The Giants battled back from a 4-1 deficit to sent the game into extra innings only to lose on a walk-off 3-run HR in the 11'th inning. Key Lines:
Thairo Estrada LF- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(3), BB. BA= .370. Estrada led off the game with HR and continued his torrid hitting with an additional double, single and BB. Unfortunately he was the Giants offense for the first 7 innings as they fell behind 4-1.
J. D. Davis 3B- 2 for 3, HR(3), BB. BA= .324. I didn't see the game thanks to Apple+ TV but Davis reportedly made a couple of terrific plays at 3B then tied the game in the 8'th with a 3-run bomb. Davis needs to be playing every day one way or another.
Sean Manaea LHP- 3.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 4.76. Manaea reportedly was hitting 97 MPH in the first inning. Another example of pitcher fatigue due to increased pace of play?
Jakob Junis RHP- 3 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB 4 K's. ERA= 2.70. I guess we can say Junis kept the score close enough to a 3-run HR to tie it.
Camilo Doval RHP- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 6.35. Doval pitches both extra innings with a "ghost runner". That's asking a lot of your Closer and he almost pulled it off. Alas!
Anthony DeSclafani RHP will try to get the Giants even in the series tomorrow against TBD.
Churn Watch:
As expected Bryce Johnson OF went on the concussion IL.
Sean Hjelle RHP was recalled from AAA Sacramento(I don't think he actually went to Sacramento).
Austin Slater OF starts a rehab assignment with Sacramento.
Mitch Haniger OF is reportedly performing baseball activities and is hoping to start a rehab assignment next week.
Austin Wynns C passed through waiver and elected free agency and why not?
I was streaming. I'm not a fan of the AppleTV hosts. But, they're unvarnished and the color man was very clear why the Giants fell apart last year (defense being worst in the majors and bullpen issues). He actually thinks this year's Giants will be contenders if they can play good defense and get these early-season bullpen issues corrected.
ReplyDeleteDavis looked really sharp at 3B! Flores played well, too, at 1B and contributed offensively. Manaea was wild all night, but keeping Doval in the game for another inning was really surprising since his slider didn’t seem as sharp. Putting Estrada in LF also seemed like a risky call by Kapler … he still looks awkward defensively out there. But he’s really turning into a clutch hitter. Maybe there’s hope for this motley group yet?
ReplyDeletePlaying Villar at 2B instead of 3B, Estrada in LF rather than 2B, Sabol at C and not in the outfield can, at most, maintain the D and not improve it???
DeleteWe see the effort when we signed Perez, but he is out for the season now. Other than him, and not playing Pedersen defensively, what else have we tried? (The question relates to MosesZD's mentioning above of the worse D last year)
Well, those position changes you mention are driven more by injury than design.
DeleteConforto is at least as good as YtY in RF which allows YtY to slide over to CF. That's an upgrade. Haniger should be a big upgrade in LF if he ever plays. Reviews are mixed on LMWJ at 1B but he appears to be learning the position and has made a few really athletic plays over there. So yeah, getting Pederson off the field and acquiring Haniger and Conforto is a pretty significant defensive upgrade.
To be fair they are counting on guys coming off significant injuries to play for those defensive upgrades. Yesterdays alignment was pretty suspect defensively and similar to the type of sacrifice they made last year to improve the lineup.
DeleteFZ has had success signing players with injury histories. The odds may be catching up with him on those.
DeleteLet's see how many games Haniger and Conforto play before we dismiss them, although it's looking like Haniger will miss at least the first month of the season.
DeleteIt’s interesting how the MLB is doing everything it can to make the game more interesting to the average fan and Farhan is seemingly doing the opposite. Waiting around for a HR all game while striking out at a record pace seems exactly like what Manfred and MLB are trying to get away from while Farhan is overpaying for players who do nothing but K and hit bombs. That and the random bunt attempts at questionable times throughout the game seem like the strategy here. It ends up giving Giants fans a really difficult product to watch especially when they don’t win. Even when they do win it feels off and the players don’t seem like they have really bought in this time around! The energy levels across the board are low from the poor AB’s to the pitchers expressions when they get pulled by Kap. I don’t think I have seen a starter yet even look in Kap’s direction when he pulls them they kind of have that disgusted look on their faces telling everyone how displeased they are with how this team is being run!
ReplyDeleteEh. Pitchers never like being taken out. Most of Kap's pitching decisions have been at least defensible if not the obviously right thing to do. The K's so far have been extremely high. Higher event than the highest historic K rates. I know Ben Kaspick has flatly said those will come down just by natural regression. That remains to be seen but K's have no doubt been an issue. The BAPIP gods can't help you much if there are no BIPs!
DeleteI thought the Webb extension was good early season news. They can build a starting staff around him, he seems to want to be a Giant long term, and it softens the blow a little from a tough off season.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Ruf signing was AWFUL. He's got the whole "hit a HR 1st, 2nd, and 3rd priority" thing going. High risk and, ultimately, low reward. Bad example of hitting. Cost us the 2021 playoffs. We need to get away from that attitude in the lineup.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a terrible take! Ruf has his limitations. He's not a good defender at any position and he doesn't hit RHP's well but he absolutely mashes LHP's. Not sure he's worth taking up a roster spot on a team that already has J. D. Davis and Wilmer Flores but Ruf was a big part of the Giants success in 2021 and they did not lose in the playoffs to the Dodgers because of him.
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