deserved if the timing is curious.  Wild guess this has something to do with the trade deadline and the Giants feeling the need to evaluate him at the MLB level to finalize their plans.  My guess is Ty Blach gets dropped from the 40 man roster for the corresponding move.

Down on the Farm: 7/19/2019

AAA  Sacramento River Cats outscored the Tacoma Rainiers 8-6:

Steven Duggar CF- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .356.
Francisco Pena 1B- 1 for 4, HR(9), BB.  BA= .341.
Christhian Adames 2B- 1 for 4, HR(3), BB.  BA= .328.
Abiatal Avelino SS- 1 for 3, BB, SB(11).  BA= .288.
Aaron Phillips RHP- 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 1.50.
Tyler Rogers RHP- 0.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.86.
Sam Selman LHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.42.
Fernando Abad LHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(11).  ERA= 3.31.

Interesting promotion for Aaron Phillips.  Maybe just filling in for Ty Blach, but Phillips had pitched well in his last 3 starts for the SJ Giants.  His performance here would seem to merit at least one more look at AAA.  Someone asked why YtY is in SF over Steven Duggar and made it a multiple choice question:  1.  Hitting.  2.  Fielding.   3.  Winning.  The correct answer is #1 and #3.  Sam Selman, Fernando Abad and Williams Jerez continue to be LHP options should the Giants ultimately decide to sell Tony Watson and Will Smith.

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AA  Erie Seawolves outlasted the Richmond Flying Squirrels 6-2)10 innings):

Gio Brusa 1B- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .250.
Ryan Howard SS- 1 for 4, 3B.  BA= .184.
Johneshwy Fargas LF- 1 for 4, 3B.  BA= .240.
Brandon Lawson RHP- 8 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.80.

Brandon Lawson has 5 Quality Starts out of his last 7.  All 8 runs in this game were scored in the 10'th inning.

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A+  San Jose Giants survived the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 4-3(10 innings):

Manuel Geraldo SS- 2 for 5, SB(14).  BA= .223.
Heliot Ramos CF- 1 for 4, BB.  BA= .313.
David Villar 3B- 3 for 5.  BA= .268.
Courtney Hawkins LF- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .258.
Logan Baldwin RF- 2 for 4.  BA= .229.
Sean Hjelle RHP- 6.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 9/3.  ERA= 2.79.
Jamie Callahan RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Jesus Tona RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Sean Hjelle allowed just 2 hits and 1 BB through 6 scoreless innings.  The 7'th inning featured 2 IF singles, 2 errors and 3 SB's(including a steal of home on a double-steal).  Jesus Tona gets the promotion and has a successful Cal League debut.

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A  Augusta Greenjackets smothered the Greensboro Grasshoppers 6-2:

Ismael Munguia DH- 2 for 4, HBP.  BA= .287.
Anyesber Sivira SS- 1 for 3, HBP.  BA= .263.
Frankie Tostado 1B- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .249.
Jeffry Parra C- 1 for 3, HR(4), BB.  BA= .170.
Trent Toplikar RHP- 5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.72.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Boise Hawks 4-3:

Hunter Bishop DH- 1 for 4, BB, SB(1).  BA= .333.
Franklin Labour RF- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .331.
Logan Wyatt 1B- 2 for 4.  BA= .500.
Alexander Canario CF- 1 for 3, 3B, BB. BA= .211.
Armani Smith LF- 2 for 4.  BA= .346.
Conner Nurse RHP- 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.25.

Conner Nurse gets the belated promotion and has a successful NWL debut.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Black defeated the Giants Orange 8-5:

Orange:

Najee Gaskins CF- 3 for 4, 3B, SB(8).  BA= .345.

Black:

Ghordy Santos SS- 1 for 3, 2 BB, 2 SB(9).  BA= .321.
Grant McCray CF- 2 for 5, SB(6).  BA= .222.
Jairo Pomares RF- 2 for 5, 2 2B, Assist(home).  BA= .395.
Carter Aldrete 3B- 1 for 3, BB, SF.  BA= .259.
Garrett Frechette 1B- 1 for 4, 3B, SF.  BA= .309.
Jin-de Jhang C= 1 for 2, 2B, SF.  BA= .500.
Sonny Vargas LHP- 4.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 6.00.

Marco Luciano has gotten the headlines, but Jairo Pomares is quietly dominating the AZL too.

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DSL  Colorado beat the Giants 7-6:

Luis Matos CF(17 yo)- 3 for 5, HR(6).  BA= .373.
Victor Bericoto RF(17 yo)- 3 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .333.
Ronoldo Flores C(17 yo)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .318.
Marvin Brown RHP(18 yo)- 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.03.

Game Wrap 7/19/2019: Giants 1 Mets 0

When Jake DeGrom is on, he is one of the ace SP's in MLB.  He's been mostly on lately with a 2.33 ERA over his last 7 starts.  He as on last night with a dominant start against the Giants which ordinarily would be all she wrote.  Young Tyler Beede matched him goose egg for goose egg for inning after inning and ended up doing it for 1 more inning.  The Giants finally won it in extra innings when Dom Smith dropped a shallow pop-up by Pablo Sandoval while Alex Dickerson raced around the bases and beat the throw home for to walk it off.  Key Lines:

Tyler Beede RHP-  8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.70.  This was Tyler Beede's 3'rd QS in a row and easily the best start of his short MLB career.  After the 16 inning game, the Giants needed him to go deep in the ballgame.  He did that in dominant fashion.  He was able to locate and change speeds on the 4-seam FB and back that up with a nasty change-up and curveball.  It's still a SSS and his track record is rife with inconsistency, but if Beede can be even a solid #3 or #4 SP, it completely changes the trajectory of the Giants "rebuild" and changes the negative narrative of the Giants drafting record over the past 10 years.

Will Smith LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 2.61.  Smith has been shaky since the All-Star Break and was in a non-Save situation, but he was back to being his unhittable self in a dominant 9'th inning.

Sam Dyson RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB,  2 K's, W(4-1).  ERA= 2.68.  Amazingly enough, Bruce Bochy navigated the 16 inning game without using Dyson or Mark Melancon so he had two semi-fresh bullpen arms at his disposal for this one.  The bullpen has been a huge part of the Giants success in turning their season around.  In addition to Will Smith's 24 Saves in 26 Save Opportunities, the Giants bullpen has a 24-10 W-L record.

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The Win was the Giants 7'th in a row and 14'th of 16 in July.  They reached .500 for the first time this season and crept to within 2.0 games of the 2'nd Wild Card berth and 3 games of the first.

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Jeff Samardzija tries to keep the beat going this afternoon against someone named Walker Lockett who hasn't been very good in either the majors or minors, which probably spells trouble for the Giants since I don't think they have seen him before.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Down on the Farm: 7/18/2019

AAA  Salt Lake City Bees swarmed over the Sacramento River Cats 9-6:

Steven Duggar CF- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .345.
Joey Rickard LF- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .412.
Zach Green 3B- 1 for 5, HR(23).  BA= .302.
Brandon Beachy RHP- 5.1 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 10.13.
Ray Black RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.95.

Brandon Beachy's comeback attempt reaches AAA.  SLC is a tough place to make that transition.

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AA  Erie Seawolves blanked the Richmond Flying Squirrels 3-0:

Chase Johnson RHP= 3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 5.18.

Ryder Jones double with 2 outs in the 8'th inning spoiled a no-hitter for Spenser Watkins and was the Squirrels only hit of the night.

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A+  San Jose Giants defeated the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 6-1:

Heliot Ramos CF- 2 for 3, 2B, BB, SB(5).  BA= .314.
Joey Bart C- 2 for 4, 2 HR. BA= .271.
David Villar 1B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .261.
Brandon Van Horn 3B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .219.
Jose Marte RHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 4.99.
Luis Amaya LHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Joey Bart says "take that, Billy Hayes!"  Heliot just keeps rolling in his remarkable age 19 season.  Encouraging start for Jose Marte and Luis Amaya makes his A+ debut.

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A  Augusta Greenjackets edged out the Greensboro Grasshoppers 2-1:

Seth Corry LHP- 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 2.09.

Seth Corry is turning this into a breakout season that just keeps getting better.  He seems to be putting his command/control problems behind him with just 3 walks in 22.2 IP over his last 4 Starts.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Boise Hawks 2-1:

Hunter Bishop CF- 0 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .333.
Ricardo Genoves C- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .284.
Jesus Ozoria RHP- 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.49.
Deiyerbert Bolivar LHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 0.82.
Clay Helvey RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 6.64.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Orange beat the Mariners 7-4:

Luis Toribio 3B- 4 for 4, 2B, 3B, BB.  BA= .348.
Connor Cannon DH- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .329.
Logan Wyatt 1B- 0 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .241.
Patrick Hilson CF- 1 for 4, 2 SB(9).  BA= .206.
Najee Gaskins RF- 0 for 2, 2 BB, 3 SB(7).  BA= .280.
Andrew Caraballo 2B- 2 for 4, SB(3).  BA= .250.
Nick Morreale RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.25.
Julio Rodriguez RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Marco Gonzalez LHP- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's, Save(1).  ERA= 0.98.

Luis Toribio's hit tool seems to be for real.  Julio Rodriguez, who is reputed to have off-the-charts spin rate on his curveball makes his 2019 debut.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Black outslugged the White Sox 12-10:

Ghordy Santos 2B- 3 for 4, BB, 2 SB(7).  BA= .321.
Jairo Pomares RF- 4 for 5, 2B, 3B, HR(2).  BA= .395.
Carter Aldrete DH- 1 for 5, HR(1).  BA= .255.
Bryan Hernandez LF- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(1), BB.  BA= .286.
Cesar Gonzalez C- 2 for 4.  BA= .125.
Jasier Herrera RHP- 5.2 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 1.91.

Jairo Pomares hits for the cycle.  The 3-headed monster of Marco Luciano, Pomares and Luis Matos the Giants signed last year are looking mighty impressive.  We haven't seen that much of Bryan Hernandez but when we have, he's been quite good.  He mostly walked a lot last year but is showing better all-around hitting this year.

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DSL  Tigers2 2 touchdowns and a field goal got the better of the Giants touchdown and 2 FG's 17-13:

Luis Matos CF- 4 for 5, 2B, 2 SF, SB(12).  BA= .366.
Victor Bericoto 1B(17 yo)- 4 for 5, 2B, 2 SB(6).  BA= .321.
Rayner Santana C(16 yo)- 1 for 4, 2 BB, SB(1).  BA= .283.
Jose Peralta 3B(17 yo)- 2 for 5, 2B, HBP.  BA= .282.
Diego Verbel 2B(16 yo)- 2 for 4, 2 BB, SB(3).  BA= .247.
Roberto Monegro SS(17 yo)- 1 for 3, 3 BB.  BA= .248.

Not sure what to add here.  Luis Matos is clearly playing at too low a level.

Game Wrap 7/18/2019: Giants 3 Mets 2(16 innings)

A matchup of aces between MadBum and Thor lived up to it's billing and the bullpens kept it going into the night with the Giants pulling out the marathon win after falling behind in the 16'th inning.  Key Lines:

Alex Dickerson LF- 3 for 7, 2B, 3B.  BA= .356.  Dickerson tripled to lead off the 2'nd inning, but two K's and a pop-up stranded him.  His leadoff double in the 16'th inning had a much happier ending

Brandon Crawford SS= 2 for 6, 2B, BB.  BA= .240.  Crawford's double in the 16'th drove in Dickerson with the tying run and set up the walk-off.

Mike Yastrzemski RF- 2 for 3, 3B.  BA= .265.  YtY led off the 7'th inning with a triple.... and was left standing there.

Kevin Pillar CF- 2 for 6, SF.  BA= .249.  With the bases loaded and one out in the 4'th inning, Pillar hit a bullet out to LF that looked like it would carry over the LF head to the wall, but alas, the LF made a nice play to catch it producing just 1 run on the SF.  That was the only run the Giants would score until the winning rally in the 1'6th when Pillar singled to load the bases and set up Donovan Solano's walk-off single.

Donovan Solano PH/2B- 2 for 4. BA= .343.  Solano has had some big hits for the Giants and added the walk-off single to his resume.

Joe Panik 2B- 0 for 2, BB.  BA= .233.  Panik was the victim of BABIP luck as he smoked balls that were snagged by the 2B for easy outs in both his first 2 AB's.  I guess you can only be a BABIP victim so long before you have to try hitting the ball to different locations?

Madison Bumgarner LHP- 9 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.65.  After giving up a first inning run, Bummy settled down and was vintage Bumgarner.  Just 94 pitches over 9 innings.  It should have given the bullpen the night off but then they would play another 7 innings.  He got a well deserved standing O as we walked off the field after pitching the 9'th.  So, the conundrum builds.  His trade value is skyrocketing as he is helping the Giants into contention and possibly buying instead of selling at the trade deadline.

Will Smith LHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.86.  The top of the 10'th was dramatic and had a playoff feel to it as Smith scared everybody by putting the first two batters at 2'nd and 3'rd, but then got out of it by striking out the side.  Kruk and Kuip were losing their minds.  One of the more fun innings to watch in recent memory.

Trevor Gott RHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.83.  Gott came in and got Derek Holland out of a jam in the 13'th inning then stayed in to pitch the 14'th.  Where would this team be without Trevor Gott?

Williams Jerez LHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.00.  Jerez was called up before the game to give the bullpen a fresh arm.  He pitched through a walk and single in the 15'th but gave up a leadoff HR to Pete Alonso in the 16'th.  To his credit, he hung in there, limited the damage and gave the Giants a chance to come back in the bottom of the inning, which they did.

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With Win was the Giants 6'th in a row and 13'th of 15 in July.  They remain 2.5 games behind the Brewers in the Wild Card race and 2 games behind the Phillies and Cardinals.

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Tyler Beede has the double burden of trying to keep the win streak going against Jake DeGrom and trying to give the bullpen a break tonight.